Mozambique faces a human resource shortage that is hindering its ability to rapidly scale up efforts to provide ART to people living with HIV. Adding to the complexity of the situation is the fact that approximately 17 percent of the public healthcare workforce is infected with HIV and in need of care themselves.
Mozambique’s Ministry of Health recognizes the need to train additional healthcare workers to combat HIV/AIDS and is now targeting in-service
training for mid- and lower-level healthcare workers as a key component of its national HIV/AIDS strategic plan.
In an effort to support this Ministry initiative, AIHA has linked the Universidade Católica de Moçambique (UCM) with the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. The overall goal of this partnership is to increase the availability of quality HIV services in Mozambique’s Sofala Province, with specific objectives including increasing the numbers of qualified healthcare workers in trained in HIV/AIDS and creating a model clinic that provides quality HIV care and treatment services, as well as serves as a clinical training facility for healthcare professionals.
As work to renovate the clinic and training center were under way, partners focused on developing and organizing the agenda, curricula, and syllabi for UCM faculty
training. Tapping into resources within their community, the Pittsburgh partners leveraged an additional $80,000 worth of equipment and supplies for the training center.
Together, partners opened the St. Luke Health Center in June 2009. Since then, Mozambican staff have treated more than 12,000 patients and launched a training
program at St. Luke's for medical students and Agentes de Medicinas. In addition, partners initiated mandatory rural site visits for 5th and 6th year medical students and established clinical rotations to provide medical students the opportunity to gain critical patient care skills.
Clinical preceptors from the United States have been placed at St. Luke's through the Twinning Center's Volunteer Healthcare Corps (VHC) to provide additional technical support and mentorship to staff and medical students.
UCM was granted permission by the Ministry of Health to begin providing ARV drugs and is currently waiting for final confirmation from the government.
Plans for the coming year include adding two more Mozambican physicians to the St. Luke’s staff, launching onsite HIV counseling and testing
services for high-risk individuals, and collaborating with the Ministry of Health to ensure reliable access to ARVs and other pharmaceuticals.
Updated November 14, 2011
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