SONAR

The Task Force for Global Health (TFGH), in partnership with Africa CDC and WHO, implements The Global Fund’s Strengthening Outbreak Notification And Response (SONAR) program.

Through SONAR, The Task Force provides technical assistance to 14 low- and middle-income partner countries to strengthen their efforts to establish comprehensive, coordinated surveillance systems capable of detecting emerging outbreaks, tracking the course of pathogens through the community, linking laboratory and epidemiological data from the same cases, while making the data accessible in a form readily understandable by decision makers.

The ultimate goal is to speed response and save lives.

SONAR aims to build resilient health systems in partner countries that can effectively identify and respond to emerging outbreaks through strengthened (early warning) surveillance, reporting and response systems.

The Global Fund tapped TFGH as its implementing partner for SONAR because of the diverse expertise across its programs which focus on disease elimination, ensuring access to vaccines, and strengthening health systems.

SONAR works across programs at TFGH bringing varied expertise to the work of improving early warning surveillance. TFGH programs involved in SONAR include the Partnership for International Vaccine Initiatives (PIVI), the Public Health Informatics Institute (PHII), the COVID-19 Vaccine Implementation Program (CoVIP) and TEPHINET (Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network).

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

  • Shorten the time from outbreak occurrence to reporting and response
  • Increase inter-connectivity between laboratory and epidemiological surveillance systems
  • Improve capacity for programs to access and use relevant data for program planning and response

EXPECTED OUTCOMES AND ACTIVITIES

At the end of the program, SONAR partner countries will have improved capacity to detect signals and outbreaks earlier and decrease the time from outbreak detection to notification and response. Support to achieve these goals will include:

  • Supporting rapid implementation and effective utilization of funds
  • Catalytic assistance at national level: to reduce fragmentation, improve design and innovate
  • Embedding staff in Africa CDC, WHO AFRO to improve guidance uptake
  • Enhancing use of data for action, with continuous quality improvement
  • Capacity building: Extending, enhancing MoH by embedding staff at national; sub-national level