During a recent visit to a district hospital in the Vientiane municipality of Lao People’s Democratic Republic, I was once again reminded of the critical influence effective leadership has in strengthening health workforce productivity.
Since the region’s development of its strategic action plan, Vision 2009, the hospital director has taken implementation of his hospital’s plan to provide quality health care very seriously. This was especially evident in the productivity gains that he recounted to our visiting team: from 2006 to 2012, outpatient visits increased from 6,000 to 16,000 per year while institutional deliveries rose from 85 to 250. Read more »
I’m afraid of snakes. It’s such a clichéd fear that I’m a little ashamed to admit it, but there it is. Hiking on a steep and winding trail recently, I turned a corner and almost stomped on a giant snake. I shudder to think what would have happened if I hadn’t seen it at the last second.
Last week, the 
