Increasing leadership capacity for HIV/AIDS programmes by strengthening public health epidemiology and management training in Zimbabwe.
BACKGROUND
Increased funding for global human immunodeficiency virus prevention and control in developing countries has created both a challenge and an opportunity for achieving long-term global health goals. This paper describes a programme in Zimbabwe aimed at responding more effectively to the HIV/AIDS epidemic by reinforcing a critical competence-based training institution and producing public health leaders.


METHODS
The programme used new HIV/AIDS programme-specific funds to build on the assets of a local education institution to strengthen and expand the general public health leadership capacity in Zimbabwe, simultaneously ensuring that they were trained in HIV interventions.


RESULTS
The programme increased both numbers of graduates and retention of faculty. The expanded HIV/AIDS curriculum was associated with a substantial increase in trainee projects related to HIV. The increased number of public health professionals has led to a number of practically trained persons working in public health leadership positions in the ministry, including in HIV/AIDS programmes.


CONCLUSIONS
Investment of a modest proportion of new HIV/AIDS resources in targeted public health leadership training programmes can assist in building capacity to lead and manage national HIV and other public health programmes.
Jones
Donna S
DS
Division of Global Public Health Capacity Development, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. doj3@cdc.gov
Tshimanga
Mufuta
M
Woelk
Godfrey
G
Nsubuga
Peter
P
Sunderland
Nadine L
NL
Hader
Shannon L
SL
St Louis
Michael E
ME