East Africa has a critical shortage of adequately trained health workers to deliver public health services to populations exposed to dramatic situations, such as HIV infections, maternal mortality and natural and man-made disasters. The minimum required human resource density is estimated at around 2.5 health workers per 1000 inhabitants, and the average is currently only 0.8  per 1000. This lack of human resources is in sharp contrast with the dramatic situation in the East African Countries – especially Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya – where maternal mortality and the number of displaced persons in need of health services due to natural disasters and political instability is high. EAR-HEALTH was designed to contribute to the improvement of the current situation by increasing the knowledge and skills of health workers, particularly in managing decentralised health services and improving public health practices.
 

Concretely, the Project, “The Institutional capacity building through an East African postgraduate teaching programme ‘Public Health’” (EAR-HEALTH), will create an East-African Master’s Program in Public Health, that will deliver post graduate courses on public health priority issues. This will be achieved within an East African university network involving the Muhimbili University College of Health Sciences in Tanzania, Makerere University in Uganda and Moi University in Kenya. The network will benefit from the University of Heidelberg’s strong expertise in the domain.

Developing curricula for the Master’s in Public Health
Following a thorough analysis of the needs in the public health sector in East Africa, EAR-HEALTH partners will jointly define topics to be addressed in a number of short postgraduate courses at East African partner universities. The partners will then jointly outline curricula for at least three new quality-assured short courses of two weeks, offered regularly by each participating university. The courses will be open to students from the partner universities, will be mutually recognised and lead to joint degrees and diplomas.

These will include jointly agreed materials for areas such as Quality Management, Reproductive Health including HIV/AIDS and Health of Displaced People and Refugees. The courses will be implemented in each partner university and advertised to target groups and donors, this also with the purpose of ensuring sustainability (including self-funding). Course fees will initially be covered by the project. However, it is expected that the growing recognition of the courses will ensure the gradual increase of externally financed participants, replacing the EDULINK funds.

Training teachers in modern public health teaching methods

In the next phase of the project, East African partners’ capacities in modern teaching methods will be strengthened through a train-the-teachers programme developed and very successfully implemented by Heidelberg University. This will be further strengthened by co-teaching among the partner institutions. Development of participatory teaching material will further strengthen the partners´ capacity to deliver high quality courses.

Finally, quality assurance mechanisms will be developed and implemented based on the experience of Heidelberg University. These will lead to mutual recognition of short courses at the East African partner institutions.

Enhanced quality of health services
The project’s major impact for the East African Region will be the establishment of a sustainable quality assured teaching network for Public Health. The project will contribute to improving skills of staff of institutions delivering public health related training programmes. It will also boost partner institutions’ academic capacities to conduct research, and enable them to integrate fully an increasingly competitive global market of funds and resources.
 

The project will greatly benefit public health care workers in East Africa, improving professional skills, and increasing their capacities to address major health issues in their respective countries and communities. Ultimately and most importantly, EAR-HEALTH is expected to have a strong impact on the lives of the populations in need of health care. Updating the knowledge and skills of health workers in selected high priority areas, locally relevant, will contribute to an effectively managed health service.