CIET/McGill Family Medicine training for government planners and researchers in Southern Africa

CIET/McGill Family Medicine training for government planners and researchers in Southern Africa

A group of 25 planners and researchers from 14 SADC member states attended a three week intensive course in Gaborone, Botswana, from 13-30 April 2015. The member states included Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. CIET faculty from Family Medicine at McGill, as well as from Botswana, Mexico and Zambia, taught the course, under a grant from the SADC HIV and AIDS Fund. This teaching block followed on from a three week block in September 2014, adding further concepts and covering practical application of concepts previously introduced. Four streams made up the content: foundations of epidemiology in primary health care, basic analysis of health data, participatory research, and knowledge translation and exchange in primary health care.  During the course, the 12 female and 13 male participants, nominated by their national AIDS authorities, learned about relevant concepts and applied them to their own contexts.

The two teaching blocks together offer successful participants a 12 credit Certificate in Primary Health Care Planning and Management from the department of Family Medicine at McGill.