Family Health International FHI360 is a non-profit human development organisation dedicated to improving lives in lasting ways by advancing integrated, locally driven solutions. Established in 1971, FHI360 is one of the world’s largest and most influential non-profit biomedical research and technical assistance organisations. FHI360’s work is focused on developing countries, with offices in 47 countries and close to 4400 employees.
Through its global reach, FHI360 is committed to reducing the burden of poverty-related infectious diseases, including neglected tropical diseases. Their success is built on both creating and utilizing data on which to base program activities, as well as strengths in cross-cutting fields of research, monitoring & evaluation (M&E), behaviour change communication & social mobilization, and gender equity.
They work with country partners to deliver country-level technical assistance to build capacity within each MOH for rapid scale up and sustained implementation of mass drug administration. During the last three years we have assessed the capacity of M&E systems for NTDs in respective countries, supporting countries in the development of their respective work plans, maximizing opportunities for learning NTD strategies and guidelines, generating program results, and supporting country programs in the monitoring of NTDs.
In the realm of implementation research, FHI360 investigators have worked with programmatic partners throughout sub-Saharan Africa to test the feasibility, effectiveness, fidelity, and cost of alternative health interventions and service delivery strategies. FHI360 is highly experienced in assessing the information needs and priorities of health care providers, programme implementers, and policy-makers; designing and implementing applied research in collaboration with program managers to improve service delivery; and accelerating the uptake of research findings and inclusion of evidence-based practices into global health policies and programs.
FHI360 scientists collaborate with programme partners to produce high quality evidence for improving the quality, effectiveness, reach and efficiency of health services. They resolve programmatic challenges through:
• Formative assessments to evaluate service delivery contexts and to inform intervention design;
• Operations research to test innovations;
• Implementation research to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of interventions delivered at scale under typical circumstances;
• Value for Money assessments to produce evidence regarding intervention cost-effectiveness and potential for sustainability.
Through global and local partnerships, FHI360’s Research Utilization unit accelerates the uptake of research findings and inclusion of evidence-based practices into global health policies and programmes. FHI360's systematic approach to Research Utilization has been applied to a variety of technical areas, including HIV/AIDS, family planning, gender, community-based health systems, mobile technologies for health, integration of health services, and youth-friendly services. Globally, and in Anglophone and Francophone West Africa specifically, FHI360 has supported the application of evidence in health policy and practice.
