University of Alabama/Mekelle University ~ Special Initiative

The University of Alabama (UA) and Mekelle University (MU) are bringing together their resources and expertise to develop human capacity in the Ethiopian legal sector by assisting the newly established Mekelle University Law Faculty deliver degree, diploma, and continuing education programs and by providing legal services to the surrounding community. Partners addressed the lack of teaching materials at MU by introducing Westlaw and Lexis— two leading online providers of legal research, news, and business information—and by making UA’s resources available through a connection to the UA library. The MU faculty now has access to new, important articles and publications in their teaching and research fields. A MU law librarian has participated in a two-month internship at the UA law library, where he has learned to train others in Westlaw and LexisNexis. A MU faculty member is participating in a one-year Master of Law program at UA. Visiting UA faculty have conducted lectures on administrative and environmental law, law and anthropology, and family law, and a permanent UA faculty member has begun teaching two courses on constitutional law and legal writing and methodology at MU.

University of Georgia/Unity College ~ Special Initiative

The University of Georgia (UGA) and Unity College have partnered to develop an independent, responsible media in Ethiopia. They are expanding Unity’s curriculum, transferring expertise on journalism instructional techniques, and providing design and technical support to allow the journalism faculty to build a web site that will help students develop journalism skills in the context of web-delivered journalism. Fourteen journalists from Ethiopian Television and three Unity College representatives have attended a workshop that provided media management training and basic newsroom management skills. The workshop was designed to challenge existing practices in Ethiopian Television and to suggest alternatives. Workshop facilitators emphasized the use of existing resources in Ethiopian Television to create a news product that serves the needs of its audiences. UGA faculty have begun offering two short courses on the basics of interviewing for journalists and on design and copywriting for advertising professionals. The partners have developed a workshop on student-centered learning, and design of an Internet journalism course is already underway.

American Association for the Advancement of Science/Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology

This partnership aims to strengthen the role of East African universities in confronting the HIV/AIDS pandemic through curriculum reforms in science and health education and by strengthening the role played by women scientists and educators in these efforts. Eight East African universities conducted a workshop to create a common awareness of the opportunities to reform science education for informed, responsible engagement with HIV/AIDS. Participants presented different models for course change. As a result of the workshop, Moi University has revised a core course taught to all first-year students to incorporate HIV/AIDS as the subject through which they learn skills such as writing and research. Egerton University has modified a third-year zoology course to incorporate HIV/AIDS topics and developed a new “Biology of HIV/AIDS and Society” core course. In addition, seven universities prepared proposals—largely centered on course changes for greater classroom engagement with HIV/AIDS issues—and submitted them to the organization of African Women in Science and Engineering for competitive review. Four of these universities (Kenyatta, Maseno, Egerton, and Sokoine) have won travel grants to participate in the 2002 Science Education for New Civic Engagement and Responsibilities (SENCER) Institute and also have earned startup funds for their projects.

Award Date: 2001
Award Amount: $99,489
Proposed Cost Share: $38,900
Other Funds Leveraged: $6,860
Other Partners: American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), International Women in Science and Engineering (IWISE), CIGAR, African Women in Science and Engineering (AWSE), University of Nairobi (Kenya), Moi University (Kenya), Kenyatta University (Kenya), Egerton University (Kenya), Maseno University (Kenya), Sokoine University (Tanzania), Makerere University (Uganda)

Indiana University/Moi University

Indiana University and Moi University Faculty of Health Sciences (MUFHS) are building capacity to more effectively manage HIV/AIDS in Kenya by improving medical school education, health care delivery, and research. MUFHS has enhanced the curriculum of its community-based education and service program (COBES) to include objectives related to HIV/AIDS and has adjusted the curriculum to focus on HIV/AIDS acquisition and management, HIV risk reduction, communication skills about sexuality and decision making, and counseling for testing and prenatal HIV prophylaxis. MUFHS faculty have trained 221 health profession students under this new curriculum. First-year COBES students have given health education lectures at several secondary schools. Second-year COBES students have designed and administered survey instruments in some rural communities to assess HIV-related knowledge and behaviors, and have participated with their faculty mentors in establishing a program to interrupt vertical transmission of HIV in one rural community. MUFHS has established a laboratory capable of diagnosing sexually transmitted diseases, and one lab technician has received training. The university has trained three nurses and one clinical officer to provide HIV services at MTRH and MRHTC. Both sites host HIV treatment clinics, including an electronic medical record system.

Award Date: 2001
Award Amount: $99,739
Proposed Cost Share: $194,579
Other Funds Leveraged: $1,093,800
Other Partners: Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), Mosoriot Rural Health Training Center (MRHTC)

West Virginia University/Catholic University of Mozambique

This partnership seeks to build capacity in health education and health care at the Catholic University of Mozambique (UCM) for the rural populations of central Mozambique. The partners conducted two week-long workshops at UCM’s Beira campus in fall 2001 focusing on web design and maintenance as well as computer networking. Ten UCM representatives from four different campuses participated in the first workshop, and five computer center staff members participated in the second. The partners have selected 16 rural health clinics for development. Each site will host a computer lab with Internet capability for communication with the UCM Medical School and for distance education. A month-long Rural Public Health course was developed and conducted in May 2002 for 30 first-year medical students and will be taught to first- and second-year students in 2003. As part of a collaborative effort with the Sofala Province Health Directorate, the partnership is cosponsoring a community health project with a focus on maternal and child health, nutrition, HIV/AIDS education, and prevention for collection and analysis of health data.

Award Date: 2001
Award Amount: $99,774
Proposed Cost Share: $65,920
Other Funds Leveraged: $15,178
Other Partners: John Pearson, M.D., and David Walker, Ph.D.