Mini Grants for Outbreak Timeliness Measures are grants aiding the measurement of the timeliness of outbreak detection, verification, and response (along with other associated measures). The grants provide support to field epidemiology training programs (FETPs) and their associated Ministries of Health in 17 countries as they implement methods adapted from a 2010 study (Chan, et al., “Global Capacity for Emerging Infectious Disease Detection”) to examine the detection, verification, communication, and response timeliness to infectious disease outbreaks.
Measurements from the Mini Grants for Outbreak Timeliness Measures establish a country-specific time-to-detection baseline that allows the country learn whether changes to reporting policies, implementation of the IHR core competencies, use of novel disease reporting systems, or increased investments in disease surveillance have improved the speed of detection and response capabilities. The measurements can also be stratified by several variables, including pathogen type, to gain insight into what approaches are most effective.
Ministries of Health can not only assess progress to date, but identify programmatic or geographic gaps that can inform resource allocation and strategic planning. Governments, NGOs, and philanthropies can better understand which investments have the biggest impact in the area of rapid detection and response, and can share these learnings to ensure efficient use of limited funds.