Tanzania’s Ministry of Health and Social Welfare set ambitious goals for national expansion of HIV/AIDS
treatment and seeks to expand ART services to 200 sites supporting a total of 100,000 patients on ARV treatment within the next several years. The HIV/AIDS Twinning Center supported this rapid expansion through its Volunteer Healthcare Corps (VHC).
With the goal of increasing the institutional and human
resource capacity of HIV care and treatment centers, the Tanzania Preceptors Initiative placed highly skilled
professionals at PEPFAR-supported sites, where they served as onsite technical experts for a period ranging from three months to two years. During that time, their dual goals were to increase institutional capacity to
deliver and expand quality HIV/AIDS treatment and
care services and to increase staff competencies in HIV-related treatment, care, and support.
VHC volunteers mentored staff; assisted with the provision of services as needed; and helped with program expansion, quality control, and other support tasks beneficial to the host institution.
As of May 2011, the VHC had placed 18 skilled professionals in volunteer assignments at 14 different sites in Tanzania. The average duration of these assignments — which included placements as an in-service
training officer, pediatric clinical preceptor, pediatric nurse, and adherence counselor — was 8.5 months. Collectively, these VHC volunteers contributed more than 156 months toward strengthening health system capacity in Tanzania.
Although the Tanzania Preceptors Initiative officially concluded in late 2010, AIHA continues to field requests for skilled volunteers from our partnership institutions in country.
Updated November 15, 2011
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