Sustainable Management Development Program: celebrating 20 years of strengthening public health systems globally through effective leadership and management

To build a strong health infrastructure and improve public health outcomes, ministries of health require capable leadership, organizational management, and technical expertise to implement targeted and effective health programs. Without these assets in place, many important global health initiatives fall short of their goals. In 1992, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) established the Sustainable Management Development Program (SMDP) to assist leaders in low-and middle-resource countries in strengthening their health management systems. For the past two decades, SMDP has been successful in helping countries assess their management capabilities, create more efficient use of resources, and advance the use of evidence-based, practical management and leadership tools and approaches to improve accountability and organizational performance. SMDP's initiatives have been effective in building workforce management competencies for epidemiology, laboratory management, surveillance, and outbreak response. As SMDP's leadership and staff reflect on the past, and look towards the future, their goal is to continue to work collaboratively with ministries of health and other partners to develop leaders and managers with the expertise to manage wisely, improve organizational performance, and leverage investments to ensure that return on public health investment is significant.SMDP framework -- Highlights of SMDP's global health accomplishments (1992-2012) -- SMDP capabilities -- Highlights of SMDP in action across the globe 1992-2012.3/20/13 date from document properties."CS237087."Available via the World Wide Web as an Acrobat .pdf file (13.8 MB, 16 p.)