UM SPH Academic Courses

HBEHED550 The Challenge of HIV/AIDS: Strengthening Health Systems in Resource-Poor Settings

Winter term(s)

3 Credit Hour(s)

Instructor(s): Snow, Rachel

Description: Over 40 million people are currently infected with HIV, with over ﾾ of these living in the poorest countries. While new drugs and social interventions in the North are preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission, and have substantially reduced AIDS-related morbidity and mortality, similar interventions are making limited headway in resource- poor settings ﾖ especially those most severely affected by HIV/AIDS. Failure is in part due to funding, but more often a consequence of the underlying weakness of health systems. This course will address the operational and social challenges of implementing HIV prevention and care where health and education systems are weak, and political structures fragile. We will critically evaluate a wide range of health and behavioral interventions that have failed or succeeded in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, and explore ﾓwhy things workﾔ, and attempt to identify models of ﾓbest practiceﾔ for diverse settings. We will review emerging opportunities posed by the Global Fund and the Millennium Development Goals to use HIV-related donations to leverage improvements in the overall health sector in poor countries.

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