Global Health Africa

The Ethiopian health system is severely lacking in resources for treating patients, however staff in Jimma are highly resourceful, and it is amazing what can be done with very little. The focus and objectives of this partnership are based on needs identified by Jimma University Specialized Hospital. A fundamental principle of the partnership is that it is responsive and not prescriptive- there is a dialogue to share views and priorities to help decide what is feasible and desirable, but the initiative is ultimately with Jimma University Hospital.

Created in 1993, the Nottingham-Jimma Link is one of the longest standing global health partnerships at NUH. It's a mutually beneficial relationship that gives NUH staff the opportunity to learn from patients presenting with tropical and infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases and trauma, that we don’t see as often in Nottingham. We learn a great deal from working within a different culture and health system. NUH staff visit Jimma twice a year and Jimma staff visit Nottingham for 4 weeks during the summer. All staff are volunteers and come from various disciplines, such as: nurses, doctors, laboratory staff, physiotherapists, infection control, data protection, ICT and more. It is this diverse breadth and depth of involvement that has led to the development of mutual respect and created friendships, which has ultimately made this partnerships a success.

We are financed through fundraising and the occasional grant, and the NUH Jimma Link put on many events throughout the year. If you would like to donate you can visit our Just Giving page.

The Nottingham Trent University – Makerere University School of Public Health (NTU-MakSPH) partnership work in Wakiso district for over 10 years has recognised the need for enhanced leadership and management among health managers.

The Global Capacity Building Programme (GCB) aims to facilitate global learning opportunities with NHS partners in/with Low- and Middle- Income Country partners by providing specialist international development expertise, complementing NHS technical knowledge and expediting the positive impact of NHS global programmes. The GCB also supports the development of stronger health systems by promoting Health Partnerships that are aligned to national health priorities and strategies. Given this background, a partnership between NUH and MakSPH was formed, as our team at NUH were keen to contribute to the leadership and management capacity building of health managers in Uganda.

After visiting Uganda and carrying a survey, results revealed that were considerable gaps in leadership and management competencies among health managers, including personnel management, resource allocation and usage, budgeting, and accountability among others. A three-day workshop was delivered by Richard Holder and Russel Pitchford, which addressed the implementation of practical leadership and management skills, communication, computer literacy, gender and social inclusion, conflict resolution and more. As a result of this, some of the main outcomes included:

• Enhanced leadership and management skills among district health managers;
• Documentation of key lessons for the Ministry of Health and other stakeholders to inform sustainability and scale-up to other regions in Uganda.
• Good evidence of increased Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) understanding
• NHS volunteers have gained experience in the capacity of building of the health workforce in a low-income setting that could inform their practice in the UK as part of reverse knowledge innovation.

Wakiso District Health Managers Gain Leadership and Management Skills

Project information — www.thet.org/global-capacity-building-programme/

 

Lead contacts and related stakeholders for the project:

• Prof Linda Gibson, Professor of Global Public Health, NTU
• Dr David Musoke, Senior Lecturer, MakSPH Department of Disease Control and Environmental
• Dr. Richard Holder, Head of Global Health Partnerships, NUH
• Dr. Sarah Byakika, Commissioner of the Department, The Uganda Ministry of Health Department of Planning, Financing and Policy
• Dr. Mathias Lugoloobi, the Wakiso District Health Officer, Wakiso District Local Government Russel Pitchford, General Manager of Medicine, NUH