16th Meeting of Senior Fellowships Officers of the ... - Development

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16th Meeting of Senior Fellowships Officers of the United Nations System and Host Country Agencies
83. Speaking about the added value of South-South cooperation, Dr. Gbary highlighted
first and foremost the comparable social and economic environment among African
countries, namely, the level of medical technology, the working conditions and the
ease of fellows to readapt upon return home. In addition, the placement of fellows
from the South in the South provided the training institutions with the opportunity
to network and exchange teachers as well as students among themselves. Referring to
the training of fellows in the Northern hemisphere, he could not fail to mention that
some fellows chose not to return due to difficulties in readapting to the living and
working conditions in their home countries.
84. However, the placement of fellows in the South was not a smooth process. Despite
the apparent successes, WHO had experienced considerable hardships. Often, information
on entry requirements was incomplete and unexpected changes in conditions
were accompanied by requests for extensions. The duration of studies in some instances
became very lengthy and costly. This put serious financial constraints on the already
limited country budgets. Furthermore, some institutions were very slow in responding.
Fellowship evaluation was not a common practice in African institutions. In some
countries there was social unrest which led to the evacuation of the fellows.
85. In order to cope with these difficulties, Dr. Gbary underlined the need to establish a
roster of training institutions in the South, to focus mainly on the centers of excellence
and to organize regular visits to host institutions in order to make sure that their programmes
meet the required standards. Additionally, institutions should be supported
to evaluate themselves from time to time and WHO should help to enhance bilateral
agreements between countries.
86. In his conclusion Dr. Gbary reiterated the significance of fellowships programmes
for developing countries. He called on all actors involved to strengthen such programmes
by increasing the effectiveness and efficiency. This would ensure that the
investment in South-South cooperation would have a high return, with fellows going
back to their home countries well trained and ready to deliver quality health services
to the African people.
87. The issues that Dr. Gbary tackled in his presentation as well as the figures he provided
set the stage for further discussions among the participants. Dr Gurirab noticed an uneven
distribution of fellows across the African continent with a heavier concentration in
Northern Africa and a less tangible presence in Central, Eastern and Southern Africa.
Dr. Gbary specified that WHO/AFRO had five regional training centers in Africa. They
were located in Togo, Benin, Senegal for Health Management; in Angola for Nursery
and Midwifery and in Mozambique for Public Health. As regards Western Africa, there
was an apparent lack of progress in the establishment of training facilities in public
health and other specialties.
88. Mr. Thierry Coppin from the Belgian Technical Cooperation requested further clarification
on the academic criteria which WHO applied in the selection of training insti-