South–south collaboration in scale-up of HIV care: building human capacity for care

Abstract

Objective South-South collaborations in building human resource capacity have been inadequately emphasized globally despite the growing experience among resource poor countries in scaling up HIV care and the funding to implement programs. This paper aims to describe one such successful collaboration, where a model of HIV care was developed in Haiti, adapted and expanded to Lesotho and allowed the effective scale up of HIV and other treatment services in a rural African setting. Methods Institutional experiences and lessons learned over a ten year period in Haiti and three year period in Lesotho are discussed. Results The Haiti-Lesotho collaborative model shows that human resource capacity can be built using creative partnerships and exchanges between developing countries, particularly with financial support from the North. The collaboration allows for the sharing of experiences and solutions through perspectives and experiences that are unique to developing countries. Healthcare workers in Haiti and Lesotho have established meaningful and fruitful cross-country working relationships, job satisfaction and retention has been improved and a sense of solidarity developed. The model of care developed in Haiti was successfully adapted, replicated and implemented in Lesotho. Conclusion South-South collaborations are an important way for countries with established experience managing HIV in resource-poor settings to share their skills in a collaborative fashion with other nations facing similar disease problems and infrastructural challenges. This model for scaling up effective practice should be encouraged and supported by program funders.

Perceived acceptability of home-based couples voluntary HIV counseling and testing in Northern Tanzania

“…Home counseling and testing was viewed by most participants as an opportunity to increase confidentiality, however, finding a convenient place where privacy can be secured may provide a challenge in some homes. The use of local lay counselors, suggested as a strategy to expand testing outreach and promote sustainability in resource-limited settings (Baiden et al, 2007; Ganguli et al, 2009; Ivers et al, 2010), could result in concerns about confidentiality and may represent a barrier to uptake of HBCCT (April et al, 2009; Ganguli et al, 2009; UNAIDS, 2009). It may be more appropriate to use trained counselors from other geographical locations (Helleringer et al, 2009), though it is not clear that such measures are sufficient (Ostermann et al, 2011).…”

Lay Health Workers and HIV Care in Rural Lesotho: A Report from the Field

“…24 The goal of this program was to increase access to HIV care and treatment in rural Lesotho. The program focused on seven mountain clinics located in among the most remote, mountainous areas of Lesotho.…”

The International Dimension of the Brazilian Higher Education System Through the Prism of South-South Cooperation

“…Unfortunately, there are still only a few multi-country collaborations where countries in the South work together, mainly in relation to health systems (Osama, 2008). This is despite the fact that many practitioners in less developed countries would be uniquely placed to assist scale-up efforts in other low-income countries with similar cultures and challenges (Ivers et al, 2010).…”