Education

What’s So Rosy about Garden City?

Sarah Dwyer — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 17:57:13 +0000

The walls. They’re the first thing you notice when you arrive at Garden City University College, a small school in Kumasi, Ghana. They’re painted a pale mauve. During the magic hour, when the sun’s low and red, the building and everyone in it glows.

The women who lead it. We’d come to document the school’s progress toward its goal of graduating more health workers, and we had hours of interviews lined up. Garden City’s leaders are stepping up to help address the country’s shortage of health workers. Ghana has fewer than half the minimum number of doctors, nurses, and midwives recommended by the World Health Organization to provide adequate access to health care.

So school leaders are using CapacityPlus tools to improve school management and identify cost-effective ways to educate more health workers. And we couldn’t help but notice that many of those leaders we met—from the new acting president to the dean of students—were powerful women who #MakeItHappen.

Author's name:

Carol Bales

Publication Date:

March 2015

Emergency Care Comes into Focus in Ghana

Sarah Dwyer — Fri, 10 Oct 2014 13:24:50 +0000

Dr. Eno Biney is an emergency medicine specialist at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, the second-largest city in Ghana. She’s part of a new cohort of health workers that are changing the way emergency care happens in the country.

See Dr. Eno Biney on the cover of Impact magazine. This issue is all about health workers.

“I chose to specialize in emergency medicine because I realized that it was one of the most lacking specialties in our country,” Eno says. “There wasn’t any form of organized emergency treatment of patients.”

Instead, Ghanaians injured in accidents or suffering from medical, surgical, or obstetric emergencies were rushed to feebly equipped emergency care centers that didn’t have specially trained health workers or triaging systems in place. During her medical training, Eno saw the resulting delays in diagnosis and treatment—and lost lives.

Author's name:

Carol Bales and Gracey Vaughn

Publication Date:

October 2014

Tracking Graduates from Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College: Progress, Benefits, and Challenges

Sarah Dwyer — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 12:37:29 +0000

An exultant white building surrounded by lush gardens, the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College (KCMUCo) gazes at Mount Kilimanjaro, known as “Mama Kili,” with each sunrise. Located in Moshi, Tanzania, the school has been training physicians for over a decade. The first 15 medical doctors graduated in 2002.

While it is still a young institution, KCMUCo has been working hard to address the unmet health care needs of sub-Saharan Africa by increasing the number of health workers and retaining them in Tanzania. Through the support of the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI), the school is focusing on scaling up training, with the number of annual graduates rising to 150 to date. KCMUCo has also updated its programs of study to ensure that medical students are acquiring relevant competencies to provide care for rural and underserved populations.

Author's name:

Rose Mwangi, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College

Publication Date:

September 2014

Health Professional School Leaders Are Critical in National Health Planning and Policies for Emerging Epidemics

Sarah Dwyer — Fri, 12 Sep 2014 17:07:42 +0000

Health professional school leaders must be seen as a vital health sector resource, and used accordingly.

There have been over 4,000 known Ebola cases in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Senegal, resulting in 2,000 deaths. Of this number over 300 health workers have become sick and roughly half have died. There has been a significant immediate funding response from the international community including an initial $21 million investment in protective gear, chlorine bleach, and food aid, and deployment of CDC and USAID personnel, with additional USAID funding totaling $100 million. Further, there are commitments from the World Bank ($230 million) and the African Development Bank ($60 million).

These financial commitments are critical, but as Stephen Morrison of the Global Health Policy Center, Center for Strategic and International Studies, wrote recently, “On the ground, several thousand additional workers capable of implementing emergency disaster programs are needed, and will require protection and expedited training and deployment. These critical elements are needed urgently today, but where will they come from?”

Author's name:

Richard Seifman

Publication Date:

September 2014

What’s the Issue? Not Enough Health Workers in Susan’s Maternity Unit

Carol Bales — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 14:54:28 +0000

When Susan Alio describes what she likes best about her job, a smile spreads across her face and her eyes light up. “When mothers come,” she says softly and swiftly, “and they have a normal birth, they go with their babies, healthy, without any complication, that one gives me joy.” She’s perfectly poised in her crisp white uniform and cap.

Susan obviously loves her job as a midwife at Naguru Hospital in Kampala, Uganda, but it’s not easy. She feels the effects of the global shortage of health workers firsthand, on a daily basis. When she’s asked about her challenges, her big smile fades and her words slow down. “My biggest challenge is usually not enough staffs on the station, because you end up being stretched, and then when you’re stretched you’re not able to deliver at your best,” she explains.

Author's name:

Carol Bales

Publication Date:

April 2013