Meeting Targets and Maintaining Epidemic Control (EpiC)

Meeting Targets and Maintaining Epidemic Control (EpiC) (2019–2027) is a global project, funded by PEPFAR and USAID, that provides strategic technical assistance and direct service delivery to achieve HIV epidemic control among key and priority populations and to strengthen global health security, including COVID-19 response. EpiC is led by FHI 360 with core partners Right to Care, Palladium, and Population Services International (PSI) and implemented by more than 260 local partners.

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EpiC and HIV

The EpiC project promotes self-reliant management of national HIV programs by improving HIV case finding, prevention, treatment programming and viral-load suppression among key and priority populations. EpiC partners with and strengthens the capacity of governments, civil society organizations, other PEPFAR-implementing partners and the private sector to introduce innovations and expand evidence-based HIV services to unprecedented levels of scale, coverage, quality, effectiveness and efficiency.

EpiC’s HIV objectives

• Attain and maintain control of the HIV epidemic among vulnerable populations.
• Attain and maintain control of the HIV epidemic among men, women and priority populations who have HIV or are at risk of acquiring HIV.
• Improve program management, health information systems, human resources for health, and financing solutions to attain and maintain control of the HIV epidemic.
• Support the transition of direct funding and implementation to local partners to meet PEPFAR’s goal of providing 70% of its funding to local partners.

What EpiC does for key and priority populations

• Increase access to HIV prevention, including pre-exposure prophylaxis, voluntary medical male circumcision and tuberculosis prevention services.
• Expand HIV self-testing, index testing and network testing strategies.
• Improve treatment literacy, including understanding of messages about undetectable and nontransmittable.
• Provide a range of differentiated health services tailored to vulnerable populations, including mental health services and violence prevention and response.
• Improve access to new high-quality antiretroviral therapy and viral-load testing services.
• Engage previously unreached individuals and connect them to HIV services through online platforms.

How EpiC bolsters local programs

• Mobilizes increased domestic, sustainable funding sources for national HIV programs.
• Provides capacity strengthening to local partners to help prepare them to accept direct funding.
• Helps to identify ways to capitalize on local technical and management expertise.
• Promotes unified leadership and management at all levels to control local epidemics.
• Supports the integration of HIV services into national and local government budgets.

EpiC and global health security

EpiC strengthens health systems to prevent and mitigate the increasing occurrence and severity of epidemics, pandemics and other emerging infectious diseases. Our programming aligns with global health security priorities, National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS) processes and USAID’s goals. Read more about EpiC’s Global Health Security efforts.

EpiC and COVID-19

EpiC partnered with 54 country governments, 11 academic institutions, and 94 local organizations and professional associations to prevent the spread of infections, detect cases, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. EpiC offered technical assistance for emergency, mid-term and long-term responses. Read more about EpiC’s COVID-19 efforts. Read more about EpiC’s COVID-19 efforts.

EpiC and mpox

The project’s approaches include risk communication and community engagement for men who have sex with men and other people with a high risk of acquiring mpox; training and capacity strengthening for health care providers, including community-based teams; support for case investigation and contact tracing; surveillance and other strategic information support; strengthening health care systems’ and providers’ diagnostic capacity; and improving laboratory biosafety. Read more about EpiC’s mpox efforts.

Featured blog

Overcoming challenges to ensure access to medical oxygen

Through EpiC, FHI 360 is increasing access to medical oxygen, a lifesaving medicine. We and our partners are strengthening health facility infrastructure, training health care workers and supporting countries’ long-term planning.

Read the blog