During a World Health Assembly side meeting on May 20, I joined U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, and leaders from across Africa to highlight the contributions the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) is making in meeting the priorities of national ministries of health.
In 2010, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) embarked on this bold new initiative — MEPI — to build sustainability through funding commitments, support, and integration with national health efforts including national Human Resources for Health Strategies and Implementation Plans. There is a critical need for improved human resources for health capacities, both in terms of absolute numbers of those delivering services and the quality of their preparation to do so. Therefore, in collaboration with partner governments, PEPFAR, the Fogarty International Center at the National Institutes of Health, and the Health Resources Services Administration committed to investing $130 million to strengthen medical educational capacity in sub-Saharan Africa. MORE