As part of the implementation of the RKI WHO Hub collaborative project A Partnership to Strengthen Integrated Genomic Surveillance through Greater Capacities in National Public Health Institutes, the “IGS Project”, Dr Lenka Körner and Daniel Stewart, researchers from the IGS project team, recently conducted research field work in Madagascar. Alongside partners in the Madagascan Governments’ Ministry of Public Health (MSANP), Public Health Laboratory (LA2M) and Institute for Public and Community Health (INSPC), they have been undertaking a qualitative enquiry exploring potential policy pathways to strengthen the country’s public health system through the use of pathogen genomic and surveillance data.

Using semi-structured interviews and focus group methods, the IGS team engaged with key informants, healthcare workers, researchers and those involved in strengthening genomic surveillance systems in Madagascar. The team had the opportunity to engage with individuals working in the capital, Antananarivo and had a chance to meet those regionally in the capital of Itasy region Miarinarivo, and to explore the implications these different settings have for the delivery of healthcare services. 

The team also took the opportunity to work with partners in country to develop plans for a Policy Dialogue workshop, to be held in Madagascar later in the year. The workshop will be an opportunity to share the findings of the IGS research project with stakeholders working in Madagascar, to discuss the findings and their implications for public health, and to collaboratively identify how best to strengthen integrated genomic surveillance in Madagascar in the future. The workshop will also aim to provide a forum to identify opportunities for local, regional and international networking and collaboration.