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Volunteer Program to Support MC Scale Up in Swaziland

Presented by: AYANDA NQEKETO National MC Coordinator Swaziland, Ministry of Health . Volunteer Program to Support MC Scale Up in Swaziland. Volunteer Program Background. Swaziland has a severe shortage of skilled human resources for health

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Volunteer Program to Support MC Scale Up in Swaziland

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  1. Presented by: AYANDA NQEKETO National MC Coordinator Swaziland, Ministry of Health Volunteer Program to Support MC Scale Up in Swaziland Ministry of Health, Swaziland

  2. Volunteer Program Background • Swaziland has a severe shortage of skilled human resources for health • Just over 100 registered doctors are currently in practice • Swaziland does not have a medical school • Currently only doctors are permitted to perform MC • Accelerated Saturation Initiative (ASI) target is 161, 291 adult MCs; Swaziland cannot meet the need with existing staff • Solution – augment existing staff with qualified expatriate volunteer doctors and nurses Ministry of Health, Swaziland

  3. MC Volunteer Program Description • Developed a strategy for selection, registration, placement, and post-placement assessment of international volunteer doctors and nurses • Volunteers are provided with airfare, visas, accommodation, local transportation, malpractice insurance coverage, a mobile phone, and a standard daily stipend Ministry of Health, Swaziland

  4. MC Volunteer Program Partnerships • Swaziland MOH and MC Task Force • USG/PEPFAR Swaziland • USG/PEPFAR USA • Jhpiego • WHO • UNAIDS • PSI • The American Urological Association (AUA) • International Volunteers in Urology (IVUmed) • Ethiopia Surgical Society • Nyanza Reproductive Health Society and Kenya MOH • And growing… Ministry of Health, Swaziland

  5. AUA and IVUMed Volunteers

  6. MC Volunteer Program • Volunteer Pilot Mission: 21 April to 30 April • 3 urologists from the AUA plus 1 urology resident from IVUmed • Placed at Litsemba Letfu Men’s Clinic, FLAS Manzini, Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) Hospital • Collaboration with “Back to School” MC Initiative • 253 MCs performed Ministry of Health, Swaziland

  7. MC Volunteer Program, cont. • Volunteer Mission 2: 25 May to 11 June • 3 surgeons from the Surgical Society of Ethiopia (SSE) • 6 nurses from NRHS in Kenya • Placed at 3 mission or public sector hospitals: RFM, Mankayane Hospital, and Pigg’s Peak Hospital • 285 MCs conducted as of 7 June

  8. MC Volunteer Program Successes, continued…. • Assessed capacity of public, NGO and mission hospitals and clinics to host volunteers. • Selected sites based on their existing readiness to scale-up MC for HIV Prevention services • PSI developed demand generation plans specific to each site • “Locum” nurses recruited and contracted to support volunteers • Oriented all volunteers • Procured additional MC supplies • Registered with Medical and Nursing Council • Included all volunteers on malpractice insurance policy Ministry of Health, Swaziland

  9. MC Volunteer Program, Challenges and Lessons Learned • MC volunteer doctors need sufficient nursing support and counselors • Demand creation is essential; it has been challenging to generate demand in public sector since MC program started in NGO sector • Manage client and provider expectations in shifting from sleeve to forceps guided method • Existing policies prevented volunteer nurses from being fully utilized (no task shifting) • Operational systems must also be piloted place prior to full-scale implementation Ministry of Health, Swaziland

  10. MC Volunteer Program, Way Forward • Build new partnerships to source international volunteer nurses and doctors • Streamline the registration processes • Maximize the use of Swazi-national staff including unemployed expatriate nurses • Prior to deployment, assess skills of volunteers and provide remediation if necessary (to date all MC volunteers have been hand-picked but this is not scalable) Ministry of Health, Swaziland

  11. Thanks to… • Ministry of Health • National MC Task Force • USG/PEPFAR • Jhpiego • WHO/UNAIDS • MC partners in Swaziland • Communities in Swaziland For their technical, programmatic and financial support Ministry of Health, Swaziland

  12. Thank You Ministry of Health, Swaziland

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