Health Professional Training and Capacity Strengthening Through International Academic Partnerships: The First Five Years of the Human Resources for Health Program in Rwanda

Abstract Background: The Rwanda Human Resources for Health Program (HRH Program) is a 7-year (2012-2019) health professional training initiative led by the Government of Rwanda with the goals of training a large, diverse, and competent health workforce and strengthening the capacity of academic institutions in Rwanda. Methods: The data for this organizational case study was collected through official reports from the Rwanda Ministry of Health (MoH) and 22 participating US academic institutions, databases from the MoH and the College of Medicine and Health Sciences (CMHS) in Rwanda, and surveys completed by the co-authors. Results: In the first 5 years of the HRH Program, a consortium of US academic institutions has deployed an average of 99 visiting faculty per year to support 22 training programs, which are on track to graduate almost 4600 students by 2019. The HRH Program has also built capacity within the CMHS by promoting the recruitment of Rwandan faculty and the establishment of additional partnerships and collaborations with the US academic institutions. Conclusion: The milestones achieved by the HRH Program have been substantial although some challenges persist. These challenges include adequately supporting the visiting faculty; pairing them with Rwandan faculty (twinning); ensuring strong communication and coordination among stakeholders; addressing mismatches in priorities between donors and implementers; the execution of a sustainability strategy; and the decision by one of the donors not to renew funding beyond March 2017. Over the next 2 academic years, it is critical for the sustainability of the 22 training programs supported by the HRH Program that the health-related Schools at the CMHS significantly scale up recruitment of new Rwandan faculty. The HRH Program can serve as a model for other training initiatives implemented in countries affected by a severe shortage of health professionals

Building the institutional capacity for sustainable global health nursing partnerships: a case study

Background: Globally, nursing is the largest health profession. Nurses provide crucially important health services in both acute and primary health-care settings around the world. Building the capacity of nurses to address global health challenges—particularly in resource-constrained settings—is a key element of health systems strengthening. North–South global partnerships between sister schools of nursing can contribute to building the capacity of nurses on both sides of the partnership. We developed a strategy to build institutional capacity for global health at the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) and aimed to identify key elements of success. Methods: We used a case study approach to identify and analyse the key elements in the successful implementation of UMSON's 6-year global health strategic plan to build institutional capacity for programmatic partnerships with nursing schools in Nigeria, Liberia, Rwanda, and Haiti, and faculty and student exchange programmes with schools of nursing in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Findings: Four crucial elements were identified in successful programme implementation: (1) strong advocacy for global health by student and faculty organisations within UMSON and the University of Maryland Baltimore; (2) integration of global health into the School of Nursing's overall strategic plan; (3) establishment of the Office of Global Health to provide core institutional agency to leverage resources; and (4) development of strong partnerships with nursing schools in Africa, the Caribbean, Asia, and the Middle East, which includes faculty and student exchange programmes and long-term programmatic collaborations that focus on nursing capacity development. Interpretation: The implementation of UMSON's strategic plan for global health has provided a sustainable institutional framework that supports the development of partnerships with other schools of nursing in several countries worldwide. These partnerships have provided mutually beneficial educational experiences for nursing students and faculty from both UMSON and our sister schools of nursing. These partnerships have also contributed to continuing changes in nursing education and practice at home and abroad. Funding: None