Alex Collins

Botswana Is Building a Strong Health System by Focusing on Health Workers

Sarah Dwyer — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 13:46:32 +0000

“I have a passion to help sick people,” says Oteng Gaopatwe, a nurse at Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital in Francistown, Botswana. “One thing I like most about my job is to see my clients satisfied, having a smile, and seeing all the people I have helped being relieved of their pain.”

Frontline health workers like Oteng are the backbone of health systems. In order to plan effectively for training, recruitment, and retention, countries need access to current, up-to-date information about their health workforce.

Author's name:

Alex Collins and Sarah Dwyer

Publication Date:

April 2015

Social Service Workers Address Ebola’s Widespread Social Impacts

Sarah Dwyer — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 14:47:31 +0000

The number of confirmed cases of Ebola is quickly climbing past 6,200. On September 20, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the historic UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), underscoring how a comprehensive, multisectoral response will be ever more critical as Ebola’s far-reaching health, security, political, economic, and social impacts on West Africa become more evident.

For every person infected, many others are affected—family members lose loved ones, children lose their parents, students lose teachers, employers lose key staff, and scores of responders have witnessed extreme suffering and work in exceedingly stressful environments.

Author's name:

Amy Bess and Alex Collins

Publication Date:

September 2014

Better, Stronger, and Thankful: HIV Peer Counselor in the Dominican Republic Shares Impact of His Work

Sarah Dwyer — Tue, 16 Sep 2014 19:18:25 +0000

Alfredo Felix is a peer counselor with the Department of HIV at Jaime Mota Regional Hospital in Barahona, Dominican Republic. “I’ve always felt motivated to work in the community to inform people,” he says. The area shares a border with Haiti and has a large immigrant population at risk for HIV.

Peer counselors like Alfredo play an important role in countering the effects of stigma, which can make it hard for people to seek information about HIV and follow through with treatment. Alfredo tells a story about someone he helped:

Author's name:

Alex Collins and Sarah Dwyer

Publication Date:

September 2014

“I Can Improve Things”: An HIV Peer Counselor in the Dominican Republic

Carol Bales — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 18:17:07 +0000

“It was very, very bad treatment that I received,” recalls Mercedes (not her real name), a young mother living with HIV.

Five years ago—at one of the largest maternity hospitals in the Dominican Republic—she was diagnosed as HIV-positive. Although she enrolled in the hospital’s program to prevent mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), she felt discriminated against for her status, and that the health workers’ actions toward her lacked compassion.

But she decided her experience as a victim of stigma would not stand in her way of helping other HIV-positive pregnant women.

Author's name:

Ángela Diaz Fermin and Alex Collins

Publication Date:

June 2014

Andrew Brown of People that Deliver: Share Your Stories on Strengthening the Supply Chain Workforce

Carol Bales — Tue, 04 Feb 2014 14:12:31 +0000

Andrew Brown is eager to spread the word about what countries are doing to bolster their supply chain workforces. He’s the new executive director for People that Deliver. This global initiative helps countries plan, support, and retain their health supply chain workforces, which are critical for ensuring medicines and other health commodities reach the people who need them.

As part of the CapacityPlus team supporting our activities to strengthen the supply chain workforce, I had the privilege of interviewing Brown as he assumed his position.

Author's name:

Alex Collins

Publication Date:

February 2014