PLoS Medicine
http://www.plosmedicine.org/
(Accessed 20 June 2015)

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Policy Forum
Maximizing the Impact of Training Initiatives for Health Professionals in Low-Income Countries: Frameworks, Challenges, and Best Practices
Corrado Cancedda, Paul E. Farmer, Vanessa Kerry, Tej Nuthulaganti, Kirstin W. Scott, Eric Goosby, Agnes Binagwaho
June 16, 2015
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001840
Summary Points
:: Historically, the impact of many health professional training initiatives in low-income countries has been limited by narrow focus on a small set of diseases, inefficient utilization of donor funding, inadequate scale up, insufficient emphasis on the acquisition of practical skills, poor alignment with local priorities, and lack of coordination.
:: Fortunately, several innovative training initiatives have emerged over the past five years in sub-Saharan Africa. This articles focuses on four initiatives funded by the United States government: the Medical Education Training Partnership Initiative (MEPI), the Nursing Training Partnership Initiative (NEPI), the Rwanda Human Resources for Health Program (HRH Program), and the Global Health Service Partnership (GHSP).
:: The best practices adopted by these initiatives are: alignment to local priorities, country ownership, competency-based training, institutional capacity building, and the establishment of long-lasting partnerships with international stakeholders,
:: Based on these best practices, we outline a framework for health professional training initiatives that can help better address the health workforce shortage in low-income countries.