The focal point of the training offered is a two-week HIV management course, an opportunity for healthcare professionals including doctors and nurses to gain a comprehensive knowledge of the treatment of HIV/Aids. In 2019 the course was attended by 306 people, almost 90% of whom work in the public healthcare sector. The Newlands Clinic also offers shorter courses in HIV management for doctors who do not have the time to be away from work for the entire two weeks. These compact courses, which run over five days, concentrate on specialist theoretical knowledge. In 2019, 68 professionals took advantage of this offering, almost doubling the number of physicians receiving training by comparison with the prior year.
Added to this, the former offices of the Training Centre were converted into accommodation for course participants, considerably reducing the cost of board and lodging and enabling more professionals from the public sector to take part. The conversion was possible thanks to the Bernhart-Matter-Stiftung, a foundation that has been providing the Training Centre with funding for years.
Tailormade courses
To even better meet local professionals’ need for knowledge we have designed new, tailormade short seminars and other offerings. At the beginning of the year two courses specially designed for junior doctors took place for the first time, with very positive feedback from the 30 participants. Once again we held training in LEEP, a procedure for treating precancerous conditions of the cervix.
Decentralised training
To provide training to more healthcare workers and cut costs, since 2017 we have increasingly been offering courses and continuous medical education on a decentralised basis. In the year under review 466 professionals profited from this transfer of knowledge, with the radius expanded to more remote provinces and smaller health centres. Our decentralised training reached almost double the number of people as in the previous year.
Cross-border knowledge transfer
For the second year in a row, the SDC enabled us to offer a transnational training course for 20 nurses from seven countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). This region is home to 38% of the people infected with HIV in the world, which means that passing on life-saving knowledge around the complex matter of HIV therapy is enormously important.
To ensure that this knowledge is subsequently applied correctly, the Newlands Clinic provides a medical helpdesk to support all those who have graduated from the course to date. Via a toll-free call or WhatsApp chat they can get advice and assistance in matters related to HIV management and on sexual and reproductive health.