In The News

Accordia Global Health Foundation and the Infectious Diseases Institute Co-Host Summit on Building Healthcare Leadership in Africa

April 20, 2009: Accordia Global Health Foundation and the Infectious Diseases Institute are co-hosting the second annual Accordia Infectious Diseases Summit, a major conference in Kampala that begins today and continues through tomorrow.  The invitation-only event brings together global leaders in academia, government, NGOs, and industry.  At this year’s Summit, titled “Building Healthcare Leadership in Africa,” they will focus on ways to build a strong and sustainable healthcare leadership infrastructure in Africa.  Almost 100 representatives from more than 21 countries are attending.   

            The conference will include personal perspectives from students, faculty, and patient advocates about their own experiences in building leadership and management competencies.  It will be informed by respected thought-leaders who will address the opportunities and challenges related to developing individual, institutional, and networked leadership capability in public health.  It will examine successful leadership development programs, and consider the importance of collaborative leadership across nations, regions, and the African continent.

            Among the many presenters and panelists at the Infectious Diseases Summit will be:

• Ugandan First Lady, MP, and Minister of State for Karamoja, the Hon. Janet Museveni, who has been a leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Uganda;

• the Mayo Clinic’s Dr. Joseph C. Kolars, an expert in building educational systems that will develop human resource capacity to transform health;

• Dr. Nelson Sewankambo, Principal of Makerere University’s College of Health Science and vice president of Accordia Global Health Foundation, who was a major force in the establishment and growth of the Infectious Diseases Institute in Kampala;

• Dr. Joseph F. O’Neill of the African Palliative Care Association, who, when serving as the director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, spearheaded the development of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR);

• Dr. Stephen Watiti, the faith based liaison officer at the Mildmay Centre in Uganda and an HIV/AIDS Champion/Consultant with the Tear Fund;

• Mr. Joseph Dwyer, director of the Management and Leadership Program at Management Sciences for Health, who has 28 years of experience in developing, managing, implementing, and advising health programs;

• Dr. Ernest Darkoh, chairman and founding partner of BroadReach Healthcare, who was recently voted by Time magazine as one of 18 Global Health Heros and selected by the World Economic Forum as one of the Young Global Leaders for 2006;

• Prudence Mabele, founder and executive director of the Positive Women’s Network, a well known and respected advocate for people living with HIV/AIDS who has been instrumental in the formation of the South Africa branch of the Society for Women and AIDS in Africa (SWAA).

• Prof. Philippa Easterbrook of Kings College, London, whose recent research has focused on the HIV epidemic in the African and Caribbean communities in the UK, HIV Immune Reconstitution Syndrome, and operational challenges to the global rollout of antiretroviral therapy;

• Dr. Warner C. Greene, the founding director of the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology and president of Accordia Global Health Foundation, who has been recognized as one of the 100 most-cited scientists in the world; and

• Dr. Peter Ngatia, director for capacity building for the African Medical and Research Foundation in Nairobi, whose expertise in health development has been a resource to regional ministries of health, the World Bank, EU, UNESCO, WHO, universities throughout Africa and in Europe, and to several international development agencies.

(Click here for a full agenda.)

            The conference will conclude with a call to action urging governments, multilateral organizations, universities, NGOs, foundations, and the private sector to invest in building leadership capacity in Africa’s healthcare system, through individuals, institutions, and networks. 

            In June, Accordia Global Health Foundation will publish a report informed by the Infectious Diseases Summit that includes a summary of the three summit tracks and explores ways in which their interconnectivity could drive unique opportunities to expand the impact of healthcare leadership in Africa.

#  #  #

Accordia Global Health Foundation is a Washington-based nonprofit organization that works to build Africa ’s capacity to fight infectious disease through training, research, care, and prevention.

The Infectious Diseases Institute is a preeminent center in sub-Saharan Africa for infectious disease training, treatment, and research within Uganda 's Makerere University .