Launch of our Zambian Volunteer Placement Programme

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) there are 1,514 physicians and 14,807 nursing and midwifery personnel. This is approximately 10 physicians, nurses and midwives per 10,000 population; well below the “critical threshold” of 23 per 10,000 population is deemed necessary.[1]

In 2018, THET completed a scoping study into the hosting of international placements in Zambia. Through that study, we found that the desire to host volunteers is considerable.

International volunteer placements, when managed properly, are a powerful vehicle for the development and strengthening of health systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and the development of human resources for health.

This will be a pilot programme exploring the development of international health professional placements as a key area of programme delivery for THET’s in-country team funded by Health Education England.

[1] WHO. n.d. “Achieving the health-related MDGs. It takes a workforce!”  https://www.who.int/hrh/workforce_mdgs/en/

The programme will develop and test a model of placements support derived from THET’s experience in managing health partnerships and global health programmes with a volunteering element. Based on that experience, it will focus on these key elements of quality programme delivery:

• Alignment
• Co-development
• Continuity
• Coordination
• Appropriateness
• Ethics

The THET Zambia team will lead on the national coordination and alignment of the scheme with the host institutions, as well as the Ministry. They will also work with the facilities to develop terms of reference. THET Zambia will play a key role in brokering and maintaining key relationships and  will also lead on in-country support of volunteers, from administrative tasks related to work permits and arranging accommodation and travel, to orientation and induction, pastoral support, monitoring and data collection.

We look forward to launching the call for applications shortly!