Over the past two decades, there has been a rapid growth in the civil society sector, with many organizations coming up to complement public sector efforts in responding to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The public sector has also expanded rapidly through decentralized health service delivery and the emergence of new districts as government attempts to bring services closer to where they are needed. These developments have increased the demand for leaders throughout the country. However, development in leadership and management skills has lagged behind and this to a large measure accounts for the escalation of cases of mismanagement, lack of creativity and initiatives, lack of clarity of vision, and an overall environment of uncertainty within both public and private organizations. Leadership development opportunities are lacking in both pre and in-service settings. Training institutions in Uganda produce graduates with academic credentials but with no leadership skills to that are ideally required to influence change, creatively re-engineer work processes, build teams and to proactively perceive, plan for and mitigate imminent challenges. It is these same graduates that are later appointed to assume leadership roles without any orientation to this important skill. It is imperative that good leaders are made if the country is to maintain its grip on the epidemic in the current context where innovation is necessary, resources are dwindling and new challenges unfolding.

This new activity aims to build technical and leadership competence for health and HIV/AIDS service delivery in Uganda. It is a follow-on to the ending Chemonics capacity building program that targeted key indigenous Uganda HIV/AIDS service organizations. The new activity will take a two pronged approach. It will have a pre-service training component targeting individuals graduating from universities in the disciplines of medicine, pharmacy, nursing and social sciences. These individuals will be exposed to short-term didactic training in HIV/AIDS service delivery, management and planning, after which they will be placed as interns into the major HIV/AIDS service organizations. The aim is to offer opportunities for them to practice what they have acquired in theory to produce all-round professionals. The second component will include leadership training targeting those graduating from internship, chief executives and senior of the major PEPFAR programs, directors and managers of health services at district and sub-district level, as well as central government leaders in ministries of health and local government that oversee services at district level.

The overall goal of this new Leadership and Management Program is to develop opportunities for developing and/or strengthening a leadership and management program that is housed and managed locally and will meet the needs of a variety of managers, including but not limited to public sector staff (central and district); senior staff of key PEPFAR programs (priority on Ugandans); National NGOs, and other civil society organizations. The outcomes of the program are anticipated to manifest through improved technical competences of local Ugandan professionals, improved leadership and management of Health and HIV/AIDS services and organizational development for training institutions.

HIV/AIDS and overall health service delivery in Uganda continues to be daunted by manpower constraints, both in technical and leadership dimensions. HIV/AIDS presents unique challenges given the rising number of individuals in need of care, the rapidly evolving approaches as new empirical evidence emerges and the tapering resources from global programs. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is itself dynamic, and continues to unfold in new and more complex ways. Therefore, availability of well trained and skilled personnel in technical and leadership positions is of critical importance and indeed a defining factor to the country's ability to cope with the highly dynamic health and HIV/AIDS challenges. These challenges also signal the need for the public sector to step up its role in the national response.

Since 2005, USAID/Uganda has been working to build HIV/AIDS competence in targeted Ugandan private and public institutions providing HIV services throughout the country. These included JCRC, HAU, IRCU and UWESO that played pivotal roles in expanding access to HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment in Uganda, as well as UAC and MOH Resource Center which coordinate the national HIV/AIDS response in terms of strategy, policy, monitoring, evaluation as well as reporting outcomes and results. The technical assistance was in five thematic areas: organizational development, monitoring and evaluation, health management information systems, finance and communications. This assistance has enabled the organizations to accurately track spending; manage procurements, grants and inventory more efficiently; and produce timely reports for management and donors. They can collect, aggregate and analyze critical data, at multiple levels, for improved program implementation and have developed and adopted necessary management tools such as manuals, strategies and organizational structures to improve existing practices and create long-term ownership in organizational success. This support ends in November 2009.

Building on the success of this program, the USG is proposing a follow-on activity that will continue to support local institutions which provide the majority of HIV prevention, care and treatment services in the country. The new program will continue to focus on consolidation of service delivery systems, capacity building and skills transfer so as to develop the sustained ability of these indigenous institutions to expand access to high quality HIV services. The follow-on activity will also include a new human resource component that will focus on improving the availability of appropriately trained HIV/AIDS service providers and managers. Currently technical and professional educational training in Uganda contains very little, if any practical skills training; therefore recent academic graduates enter the labor market ill prepared to take on their assigned jobs. These graduates also have comparatively low leadership and business skills and any mentorship or advice they might get on the job is minimal.

The new program will use a two pronged approach in building a sustainable technical workforce for planning, management, and implementation of HIV/AIDS services. First it will have an internship component that targets fresh graduates from major universities in the disciplines of medicine, nursing, social work and pharmacy. These individuals will be exposed to intensive didactic training in state of the art HIV/AIDS care and support skills after which they will be seconded to major HIV/AIDS care programs where they will engage in apprenticeship training under the mentorship of host institutions. Some of the key areas of training will include clinical management of HIV/AIDS based on newly emerging knowledge, counseling and psychological care, diagnosis and management of pain and symptoms, home based care, preventive care, establishment of HIV/AIDS services in contexts where they don't exist, monitoring, evaluation and reporting of HIV/AIDS results, as well as end of life care. Particular attention will be given to management of effective HIV/AIDS services in resource constrained public sector settings. As they train, they will also be filling critical manpower gaps at these facilities.

The second component of the program will focus on building leadership competences to create cadres of people skills that adequately match the current realities in the HIV/AIDS environment that is characterized by competition for resources, diminishing funding, rapidly changing approaches, and the changing nature of the epidemic. This requires leaders who are visionary, highly dependable, accountable, politically savvy, with intellectual breadth and able to take risks and inspire innovation.

The training will also incorporate issues of gender and stigma/discrimination to strengthen client organizations' ability to identify opportunities for more appropriate/sensitive programming and also to link clients to wrap around services such as food, education, microfinance and micro-credit support programs.

The new program will seek to address these needs through training and establishment of a mentoring and coaching program. It will be targeted at students graduating from the internship program (described above), chief executives and senior managers of key PEPFAR supported HIV/AIDS programs as well as mangers of health and HIV/AIDS services at national, district, and sub-district level, both in the private and public sectors.

The overall goal of this new Leadership and Management Program is to develop opportunities for students from different educational backgrounds to receive first hand, practical experience needed to respond to the multifaceted challenges of health and HIV/AIDS disease epidemics; and develop and/or strengthen a leadership and management program to be housed and managed locally that will meet the needs of a variety of managers, including but not limited to public sector staff (central and district); senior staff of key PEPFAR programs (priority on Ugandans); National NGOs, and other civil society organizations. The outcomes of the program are anticipated to manifest through improved technical competences of local Ugandan professionals, improved leadership and management of Health and HIV/AIDS services and organizational development for training institutions. This program will also receive wrap-around funding from the President's Malaria Initiative.

Using FY2010 resources, it is anticipated that a total of 50 professionals will be trained in HIV/AIDS care and support. They will also be trained in leadership skills that prepare them to take on leadership challenges within both the private and public sector.

HIV/AIDS and overall health service delivery in Uganda continues to be daunted by manpower constraints, both in technical and leadership dimensions. HIV/AIDS presents unique challenges given the rising number of individuals in need of care, the rapidly evolving approaches as new empirical evidence emerges and the tapering resources from global programs. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is itself dynamic, and continues to unfold in new and more complex ways. Therefore, availability of well trained and skilled personnel in technical and leadership positions is of critical importance and indeed a defining factor to the country's ability to cope with the highly dynamic health and HIV/AIDS challenges. These challenges also signal the need for the public sector to step up its role in the national response.

Since 2005, USAID/Uganda has been working to build HIV/AIDS competence in targeted Ugandan private and public institutions providing HIV services throughout the country. These included JCRC, HAU, IRCU and UWESO that played pivotal roles in expanding access to HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment in Uganda, as well as UAC and MOH RC which coordinate the national HIV/AIDS response in terms of strategy, policy, monitoring, evaluation as well as reporting outcomes and results. The technical assistance was in five thematic areas: organizational development, monitoring and evaluation, health management information systems, finance and communications. This assistance has enabled the organizations to accurately track spending; manage procurements, grants and inventory more efficiently; and produce timely reports for management and donors. They can collect, aggregate and analyze critical data, at multiple levels, for improved program implementation and have developed and adopted necessary management tools such as manuals, strategies and organizational structures to improve existing practices and create long-term ownership in organizational success. This support ends in November 2009.

Building on the success of this program, the USG is proposing a follow-on activity that will continue to support local institutions which provide the majority of HIV prevention, care and treatment services in the country. The new program will continue to focus on consolidation of service delivery systems, capacity building and skills transfer so as to develop the sustained ability of these indigenous institutions to expand access to high quality HIV services. The follow-on activity will also include a new human resource component that will focus on improving the availability of appropriately trained HIV/AIDS service providers and managers. Currently technical and professional educational training in Uganda contains very little, if any practical skills training; therefore recent academic graduates enter the labor market ill prepared to take on their assigned jobs. These graduates also have comparatively low leadership and business skills and any mentorship or advice they might get on the job is minimal.

In order to build competence for OVC care, the new program will use a two pronged approach in building a sustainable technical workforce for planning, management, and implementation of OVC services. First it will have an internship component that targets fresh graduates from major universities in the disciplines of social work, sociology and education. These individuals will be exposed to intensive didactic training in state of the art OVC care skills after which they will be seconded to major OVC programs where they will engage in apprenticeship training under the supervision and guidance of host institutions. Those to be enrolled into the program will have to demonstrate a strong passion for OVC programming and care as a major entry pre-requisite. Some of the key areas of training will include counseling and psychological care for orphans, particularly diagnosis and management of stress and other psychosomatic dysfunction, home and community based OVC care, establishment of HIV/AIDS and OVC services in contexts where they don't exist, monitoring, evaluation, reporting and quality control for OVC services, networking and coordination, and overall programming of OVC services. Particular attention will be given to management of effective OVC services in resource constrained public sector settings. As they train, they will also be filling critical manpower gaps at the host institutions.

The second component of the program will focus on building leadership competences to create cadres of people skills that adequately match the current realities in the HIV/AIDS environment that is characterized by competition for resources, diminishing funding, rapidly changing approaches, and the changing nature of the epidemic. This requires leaders who are visionary, highly dependable, accountable, politically savvy, with intellectual breadth and able to take risks and inspire innovation.

The training will also incorporate issues of gender and stigma/discrimination to strengthen client organizations' ability to identify opportunities for more appropriate/sensitive programming and also to link clients to wrap around services such as food, education, microfinance and micro-credit support programs.

The new program will seek to address these needs through training and establishment of a mentoring and coaching program. It will be targeted at students graduating from the internship program (described above), chief executives and senior managers of key PEPFAR supported HIV/AIDS programs as well as mangers of OVC services at national, district, and sub-district level, both in the private and public sectors.

The overall goal of this new Leadership and Management Program is to develop opportunities for students from different educational backgrounds to receive first hand, practical experience needed to respond to the multifaceted challenges of HIV/AIDS; and develop and/or strengthen a leadership and management program to be housed and managed locally that will meet the needs of a variety of managers, including but not limited to public sector staff (central and district); senior staff of key PEPFAR programs (priority on Ugandans); National NGOs, and other civil society organizations. The outcomes of the program are anticipated to manifest through improved technical competences of local Ugandan professionals, improved leadership and management of Health and HIV/AIDS services and organizational development for training institutions. This program will also receive wrap-around funding from the President's Malaria Initiative.

Using FY2010 resources, it is anticipated that a total of 50 professionals will be trained in OVC care. They will also be trained in leadership skills that prepare them to take on leadership challenges within both the private and public sector.

HIV/AIDS and overall health service delivery in Uganda continues to be daunted by manpower constraints, both in technical and leadership dimensions. HIV/AIDS presents unique challenges given the rising number of individuals in need of care, the rapidly evolving approaches as new empirical evidence emerges and the tapering resources from global programs. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is itself dynamic, and continues to unfold in new and more complex ways. Therefore, availability of well trained and skilled personnel in technical and leadership positions is of critical importance and indeed a defining factor to the country's ability to cope with the highly dynamic health and HIV/AIDS challenges. These challenges also signal the need for the public sector to step up its role in the national response.

Since 2005, USAID/Uganda has been working to build HIV/AIDS competence in targeted Ugandan private and public institutions providing HIV services throughout the country. These included JCRC, HAU, IRCU and UWESO that played pivotal roles in expanding access to HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment in Uganda, as well as UAC and MOH RC which coordinate the national HIV/AIDS response in terms of strategy, policy, monitoring, evaluation as well as reporting outcomes and results. The technical assistance was in five thematic areas: organizational development, monitoring and evaluation, health management information systems, finance and communications. This assistance has enabled the organizations to accurately track spending; manage procurements, grants and inventory more efficiently; and produce timely reports for management and donors. They can collect, aggregate and analyze critical data, at multiple levels, for improved program implementation and have developed and adopted necessary management tools such as manuals, strategies and organizational structures to improve existing practices and create long-term ownership in organizational success. This support ends in November 2009.

Building on the success of this program, the USG is proposing a follow-on activity that will continue to support local institutions which provide the majority of HIV prevention, care and treatment services in the country. The new program will continue to focus on consolidation of service delivery systems, capacity building and skills transfer so as to develop the sustained ability of these indigenous institutions to expand access to high quality HIV services. The follow-on activity will also include a new human resource component that will focus on improving the availability of appropriately trained HIV/AIDS service providers and managers. Currently technical and professional educational training in Uganda contains very little, if any practical skills training; therefore recent academic graduates enter the labor market ill prepared to take on their assigned jobs. These graduates also have comparatively low leadership and business skills and any mentorship or advice they might get on the job is minimal.

The new program will use a two pronged approach in building a sustainable technical workforce for planning, management, and implementation of HIV/AIDS services. First it will have an internship component that targets fresh graduates from major universities in the disciplines of medicine, nursing, social work and pharmacy. These individuals will be exposed to intensive didactic training in state of the art HIV/AIDS treatment skills after which they will be seconded to major care and treatment programs where they will engage in apprenticeship training under the host institutions. The training will focus mainly on management of HIV/AIDS based on newly emerging knowledge and treatment regimes, diagnostic competence especially analysis and interpretation of laboratory findings, disease monitoring and management of drug resistance, treatment literacy, ART counseling and psychological care, diagnosis and management of pain and symptoms, preventive care, establishment of HIV/AIDS services in contexts where they don't exist, monitoring, evaluation and reporting of HIV/AIDS results and outcomes. Particular attention will be given to management of effective HIV/AIDS treatment services in resource constrained public sector settings. As they train, they will also be filling critical manpower gaps at the host facilities.

The second component of the program will focus on building leadership competences to create cadres of people skills that adequately match the current realities in the HIV/AIDS environment that is characterized by competition for resources, diminishing funding, rapidly changing approaches, and the changing nature of the epidemic. This requires leaders who are visionary, highly dependable, accountable, politically savvy, with intellectual breadth and able to take risks and inspire innovation.

The training will also incorporate issues of gender and stigma/discrimination to strengthen client organizations' ability to identify opportunities for more appropriate/sensitive programming and also to link clients to wrap around services such as food, education, microfinance and micro-credit support programs.

The new program will seek to address these needs through training and establishment of a mentoring and coaching program. It will be targeted at students graduating from the internship program (described above), chief executives and senior managers of key PEPFAR supported HIV/AIDS programs as well as mangers of health and HIV/AIDS services at national, district, and sub-district level, both in the private and public sectors.

The overall goal of this new Leadership and Management Program is to develop opportunities for students from different educational backgrounds to receive first hand, practical experience needed to respond to the multifaceted challenges of health and HIV/AIDS disease epidemics; and develop and/or strengthen a leadership and management program to be housed and managed locally that will meet the needs of a variety of managers, including but not limited to public sector staff (central and district); senior staff of key PEPFAR programs (priority on Ugandans); National NGOs, and other civil society organizations. The outcomes of the program are anticipated to manifest through improved technical competences of local Ugandan professionals, improved leadership and management of Health and HIV/AIDS services and organizational development for training institutions. This program will also receive wrap-around funding from the President's Malaria Initiative.

Using FY2010 resources, it is anticipated that a total of 50 professionals will be trained in HIV/AIDS treatment. They will also be trained in leadership skills that prepare them to take on leadership challenges within both the private and public sector.

HIV/AIDS and overall health service delivery in Uganda continues to be daunted by manpower constraints, both in technical and leadership dimensions. HIV/AIDS presents unique challenges given the rising number of individuals in need of care, the rapidly evolving approaches as new empirical evidence emerges and the tapering resources from global programs. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is itself dynamic, and continues to unfold in new and more complex ways. Therefore, availability of well trained and skilled personnel in technical and leadership positions is of critical importance and indeed a defining factor to the country's ability to cope with the highly dynamic health and HIV/AIDS challenges. These challenges also signal the need for the public sector to step up its role in the national response.

In Uganda, pediatric HIV/AIDS care and support is one of the areas that are inadequately addressed especially due to lack of technical skills. With an estimated 200,000 children living with HIV in Uganda and another 25,000 getting infected annually, it is imperative that the country rises up to this challenge. Indeed expanding access to pediatric and adolescent HIV and AIDS care is outlined as a critical priority in the National Strategic Plan. This will necessitate building the competence of existing health workers and more importantly integrate pediatric care and support in pre-service training for health workers.

Since 2005, USAID/Uganda has been working to build HIV/AIDS competence in targeted Ugandan private and public institutions providing HIV services throughout the country. These included JCRC, HAU, IRCU and UWESO that played pivotal roles in expanding access to HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment in Uganda, as well as UAC and MOH Resource Center which coordinate the national HIV/AIDS response in terms of strategy, policy, monitoring, evaluation as well as reporting outcomes and results. The technical assistance was in five thematic areas: organizational development, monitoring and evaluation, health management information systems, finance and communications. This assistance has enabled the organizations to accurately track spending; manage procurements, grants and inventory more efficiently; and produce timely reports for management and donors. They can collect, aggregate and analyze critical data, at multiple levels, for improved program implementation and have developed and adopted necessary management tools such as manuals, strategies and organizational structures to improve existing practices and create long-term ownership in organizational success. This support ends in November 2009.

Building on the success of this program, the USG is proposing a follow-on activity that will continue to support local institutions which provide the majority of HIV prevention, care and treatment services in the country. The new program will continue to focus on consolidation of service delivery systems, capacity building and skills transfer so as to develop the sustained ability of these indigenous institutions to expand access to high quality HIV services. The follow-on activity will also include a new human resource component that will focus on improving the availability of appropriately trained HIV/AIDS service providers and managers. Currently technical and professional educational training in Uganda contains very little, if any practical skills training; therefore recent academic graduates enter the labor market ill prepared to take on their assigned jobs. These graduates also have comparatively low leadership and business skills and any mentorship or advice they might get on the job is minimal.

The new program will use a two pronged approach in building a sustainable technical workforce for planning, management, and implementation of HIV/AIDS services. First it will have an internship component that targets fresh graduates from major universities in the disciplines of medicine, nursing, social work and pharmacy. These individuals will be exposed to intensive didactic training in state of the art pediatric HIV/AIDS care and support skills after which they will be seconded to major HIV/AIDS care programs where they will engage in apprenticeship training under the mentorship of host institutions. The HIV/AIDS care and support needs of the majority of children in Uganda are psychosocial, deriving from the communication gaps between these children and their caretakers in regard to their HIV status. Children have had to endure situations uncertainty, where they grow questioning how and why they got infected and what this means for their future. These challenges become more real in adolescence where children expect to begin discovering themselves, exploring their sexuality and engaging in relationships. To address these challenges, the follow on program will emphasize building skills in pediatric counseling among health and social workers to be able to engage children and their caregivers in ongoing discussion of HIV and AIDS, and the implications of HIV infection for their future. The training will also focus on building skills in identification and management of stress disorders, general child health and nutrition, current practices in pediatric HIV/AIDS care and support, as well as networking and co-management of clients to ensure access to comprehensive services. The trainees will also be assisted to acquire skills in adolescent reproductive health, integration of child HIV/AIDS services in contexts where they don't exist, monitoring, evaluation and reporting of pediatric HIV/AIDS care and support results and outcomes. Particular attention will be given to management of effective pediatric HIV/AIDS care services in resource constrained public sector settings. As they train, they will also be filling critical manpower gaps at the host institutions.

The second component of the program will focus on building leadership competences to create cadres of people skills that adequately match the current realities in the HIV/AIDS environment that is characterized by competition for resources, diminishing funding, rapidly changing approaches, and the changing nature of the epidemic. This requires leaders who are visionary, highly dependable, accountable, politically savvy, with intellectual breadth and able to take risks and inspire innovation.

The training will also incorporate issues of gender and stigma/discrimination to strengthen client organizations' ability to identify opportunities for more appropriate/sensitive programming and also to link children to wrap around services such as food, education, and apprenticeship support programs.

The new program will seek to address these needs through training and establishment of a mentoring and coaching program. It will be targeted at students graduating from the internship program (described above), chief executives and senior managers of key PEPFAR supported HIV/AIDS programs as well as mangers of health and HIV/AIDS services at national, district, and sub-district level, both in the private and public sectors.

The overall goal of this new Leadership and Management Program is to develop opportunities for students from different educational backgrounds to receive first hand, practical experience needed to respond to the multifaceted challenges of health and HIV/AIDS disease epidemics; and develop and/or strengthen a leadership and management program to be housed and managed locally that will meet the needs of a variety of managers, including but not limited to public sector staff (central and district); senior staff of key PEPFAR programs (priority on Ugandans); National NGOs, and other civil society organizations. The outcomes of the program are anticipated to manifest through improved technical competences of local Ugandan professionals, improved leadership and management of Health and HIV/AIDS services and organizational development for training institutions. This program will also receive wrap-around funding from the President's Malaria Initiative.

Using FY2010 resources, it is anticipated that a total of 50 professionals will be trained in pediatric HIV/AIDS care and support. They will also be trained in leadership skills that prepare them to take on leadership challenges within both the private and public sector.

HIV/AIDS and overall health service delivery in Uganda continues to be daunted by manpower constraints, both in technical and leadership dimensions. HIV/AIDS presents unique challenges given the rising number of individuals in need of care, the rapidly evolving approaches as new empirical evidence emerges and the tapering resources from global programs. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is itself dynamic, and continues to unfold in new and more complex ways. Therefore, availability of well trained and skilled personnel in technical and leadership positions is of critical importance and indeed a defining factor to the country's ability to cope with the highly dynamic health and HIV/AIDS challenges. These challenges also signal the need for the public sector to step up its role in the national response.

In Uganda, pediatric HIV/AIDS treatment is one of the areas that are inadequately addressed especially due to lack of technical skills among providers, the comparatively longer provider time required and the stigma on the side of parents and caregivers. Currently 11,000 children are accessing treatment, representing only 22% of all those in need. With an estimated 200,000 children living with HIV in Uganda and another 25,000 getting infected annually, it is imperative that the country rises up to this challenge. Indeed expanding access to pediatric and adolescent HIV and AIDS care is outlined as a critical priority in the National Strategic Plan. This will necessitate building the competence of existing health workers and more importantly integrate pediatric treatment in pre-service training for health workers.

Since 2005, USAID/Uganda has been working to build HIV/AIDS competence in targeted Ugandan private and public institutions providing HIV services throughout the country. These included JCRC, HAU, IRCU and UWESO that played pivotal roles in expanding access to HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment in Uganda, as well as UAC and MOH Resource Center which coordinate the national HIV/AIDS response in terms of strategy, policy, monitoring, evaluation as well as reporting outcomes and results. The technical assistance was in five thematic areas: organizational development, monitoring and evaluation, health management information systems, finance and communications. This assistance has enabled the organizations to accurately track spending; manage procurements, grants and inventory more efficiently; and produce timely reports for management and donors. They can collect, aggregate and analyze critical data, at multiple levels, for improved program implementation and have developed and adopted necessary management tools such as manuals, strategies and organizational structures to improve existing practices and create long-term ownership in organizational success. This support ends in November 2009.

Building on the success of this program, the USG is proposing a follow-on activity that will continue to support local institutions which provide the majority of HIV prevention, care and treatment services in the country. The new program will continue to focus on consolidation of service delivery systems, capacity building and skills transfer so as to develop the sustained ability of these indigenous institutions to expand access to high quality HIV services. The follow-on activity will also include a new human resource component that will focus on improving the availability of appropriately trained HIV/AIDS service providers and managers. Currently technical and professional educational training in Uganda contains very little, if any practical skills training; therefore recent academic graduates enter the labor market ill prepared to take on their assigned jobs. These graduates also have comparatively low leadership and business skills and any mentorship or advice they might get on the job is minimal.

The new program will use a two pronged approach in building a sustainable technical workforce for planning, management, and implementation of HIV/AIDS services. First it will have an internship component that targets fresh graduates from major universities in the disciplines of medicine, nursing, social work and pharmacy. These individuals will be exposed to intensive didactic training in state of the art pediatric HIV/AIDS treatment skills after which they will be seconded to major HIV/AIDS care programs where they will engage in apprenticeship training under the mentorship of host institutions. Pediatric treatment is both a clinical and psychosocial domain, and therefore, the training will focus on building skills in counseling and child communication among providers, identification and management of stress disorders, clinical management of HIV/AIDS symptoms and disease among children, general child health and nutrition, current practices in pediatric HIV/AIDS treatment, analysis and interpretation of laboratory results, as well as networking and co-management of clients to ensure access to comprehensive services. The trainees will also be assisted to acquire skills in adolescent reproductive health, integration of child HIV/AIDS services in contexts where they don't exist, monitoring, evaluation and reporting of pediatric HIV/AIDS treatment results and outcomes. Particular attention will be given to management of effective pediatric HIV/AIDS treatment services in resource constrained public sector settings. As they train, they will also be filling critical manpower gaps at the host institutions.

The second component of the program will focus on building leadership competences to create cadres of people skills that adequately match the current realities in the HIV/AIDS environment that is characterized by competition for resources, diminishing funding, rapidly changing approaches, and the changing nature of the epidemic. This requires leaders who are visionary, highly dependable, accountable, politically savvy, with intellectual breadth and able to take risks and inspire innovation.

The training will also incorporate issues of gender and stigma/discrimination to strengthen client organizations' ability to identify opportunities for more appropriate/sensitive programming and also to link children to wrap around services such as food, education, and apprenticeship support programs.

The new program will seek to address these needs through training and establishment of a mentoring and coaching program. It will be targeted at students graduating from the internship program (described above), chief executives and senior managers of key PEPFAR supported HIV/AIDS programs as well as mangers of health and HIV/AIDS services at national, district, and sub-district level, both in the private and public sectors.

The overall goal of this new Leadership and Management Program is to develop opportunities for students from different educational backgrounds to receive first hand, practical experience needed to respond to the multifaceted challenges of health and HIV/AIDS disease epidemics; and develop and/or strengthen a leadership and management program to be housed and managed locally that will meet the needs of a variety of managers, including but not limited to public sector staff (central and district); senior staff of key PEPFAR programs (priority on Ugandans); National NGOs, and other civil society organizations. The outcomes of the program are anticipated to manifest through improved technical competences of local Ugandan professionals, improved leadership and management of Health and HIV/AIDS services and organizational development for training institutions. This program will also receive wrap-around funding from the President's Malaria Initiative.

Using FY2010 resources, it is anticipated that a total of 50 professionals will be trained in pediatric HIV/AIDS treatment. They will also be trained in leadership skills that prepare them to take on leadership challenges within both the private and public sector.

USAID/Uganda has had a history of supporting innovation in Uganda's HIV/AIDS response. The early efforts gave rise to some of the major national HIV/AIDS service organizations, including TASO, JCRC, AIC, as well as the evolution of faith-based initiatives like CHUSA and IMAU. Since 2005, USAID/Uganda has been working to further build HIV/AIDS competence in some of the Ugandan private and public institutions providing HIV services throughout the country. These included JCRC, HAU, IRCU and UWESO that played pivotal roles in expanding access to HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment in Uganda, as well as UAC and MOH Resource Center which coordinate the national HIV/AIDS response in terms of strategy, policy, monitoring, evaluation as well as reporting outcomes and results. The technical assistance was in five thematic areas: organizational development, monitoring and evaluation, health management information systems, finance and communications. This assistance has enabled the organizations to accurately track spending; manage procurements, grants and inventory more efficiently; and produce timely reports for management and donors. They can collect, aggregate and analyze critical data, at multiple levels, for improved program implementation and have developed and adopted necessary management tools such as manuals, strategies and organizational structures to improve existing practices and create long-term ownership in organizational success. This support ends in November 2009.

Building on the success of this program, the USG is proposing a follow-on activity that will continue to focus on consolidation of service delivery systems, capacity building and skills transfer so as to develop the sustained ability of these indigenous institutions to expand access to high quality HIV services. The follow-on activity will also include a new human resource component that will focus on improving the availability of appropriately trained HIV/AIDS service providers and managers. Currently technical and professional educational training in Uganda contains very little, if any practical skills training; therefore recent academic graduates enter the labor market ill prepared to take on their assigned jobs. These graduates also have comparatively low leadership and business skills and any mentorship or advice they might get on the job is minimal.

This activity is a follow-on activity to the capacity building activities previously under the ACE project. The activity will involve internships (including placement under CDC fellows program) and organizational capacity building for M&E. It will also include customized training in 'communicating data to policy-makers' for middle and senior GOU managers. The final scope including specific activities will be identified through consultations with stakeholders. Through this activity, about 5 key senior officers (a total of 35) each from the Ministries of Health, Gender, ICT, Planning, and Education, UAC, and UBOS will be trained on how to 'communicate critical data to policy-makers for action'. In addition, this activity will provide a general purpose course to introduce HIV/AIDS M&E concepts and principles to a select number (at least 50 per year) of health workers newly graduating from training institutions. The objective is to expose the graduates to practical experience on how to monitor and evaluate HIV/AIDS programs.

HIV/AIDS and overall health service delivery in Uganda continues to be daunted by weak systems manifesting through manpower constraints, leadership challenges, weak or non-existent procurement systems and lack of supportive policies and guidelines. Consequently providers have had to endure difficult working conditions, characterized by erratic supplies, frequent stock out of commodities, high staff turn over, lack of leadership and common purpose, as well as uneven service standards and practices due to lack of uniform policies and guidelines. Where policies exist, they are rarely updated and hence cannot offer meaningful guidance to enable services remain responsive to the current needs of the target population. In this context, a strong and dynamic policy and systems environment is of critical importance and indeed a defining factor to the country's ability to cope with the highly dynamic health and HIV/AIDS challenges.

Over the past ten years, USAID/Uganda has been working to build and strengthen systems for HIV/AIDS services. Initial interventions focused on strengthening capacity and systems for procurement and distribution of drugs and medical supplies in the country. Since 2005, USAID has been providing technical assistance to Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC) and the Ministry of Health Resource Center to improve coordination of the national HIV/AIDS response in terms of strategy, policy, monitoring, evaluation as well as reporting outcomes and results. The assistance has to some extent enabled these organizations to collect, aggregate and analyze critical data, at multiple levels, for improved program implementation and have developed and adopted necessary management tools such as manuals, strategies and organizational structures to improve existing practices and create long-term ownership in organizational success. This support ends in November 2009.

Building on the success of this program, the USG is proposing a follow-on activity that will, among other tasks, continue to strengthen systems for improved HIV/AIDS service delivery at national, district and sub-district levels. The major thrust of the new activity will be in improving leadership by building competences that adequately match the current realities in the HIV/AIDS environment that is characterized by competition for resources, diminishing funding, rapidly changing approaches, growing customer needs and the changing nature of the epidemic. Therefore, the program will strive to train both the existing and new emerging leaders and also to establish leadership practices and ethos that enhance accountability, shared vision, empowerment, trust and customer focus at all levels of HIV/AIDS service delivery. The training will also incorporate issues of gender and stigma/discrimination to strengthen client organizations' ability to identify opportunities for more appropriate/sensitive programming.

In order to consolidate the skills and practices imparted, the new program will establish a mentoring and coaching program through which trained beneficiaries will be linked to highly experienced and seasoned leaders for on-going guidance and monitoring. The program will be targeted at the Chief Executives and senior managers of key PEPFAR supported HIV/AIDS programs as well as mangers of health and HIV/AIDS services at national, district, and sub-district level, both in the private and public sectors.

The overall goal of this new Leadership and Management Program is to develop opportunities for developing and/or strengthening a leadership and management program that is housed and managed locally and will meet the needs of a variety of managers, including but not limited to public sector staff (central and district); senior staff of key PEPFAR programs (priority on Ugandans); National NGOs, and other civil society organizations. The outcomes of the program are anticipated to manifest through improved technical competences of local Ugandan professionals, improved leadership and management of Health and HIV/AIDS services and organizational development for training institutions. This program will also receive wrap-around funding from the President's Malaria Initiative.

Using FY2010 resources, it is anticipated that a total of 50 professionals will be trained in leadership and management skills that support them to build confidence and zeal to propel their organizations through the highly turbulent and dynamic organizational environment.

Uganda has recently concluded modes of transmission study which indicates, among other things, that there have been shifts in the risk factors and drivers of the epidemic. The key risk factors now include: multiple concurrent sexual partnerships, discordance and non-disclosure among couples, low condom use, transactional sex, cross-generational sex, and relaxed sexual behaviors due to antiretroviral treatment (ART). More importantly, the study also indicated that the country is facing serious challenges in programming HIV prevention interventions, pointing out that most data generated over the years have not been utilized in designing new prevention interventions that respond to the changes in the epidemic. Uganda's continued success in its HIV/AIDS response strongly hinges on its ability to initiate prevention programs that are aligned with the current context and also to re-discover the major drivers of its success of the early and mid 1990s. Re-focusing HIV prevention is more critical now as resources for treatment from global programs begin to level off. Rejuvenation of the national HIV prevention program requires new thinking, which in turn necessitates new professionals who will perceive and confront the epidemic in its current form and context and not be swayed by the mental models of the past.

USAID/Uganda has had a history of supporting innovation in Uganda's HIV/AIDS response. The early efforts gave rise to some of the major national HIV/AIDS service organizations, including TASO, JCRC, AIC, as well as the evolution of faith-based initiatives like CHUSA and IMAU. Since 2005, USAID/Uganda has been working to further build HIV/AIDS competence in some of the Ugandan private and public institutions providing HIV services throughout the country. These included JCRC, HAU, IRCU and UWESO that played pivotal roles in expanding access to HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment in Uganda, as well as UAC and MOH Resource Center which coordinate the national HIV/AIDS response in terms of strategy, policy, monitoring, evaluation as well as reporting outcomes and results. The technical assistance was in five thematic areas: organizational development, monitoring and evaluation, health management information systems, finance and communications. This assistance has enabled the organizations to accurately track spending; manage procurements, grants and inventory more efficiently; and produce timely reports for management and donors. They can collect, aggregate and analyze critical data, at multiple levels, for improved program implementation and have developed and adopted necessary management tools such as manuals, strategies and organizational structures to improve existing practices and create long-term ownership in organizational success. This support ends in November 2009.

Building on the success of this program, the USG is proposing a follow-on activity that will continue to focus on consolidation of service delivery systems, capacity building and skills transfer so as to develop the sustained ability of these indigenous institutions to expand access to high quality HIV services. The follow-on activity will also include a new human resource component that will focus on improving the availability of appropriately trained HIV/AIDS service providers and managers. Currently technical and professional educational training in Uganda contains very little, if any practical skills training; therefore recent academic graduates enter the labor market ill prepared to take on their assigned jobs. These graduates also have comparatively low leadership and business skills and any mentorship or advice they might get on the job is minimal.

The new program will use a two pronged approach in building a sustainable technical workforce for planning, management, and implementation of HIV/AIDS services. First it will have an internship component that targets fresh graduates from major universities in the disciplines of medicine, nursing, social work and pharmacy. These individuals will be exposed to intensive didactic training in state of the art HIV/AIDS prevention programming after which they will be seconded to major HIV/AIDS programs where they will engage in apprenticeship training under the mentorship of host institutions. Training in HIV prevention will mainly focus on qualitative inquiry, where trainees will be required to gather national HIV transmission data, develop trends on the causes, key drivers, affected populations and propose interventions with maximum potential to effectively address the identified transmission factors. They will also be required to undertake extensive desk investigations to establish and recommend best practices from other high prevalence countries that offer promising insights for addressing HIV transmission in Uganda. They will also be trained in approaches to establishing HIV/AIDS services in contexts where they don't exist, especially in resource constrained public sector settings. Trainees will also be exposed to monitoring, evaluation and reporting of HIV/AIDS prevention results and outcomes. As they train, they will also be expected to actively engage in HIV prevention programming both within the host institutions and also where necessary with other national level stakeholders.

The second component of the program will focus on building leadership competences to create cadres of people skills that adequately match the current realities in the HIV/AIDS environment that is characterized by competition for resources, diminishing funding, rapidly changing approaches, and the changing nature of the epidemic. This requires leaders who are visionary, highly dependable, accountable, politically savvy, with intellectual breadth and able to take risks and inspire innovation.

The training will also incorporate issues of gender and stigma/discrimination to strengthen client organizations' ability to identify opportunities for more appropriate/sensitive programming and also to link clients to wrap around services such as food, education, microfinance and micro-credit support programs.

The new program will seek to address these needs through training and establishment of a mentoring and coaching program. It will be targeted at students graduating from the internship program (described above), chief executives and senior managers of key PEPFAR supported HIV/AIDS programs as well as mangers of health and HIV/AIDS services at national, district, and sub-district level, both in the private and public sectors.

The overall goal of this new Leadership and Management Program is to develop opportunities for students from different educational backgrounds to receive first hand, practical experience needed to respond to the multifaceted challenges of health and HIV/AIDS disease epidemics; and develop and/or strengthen a leadership and management program to be housed and managed locally that will meet the needs of a variety of managers, including but not limited to public sector staff (central and district); senior staff of key PEPFAR programs (priority on Ugandans); National NGOs, and other civil society organizations. The outcomes of the program are anticipated to manifest through improved technical competences of local Ugandan professionals, improved leadership and management of Health and HIV/AIDS services and organizational development for training institutions. This program will also receive wrap-around funding from the President's Malaria Initiative.

Using FY2010 resources, it is anticipated that a total of 50 professionals will be trained in HIV/AIDS prevention. They will also be trained in leadership skills that prepare them to take on leadership challenges within both the private and public sector.