Health Workers

Driving around Abuja, Nigeria you cannot miss the Aso Rock, a large 400-meter monolith overlooking the city. The name “Aso” means victorious in the native language of the Asokoro people. In September I traveled to Abuja to provide management and operations support for our newly opened CapacityPlus office. I couldn’t help but think that the most prominent natural feature in the city, named after success, was a good sign for our human resources for health (HRH) activities in the country. 

The office supports CapacityPlus’s growing health systems strengthening portfolio in Nigeria, with a focus on PEPFAR-funded preservice education and in-service training, scaling up human resources information systems at the national and state level, and supporting the Federal Ministry of Health on key HRH leadership, partnership, and management activities.  Read more »

It is rare that a person is able to view one event through two lenses. I was privileged to be able to do so as I moved to CapacityPlus from a position with the Coordinating Center of the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) at George Washington University (GWU).

The Medical Education Partnership Initiative
MEPI is funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and supports African medical schools as they work to further PEPFAR’s goal of increasing the number of new health workers by 140,000. It is a network of more than 30 medical schools in sub-Saharan Africa that is supported by the Coordinating Center, a joint effort of GWU and the African Centre for Global Health and Social Transformation, and by other stakeholders, including CapacityPlus. Read more »

I’ve been writing about the open source iHRIS software for years, explaining how it can help with health workforce management and planning, and praising the advantages of open source for country ownership and sustainability. A recent e-mail conversation about iHRIS in Nigeria reminded me of some of the important benefits of the software, and shed light on a new one. Read more »

I woke up on my second day at the International AIDS Conference wanting to be moved. Not that the opening plenary speeches I attended the day before were not inspiring, but I was left wanting a more personal experience or connection. I know I’m not alone.

That day I found myself in front of a piece of art outside the main session room, a see-through column lined with small dolls. I leaned in to examine the artful beadwork on the dolls, very similar but intricately different. Orphan Tower contains 634 dolls made by local bead workers in a rural village in South Africa. Each doll represents one child living in the village whose parents died from AIDS. According to the placard, there are currently over 3.7 million AIDS orphans in South Africa alone. To represent all of them, there would need to be 5,835 of these towers. I’m left wondering who will care for these children, if they will also develop AIDS, and, if so, whether will they receive treatment. I’m also aware that these dolls could represent millions of children all over Africa, and all over the world. Read more »