South-south collaboration in scale-up of HIV care: building human capacity for care

Abstract

Objectives: South-south collaborations in building human resource capacity have been inadequately emphasized globally despite the growing experience among resource-poor countries in scaling up HIV care and the funding to implement programmes. This paper aims to describe one such successful collaboration, in which a model of HIV care was developed in Haiti, adapted and expanded to Lesotho, and allowed the effective scale-up of HIV and other treatment services in a rural African setting.

Methods: Institutional experiences and lessons learned over a 10-year period in Haiti and a 3-year period in Lesotho are discussed.

Results: The Haiti-Lesotho collaborative model shows that human resource capacity can be built using creative partnerships and exchanges between developing countries, particularly with financial support from the north. The collaboration allows for the sharing of experiences and solutions through perspectives and experiences that are unique to developing countries. Healthcare workers in Haiti and Lesotho have established meaningful and fruitful cross-country working relationships, job satisfaction and retention has been improved and a sense of solidarity developed. The model of care developed in Haiti was successfully adapted, replicated and implemented in Lesotho.

Conclusion: South-south collaborations are an important way for countries with established experience managing HIV in resource-poor settings to share their skills in a collaborative fashion with other nations facing similar disease problems and infrastructural challenges. This model for scaling up effective practice should be encouraged and supported by programme funders.