First "Leaders in Health–Namibia" Educational Series Concludes

    — Professor Lazarus Hangula, Vice Chancellor, University of Namibia

In late June, I-TECH instructors and 13 leaders from across the Namibian health sector, including the Ministry of Health and Social Services, the Ministry of Defense, and the University of Namibia, gathered on the beautiful Midgard Estate near Okahandja, Namibia. The group was there to complete the final phase of the Leaders in Health–Namibia workshop series.

The 13 participants have been working for the past several months on a sustained program of classroom instruction, including two 3-day workshops held in Namibia to begin and end the series. In addition, the leaders attended a graduate level course, "Global Program Management & Evaluation,” that was broadcast via distance learning technology from the University of Washington, in Seattle. All  have identified the intensive program, which includes over 65 classroom hours of training and another 8 in homework assignments, as an important personal and professional investment. “I would like to have everybody attend this workshop,” said one enthusiastic participant, “—roll it out worldwide!”

The series is designed to strengthen Namibian health care systems through a curriculum targeting values-based leadership and management competencies. It is one component of the extensive partnership between I-TECH Namibia and the University of Namibia, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Global AIDS Program (CDC GAP).

During the final session, participants studied program and project management, health policy and advocacy, and leadership practices. Each leader also arrived with a completed digital story: a selection of five original photographs that captured his or her core values or described a public health leadership issue of deep personal relevance. The stories, insightful and moving, allowed participants to identify strengths and build upon their personal experience with public health leadership.

“Our first cohort of leaders for this course were senior professionals who were generous in sharing their experience and wisdom with others,” says I-TECH Executive Director Ann Downer, an instructor for the course. “The graduation ceremony was a celebration of our collective belief that good leadership leads to better institutions and, ultimately, to better health and education services for Namibia.” Other instructors included University of Washington Department of Global Health (UW DGH) faculty Aaron Katz, Anita Verna Crofts, and Lee Pyne-Mercier. Noah Derman, a UW DGH 2010 graduate, conducted the workshop evaluation.

During the closing graduation ceremony, participants and instructors gathered to hear remarks from University of Namibia Vice Chancellor, Lazarus Hangula; Col. Bernadette Lita, Chief Pharmacist of the Ministry of Defense; Acting Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health and Social Services, Mrs. Magdaleena Nghatanga; and Dr. Downer. Dr. Lischen Haoses-Gorases, Dean of the University of Namibia School of Nursing and Public Health, served as the Master of Ceremonies.

All of the speakers warmly commended the inaugural cohort of participants and expressed deep appreciation and keen support for the continued strength of the I-TECH and University of Namibia partnership. I-TECH received a formal request to repeat the course with a new cohort.

In his remarks, Vice Chancellor Hangula echoed the sentiments of the group when he encouraged the participants to pass on what they have learned to their institutions and teams. “This is a partnership of companions, and it is our bond of friendship that makes Seattle so close to Windhoek,” he said.