AIHA’s unique “multi-pillar” approach to health system strengthening engages workforce education institutions, national authorities, professional associations and/or regulatory bodies to ensure that healthcare workers receive high-quality training, support and oversight throughout their careers.
Education Institutions
Faculty often lack both clinical expertise and formal preparation in education, teaching and learning. AIHA’s focus on faculty development and facilitated peer-to-peer exchanges of information build faculty capacity to teach and develop programs that meet local needs. AIHA also provides curriculum development support in collaboration with local educators and technical experts, and supports education institutions to provide supportive supervision, experiential learning opportunities and community-level training.
Professional Associations
Professional associations protect and advocate for healthcare workers, standardize guidelines for education, certification and diploma requirements, and facilitate professional development and continuing education. AIHA’s work to strengthen professional associations supports healthcare worker retention, greater job satisfaction and autonomy, and promotes quality of care. Professional associations also afford healthcare workers greater bargaining power at national, district and community levels, and allows them to advocate for their rights.
Regulatory Bodies
Regulatory bodies establish councils to self-regulate healthcare cadres. They standardized guidelines for education, certification and diploma requirements; monitor healthcare workers’ quality of care, maintain certificates and licenses, and develop required training curricula. AIHA work with regulatory bodies contributes to the formalization of the healthcare workforce and patient safety.
National Authorities
AIHA engages with Ministries of Health, Ministries of Education and other relevant government institutions to strengthen country ownership and ensure efficient, cohesive work between all partnership stakeholders. National authorities’ involvement is essential to ensure collaborative partnership planning and the alignment of national standards with partnership activities. This includes the absorption and support of new healthcare worker graduates in the national healthcare system.