The UMass Amherst Institute for Global Health is developing a collaborative partnership with the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Plans for the IGH grew out of discussions, reciprocal site visits, and a Memorandum of Agreement between the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Pretoria. We are currently preparing a grant proposal for submission to the W. K. Kellogg Foundation in South Africa, titled “Towards a multidisciplinary Global Health approach to emerging infectious disease control.” This project will focus on educational objectives pertaining to leadership development, control of global health threats posed by emerging infectious diseases, research methodology and research ethics, HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health, and other select topics. The UP-UMA/IGH partnership marks an important step towards building this leadership capacity, institutional infrastructure, and a comprehensive school of public health at the University of Pretoria.

As part of this project, we plan to initiate an intensive training program designed to increase the institutional capacity of the University of Pretoria’s School of Health Systems and Public Health by providing enhanced training and education to a new generation of public health leaders, carefully tailored to meet the pressing public health challenges now facing Africa. In addition to technical skills in conducting research, designing and implementing effective interventions to protect the public’s health, fiscal and organizational management, and other substantive content areas, public health professionals must possess the leadership skills to advocate effectively for adequate budgets, sound public policies, and workforce development with non-health decision-makers, such as political leaders, the mass media, and funding organizations.

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