University of Virginia Health System

WHO-UVA Collaborative Partnership

Objective: To develop and maintain partnerships with the World Health Organization (WHO), governments, institutions of higher education, agencies, and organizations in designing a networking system to provide support for capacity building for sustainable health development in Africa and other developing countries.

The University of Virginia has been established as a center of collaborative partnership between a number of governments of developing countries, the World Health Organization (WHO), and academic institutions in order to design a networking system to provide support for global health development. Through this collaborative initiative, health action for each country involved is being reviewed and prioritized to identify appropriate strategies for how the WHO, the international community, and academic institutions can collaborate to ensure sustainable improvement in people's health and social well-being. The focus of this partnership is to promote and improve international health through development of a strong collaborative framework. Priority will be given to how to achieve countries' capacity building, bearing in mind broader national needs such as health sector reform, assessment, and transfer of technology.

In November, 1997, a delegation from the UVASOM and from the WHO traveled to Ghana to meet with officials from the Ministry of Health (MOH), the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Environmental Science and Technology, medical schools and other health professional schools, research institutes, and health care facilities, to further discuss capacity building for sustainable health development which addressed priority areas of need. Four major areas were identified:

According to these four areas of need, and based on the recommendations of the meeting, a technical working group will draft a plan of action and implementation strategy by early1998. Coordinated by the WHO, the technical working group will be responsible for developing concrete project proposals, with corresponding budgets and timelines. These proposals will then serve as the basis for international fund raising.

The Accra meeting represents a further cementing of the partnership between the Ghana MOH, the WHO, and the UVA. This partnership reflects the sharing of international expertise and national values and demonstrates a determination to continually search for new modalities to better meet the overwhelming needs of the people of Ghana. To facilitate this partnership, all partners will work together to see the full involvement of multilateral and bilateral agencies, foundations, non-governmental agencies, and the private sector. Together, the partnership can make a difference.

For more information about the WHO-UVA Collaborative Partnership contact: