Press Release: President Clinton and President Benjamin Mkapa to Announce Mkapa Medical Fellows Program

President Bill Clinton and Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa will announce the establishment of the Tanzania Benjamin William Mkapa National HIV/AIDS Fellows Program on Wednesday, July 20. The Program is designated for medical professionals and aimed at the strengthening human capacity in HIV/AIDS care and treatment in rural areas.

The Clinton Foundation, in partnership with the Government of Tanzania, will assist in the advanced training and deployment of at least 30 medical professionals each year. Mkapa Fellows will receive further training in HIV/AIDS clinical care and treatment, in addition to administration and management, before serving three years at the district level in the most remote areas.

The Mkapa Fellows Program will provide highly dedicated and skilled personnel who will work on care and treatment in underserved regions, particularly in the rural areas where most Tanzanians live and yet have limited access to health services. By deploying health professionals who are skilled in management as well as HIV/AIDS treatment, the Mkapa Fellows Program will not just add healthcare workers to critically underserved areas, but will provide the personnel needed to improve management across the health care system. Fellows will be especially well placed to enable rapid scale-up of the antiretroviral therapy (ART) services that can save tens of thousands of lives.

The Mkapa Fellows Program will be headed by a Board consisting of a multi-sectoral committee of stakeholders appointed by President Mkapa and President Clinton. This Board will oversee the management and operations of the Program, in addition to the selection of Fellows and sites.

The new program will be a core part of the Clinton Foundation’s Rural Initiative in Tanzania, which seeks to widen the access to drugs for the most socio-economically disadvantaged and remote populations. Its establishment extends the partnership between the Clinton Foundation and the Government of Tanzania in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Since 2003, the two have worked to improve national care and treatment by developing and implementing the National Care and Treatment Plan, upgrading the national laboratory systems, improving procurement mechanisms, accelerating the scale-up of treatment of children with HIV/AIDS, and coordinating community efforts at the regional and local levels.

President Clinton’s visit to Tanzania will also include meetings with political leaders on the mainland and in Zanzibar in an effort to break down the remaining resistance to expanding AIDS initiatives.

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