The Twinning Center is partnering with Visions for
Development, Inc. and three supporting Diaspora
organizations to mobilize professionals to assist in Ethiopia’s fight against HIV/AIDS through its Volunteer Healthcare Corps (VHC).
The Ethiopia Diaspora Initiative works to identify and place highly skilled Diaspora professionals at PEPFAR-supported ARV treatment sites and AIDS service
organizations, where they serve as technical experts.
Volunteers are placed at sites for a period ranging from three months to two years with the dual goals of building institutional capacity and increasing staff competencies.
To ensure a demand-driven program, staff at the Twinning Center office in Addis Ababa work closely with potential placement sites to identify their specific human
resource needs and jointly develop a scope of work
for each volunteer assignment.
When the scope of work is finalized, our partnering
organizations identify a qualified candidate from the Diaspora community. The Twinning Center then provides travel-related logistical support, extensive orientation, and on-going support throughout each volunteer’s assignment.
As of July 2008, the VHC has placed 18 Diaspora
volunteers in Ethiopia, including a laboratory health
and safety guidelines developer, a monitoring and evaluation specialist, an infection and post-exposure prevention advisor, a Web content developer, and an ART nurse.
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