Epicentre is a non-profit organization created in 1986 by and affiliated to Médecins Sans Frontières, which groups health professionals specialized in public health and epidemiology. Epicentre teams carry out research studies and offer their expertise to organizations requesting short-term field epidemiology studies in low- and middle-income countries. Responding to the direct and indirect effects of chronic and acute crises as well as lack of access to  health care in vulnerable populations through effective programs is a complex task that requires multiple competencies — all of which happen in an unpredictable environment. There is frequently a lack of reliable data on disease burden and population demographics. Even where relevant data are present, the breakdown of health systems often means there is little access to these data for relevant analyses. Drugs, vaccines, diagnostics, and their programmatic delivery strategies are often woefully inadequate for vulnerable populations when transposed from rich country settings. Epicentre Research Department’s mission is to describe the health status of populations – to help prioritize activities – and to evaluate existing & new tools, strategies, and pharmaceutical products.

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Role in LEAP4WA: Data Management and Analysis