Background

The HIV/AIDS epidemic has become a point of important political concern for governments especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Clinical and public health interventions to curb the epidemic can be greatly enhanced with the strategic support of political leaders.

Objective

We analyzed the role of national political leadership in large-scale HIV/AIDS communications campaigns in 14 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Methods

We primarily reviewed grey and white literature published from 2005-2014. We further triangulated data from in-person and phone interviews with key public health figures.

Results

A number of themes emerged supporting political leaders' efforts toward HIV/AIDS program improvement, including direct involvement of public officials in campaign spearheading, the acknowledgment of personal relationship to the HIV epidemic, and public testing and disclosure of HIV status. Areas for future improvement were also identified, including the need for more directed messaging, increased transparency both nationally and internationally and the reduction of stigmatizing messaging from leaders.

Conclusions

The political system has a large role to play within the healthcare system, particularly for HIV/AIDS. This partnership between politics and the health must continue to strengthen and be leveraged to effect major change in behaviors and attitudes across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Background/purpose

There has been increasing recognition of the disparities in surgical care throughout the world. Increasingly, efforts are being made to improve local infrastructure and training of surgeons in low-income settings. The purpose of this study was to review the first 5-years of a global academic pediatric general surgery partnership between UCLA and the Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo, Mozambique.

Methods

A mixed-methods approach was utilized to perform an ongoing needs assessment. A retrospective review of admission and operative logbooks was performed. Partnership activities were summarized.

Results

The needs assessment identified several challenges including limited operative time, personnel, equipment, and resources. Review of logbooks identified a high frequency of burn admissions and colorectal procedures. Partnership activities focused on providing educational resources, on-site proctoring, training opportunities, and research collaboration.

Conclusion

This study highlights the spectrum of disease and operative case volume of a referral center for general pediatric surgery in sub-Saharan Africa, and it provides a context for academic partnership activities to facilitate training and improve the quality of pediatric general surgical care in limited-resource settings.

Level of evidence

Level IV.