USAID Trains Participant on HIV/AIDS Skills. 11/1/11
USAID-funded Program to build leadership and accountability in Nigeria's health system
By Ruby Leo
11 January 2011
PLAN-Health - the USAID-funded Program to build leadership and accountability in Nigeria's health system, in its bid to improve the way and manner HIV/AIDS victims are treated in states, has called on health workers to be more humane in handling persons living with the virus.
PLAN-Health is a Management Sciences for Health (MSH) Project and the workshop aimed to build leadership and management skills, using MSH time-tested tools and practices in leadership development for improved health systems.
This approach was particularly helpful for the wide array of partners, clarifying and consolidating their visions into a common shared one, and facilitating the development of individual yet linked Action Plans to support the implementation of HIV/AIDS work in Gombe State.
Dr. Umar, GomSACA Program Manager expressed his pleasure with MSH for presenting "a simplified easy to follow leadership development model, which is in contrast with other leadership models.'
A participant, Anams Elisha of Kaltungu SACA stated: 'I have learnt a lot, especially how to achieve our targets in terms of vision and mission."
His counterpart Aminu Abubakar from Gombe LACA concurs: "I have learnt that it's not everything you want to do in your community that you need money for - there are so many things you can do with your staff without expending a kobo."
By its conclusion, participants felt empowered and committed to building synergy for improving the range and quality of HIV/AIDS services in the state.
The workshop was attended by 35 participants from the Gombe State Ministry of Health, the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, NACA, the Gombe State Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS, GomSACA, seven Gombe Local Government Action Committees on AIDS, LACAs, the National AIDS and STI Control Program, NASCP, the Civil Society for HIV/AIDS in Nigeria network, CiSHAN, and the National Youth Network on HIV/AIDS, Population and Development, NYNETHA.