UAB and partner University of Zambia have received a Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) grant to strengthen infrastructure and to increase the number of health care workers trained in Zambia. The MEPI grants are funded through a partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Servies and PEPFAR with the goal of training health care workers and increasing the capacity of partner countries to deliver primary health care.

With approximately 7.5 doctors for every 100,000 Zambians, the country has a critical shortage of health workers, making the delivery of health services unsustainable without an increase in trained personnel. UNZA is the only institution in Zambia to offer medical degrees and post-graduate medical programs for health care professionals. It is also the only university with degree programs in nursing, pharmacy, environmental health, physiotherapy and biomedical sciences. Through the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI), the university will be able to both improve the quality of clinical and research training and increase the number of advanced-level medical graduates per year.

In partnership with UNZA, Vanderbilt University, and Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ), UAB is providing programmatic support through technical assistance, graduate curriculum development, and clinical research training.

MEPI Kickoff Dinner: Zambian and U.S. partners