Johns Hopkins and Makerere University to collaborate on African health education ...( The Johns Hopkins University has rec...),Health

The Johns Hopkins University has received a $4.97 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to undertake the initial phase of a unique program aimed at improving health outcomes in Uganda and East Africa, in coordination with the Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health, and the Makerere University College of Health Sciences in Kampala, Uganda. As part of the initiative, the faculties of medicine, nursing, and public health at both schools will develop an institution-building relationship to further extend the educational capacity of Makerere University, Uganda's largest university.

The funding will support a two-year needs assessment and strategic planning process to define the goals and objectives of a 10-year institution-building initiative between the two universities. The project will be led by David Peters, MD, DrPH, an associate professor in the Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and George Pariyo, MBChB, PhD, head of the Department of Health Policy, Planning, and Management at the Makerere University School of Public Health.

The first phase of this project will focus on aligning Makerere's educational and research capacity with Uganda's national health goals and priorities, as well as identifying strategies to ensure long-term sustainability of the university's efforts to address evolving health priorities and health manpower needs.

The project will also develop and test effective teaching, research, and practice strategies for Makerere and its partners. Existing strategies for placement of health practitioners and delivery of health services will be revised, and new strategies for life-saving services will be evaluated, with a focus on translating research into policy implementation.

"We see this project as a major stepping stone," Peters stated, "to ensure that Makerere will be the hub for capacity building and influencing the health sector to improv
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