Improving Public Health to Combat Infectious Diseases: A Regional Project for Africa

March 29 - April 2, 2016

About Africa

Africa has faced many health challenges, however, it has seen major improvements in the past decade. In 2004, one of the biggest health centers was opened in Uganda. It not only focused on treating over 300 HIV/Aids cases a day, but also strived to train doctors [1]. One of the biggest issues is the shortage of healthcare workers. In some cases, there has been only two doctors to 10,000 patients. Programs have been made to focus on shorter training periods/effectiveness and staff retention. The communication sector in Africa has seen rapid growth, however, which enables health care providers to stay up to date on the latest and most effective medicines and technology. Improving the infrastructure to help reach rural areas is also a focus as these places often times suffer the most. Overall, health improvements have been noted as malaria cases have decreased by 40% and the cases of HIV have also fallen [2].

About the Program

The IVLP is a professional exchange program that seeks to build mutual understanding between the U.S. and other nations through carefully designed short-term visits to the U.S. for current and emerging foreign leaders. Over the last 70 years, the IVLP has developed into the premier professional exchange program in the U.S. and brings over 200 emerging leaders to Jacksonville every year.

[1] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3760550.stm

[2] http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/joseph-jimenez/improving-healthcare-in-africa_b_1627741.html