Sri Lanka COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness Project

closed

Component 1: Emergency COVID-19 Response: This component will focus on limiting local transmission of COVID-19 through containment strategies and strengthening systems to mitigate future risks. It will (a) support establishment of an Emergency Operation Center atthe Disaster Response and Management unit at the National level to improve coordination and timeliness of national level activities in emergencies of pandemic nature; (b) strengthen systems for contact tracing, case finding, confirmation, reporting and follow up; (c) strengthen the capacity of secondary and tertiary hospitals to respond to surge capacity through trained and well-equipped health workers and medical officers and equipped facilities; (d) set up isolation wards and intensive care units in select tertiary and secondary care hospitals; (e) implement a community engagement and risk communication strategy; (f) train social welfare workers, particularly those supporting elder care homes, centres with special needs people and orphanages to ensure proper isolation, treatment and transportation of suspected cases and avoid spread within homes; (g) support provision of psycho-social support and community-level outreach to women and children who are experiencing domestic violence when confined to their houses. Component 2: Strengthening National and Sub-national Institutions for Prevention and Preparedness: This component will support strengthening the capacity of national and sub-national institutions to respond to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and any public health emergencies that may occur in the future. In particular, it will (a) strengthen the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) by setting up a new isolation center within the premises of the NIID and expand isolation units within the institute to build capacities for future responsiveness; (b) establish Regional Quarantine and Testing Centers (QTCs) equipped with testing facilities to augment the capacity of the NIIH; (c) establish Bio-Safety Level (BSL) 3 Laboratory Facilities at the National Medical Research Institute (MRI) to improve the capacity to run investigations for highly contagious diseases; and (d) strengthen laboratory facilities, infection control and waste management systems in secondary and tertiary hospitals. Component 3: Strengthening Multi-sectoral, National institutions and Platforms for One Health: This component will support investments in the one-health approach which will strengthen emergency response systems in the long term. This will entail a convergent approach that covers food safety, the control of zoonoses (diseases that can spread between animals and humans) and combatting antibiotic resistance. Specific focus will be placed on (i) conducting a needs assessment of national protocols for detection, surveillance, and response systems for animal and human health infections; (ii) establishing a mechanism for detection of priority existing and emerging zoonoses; and (iii) conducting awareness on anti-microbial resistance among human health, agricultural, and veterinary and enforcement of related legislations. Activities under this component would be implemented in collaboration with the related Ministries and stakeholdersComponent 4: Implementation Management and Monitoring and Evaluation: This component will support coordination and management of the project, including central and provincial arrangements for coordination of activities, financial management and procurement. This component would also support monitoring and evaluation of prevention and preparedness, building capacity for clinical and public health research, and joint-learning on pandemic preparedness across and within countries. Component 5: Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC): In the event of an Eligible Crisis or Emergency, the project will contribute to providing immediate and effective response to said crisis or emergency. The allocation to this component is to minimize time spent on a reallocation of funds from programmed activities. The unused amount can be reallocated to other components if the CERC component is not triggered a year prior to project closing.