Heart to Heart International (HHI) is proud to be a long-standing partner in the Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (PHIA) Fellowship Program. This commitment to building laboratory capacity in Africa was recently reaffirmed at a week-long retreat held in Kigali, Rwanda, and led by CDC-Atlanta.
Tena Tiruneh, our Laboratory Program Director, and Alexa Voller, Lab Program Coordinator, joined sixteen laboratory technologist fellows from HHI at this week-long event. Representing nine African countries, these fellows had the valuable opportunity to share knowledge, experiences and best practices for conducting nationally representative household surveys to assess the current status of the HIV epidemic in the most-affected countries in Africa.
Fellows at this retreat also gained valuable insights into cutting-edge HIV testing methodologies. Additionally, they participated in a unique session reviewing survey protocols for upcoming activities in Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This exceptional learning experience, unique to the PHIA fellowship, will undoubtedly shape their professional growth and future success.
HHI’s dedication to the PHIA fellowship program goes back to 2016. Over the past eight years, we’ve had the privilege of supporting 53 laboratory technologists from 16 countries. This year alone, HHI is managing 16 fellows conducting surveys in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria. These ongoing efforts highlight the program’s long-term impact and commitment to building sustainable laboratory capacity across Africa.
We at Heart to Heart International are proud to play a role in this vital program and look forward to the continued success of our PHIA fellows.
