GWUMC to serve as Coordinating Center for multiple NIH MEPI programs

The George Washington University Medical Center has been tapped to serve as the Coordinating Center for multiple NIH Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) programs and linked grantees that are focused on improving medical education and research in Sub-Saharan Africa. The five-year, $12.5 million grant awarded to GW will fund the Coordinating Center that will oversee the $130 million U.S. commitment to the program.

The intent of this collaborative program is to transform African Medical education and dramatically increase the number of African health care workers. MEPI will award grants directly to African institutions in a dozen countries. These schools will work in partnership with other institutions including about 30 African and 20 U.S. medical schools. Basic funding for MEPI will come from the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and will be supplemented with NIH funds and administrative help from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

Currently, Sub-Saharan Africa bears 24 percent of the world's disease burden, but has just 3 percent of the world's health workforce. PEPFAR has been tasked with training 140,000 new health care workers in Africa and MEPI is part of that commitment. "It is vital that we develop medical and research capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa so that advances can be quickly adapted for local use," said NIH Director Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D., when announcing MEPI.

"GW is honored to work on this important initiative. Having a hand in training more health care workers in Africa will positively impact the lives of so many people. With our considerable previous experience in African medical education, GW is well positioned to take on the challenges and opportunities that this project will present," said John F. Williams, MD, EdD, MPH, senior vice provost and vice president for Health Affairs.

Serving as the Coordinating Center, GW will work in partnership with African Centre for Global Health and Social Transformation (ACHeST) to provide expert technical support to the grantees. Additionally, GW will conduct regular evaluations to enable schools to track program progress over five years. GW also will link African medical schools to resources and expertise that will enhance their basic and clinical science teaching as well as research activities. An electronic platform will be established to support information sharing, mutual curricular projects, and data collection between the participants. In addition to regular visits to each school, the GW team will convene an annual symposium of all MEPI participants with the purpose of building a community of excellence in medical education and research in Sub-Saharan Africa.

GW faculty members, Fitzhugh Mullan, M.D., Murdock Head Professor of Medicine and Health Policy and Seble Frehywot, M.D., M.H.S.A., assistant research professor of Health Policy and of Global Health, will serve as principal investigators on this project. "We have just completed the Sub Saharan African Medical School Study and have learned a great deal about medical schools in Sub Saharan Africa. We are delighted to be able to put that knowledge to work on behalf of MEPI and health systems strengthening in Africa," said Dr. Mullan.

"Providing a quality medical education for students in Africa, which will promote access to medical care for its population, is critical. The GW School of Public Health and Health Services is committed to advancing the health of the populations of our local, national, and global communities," said Lynn Goldman, M.D., M.P.H., dean, School of Public Health and Health Services.