News

At the request of the National AIDS Control Program (CNLS), two IntraHealth International specialists recently assessed the Republic of Congo’s human resources for health and the quality of health care in an initial step to improving Congo’s health care system, which has been overwhelmed by years of conflict and inadequate financial investment. The country’s public and private health facilities have suffered from chronic shortages of health care workers (especially in rural areas); lack of essential drugs, supplies and equipment; shortages of water and electricity; and insufficient management from upper-level health authorities. Too few health care workers are trained in the skills needed to address the population’s health needs, such as HIV prevention and treatment, malaria control and skilled attendance at birth. The population, especially women and children, are extremely vulnerable to illness and death, and the Republic of Congo has very high infant and maternal mortality rates. (More . . . )

Dr. Gerard Ngendahimana will share IntraHealth’s experience in extending HIV/AIDS services through mobile district physicians during a roundtable presentation at the 35th International Conference on Global Health on May 29, in Washington, DC. Ngendahimana is the deputy director of HIV/AIDS and technical services for IntraHealth Rwanda, and has more than 19 years of experience in Rwanda-based HIV/AIDS service delivery, reproductive health services and health policy development. (More . . .)

On February 12, Dr. Kelello Lerotholi, the interim Lesotho Country Director for the Southern Africa Human Capacity Development (SAHCD) Coalition, a project funded by USAID through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, spoke at the 8th Annual Joint Review of the Lesotho Health Sector. Lerotholi’s presentation, "Health Workforce Shortfalls: Challenges and Options of Addressing the Crisis," focused on the numbers of employees in each cadre of the Health and Social Welfare sector. He explored the systemic human resource-related inadequacies in the sector, and then offered suggestions for addressing the issues. (More . . .)