My main purpose on this trip to Djibouti is to spend a few days working with the country's National HIV/AIDS Program, trying to improve their surveillance system, develop their capacity for testing patients for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), plan a system for monitoring drug resistance in patients on anti-retrovirals (ARVs) and build epidemiologic capacity among program staff. It's been a lot of work to try to accomplish in just a few days, but I've enjoyed it significantly. The staff of the National HIV/AIDS Program in Djibouti is great. The director of the program is a quiet Djiboutian man; the deputy director is a kind-hearted Congolese man (from Congo-Brassaville, not the Democratic Republic of Congo); the technical advisor is a bright Burundian woman; and the head of surveillance is an energetic Djiboutian woman. It's obvious that each has a true passion for and interest in the work they are doing, so it was a pleasure to work with each of them. I just wish I had more time so that I could do more!
22 February 2009
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