The majority of the training activities of the BRTI in 2007 and 2008 were conducted with the support of an International Clinical Operational and Health Systems Research Training Award (ICOHRTA) for the US National Institutes of Health. This award supports the African Program for Research Training in HIV and TB, a joint program of the BRTI and Stanford University, USA. The program has three main activities – support for postgraduate students registered at universities in Zimbabwe, finance for the conduct of short training courses that are relevant to the development of research capacity and support for international travel to collaborating centres in the US. The ICOHRTA grant also supports the establishment of an administrative infrastructure to ensure effective implementation of the program. In addition to the ICOHRTA program, the BRTI also conducted training courses for laboratory staff and for financial administration staff.

Postgraduate support

The ICOHRTA was intended to provide financial support to postgraduate students to enable them to complete their research investigations as full-time students, and so achieve their intended degree in the shortest possible time. The program supported students at Masters and Doctoral levels, and also supported clinical students registered to complete postgraduate specialist qualifications in medicine. An independent committee, including members of BRTI and members of the College of Health Science at the University of Zimbabwe, assessed applications and awards were made on the basis of agreed criteria – with awards being made for 2 years in the case of Masters level students, and 3 years in the case of Doctoral level students. A list of the students supported is given in the table that follows.

All ICOHRTA fellows are required to provide a 6-monthly report on progress and on achievements during the year. The Post graduate Administrator for the ICOHRTA project, Mr. Farirai Mutenherwa, works closely with the Institute for Continuing Health Education of the University of Zimbabwe in maintaining records of the progress, and the selection committee considers continuation of support on the basis of the progress made. During 2008, a number of students had completed their degree and submitted their theses. There were at least 10 papers published in international journals from these students, as well as presentations at international, regional and local conferences. Tsitsi Grace Monera was awarded the prize for the Best Poster at the Annual Medical Research Day in 2007. A number of graduating fellows have now been awarded post-graduate fellowships to continue their research career track.

 The current situation in Zimbabwe has seriously affected many of the students. The breakdown in clinical facilities at the main hospitals has meant there is only very limited clinical teaching for those enrolled for specialist training, and the breakdown in laboratory services has affected the ability to identify and source specimens for laboratory research. Inflationary pressures, while partly ameliorated by the ability to pay student stipends in foreign currency, have now become a major issue for both staff and students. The inability to access funds because of the regulations imposed by the Reserve Bank has seriously affected the conduct of this program and we hope that the situation can be remedied soon.

Short courses

The purpose of the short course program is to equip developing research scientists with the skills and capacity to become an effective researcher in the context of southern Africa. These skills will vary from laboratory, clinical or statistical skills, to the requirements of writing grant proposals, research papers for publication and theses, through to management skills. The BRTI had designed a set of short course topics, based on a two year cycle, to provide local researchers – including researchers from other countries in the region – to provide this kind of training. A summary of the short course training program is given below.

During 2007/2008 we provided training for over 300 scientists from Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, South Africa and Malawi. For each training course there is an evaluation process that allows us to monitor the quality of the training given and also to respond to suggestions about topics for other courses.

Facilitators for these various courses are drawn from staff at BRTI, UZ-CHS, NIHR and other institutions or research projects in Zimbabwe, and for some courses we have been able to invite international teachers to take part.

Conferences and International Travel

In May 2007, the BRTI provided financial support for student participation at the African International Conference on Immunology. This conference drew international speakers from Europe and North America as well as from throughout the African continent, and it was a special opportunity for the students to learn more about immunology from respected international researchers and to have the opportunity to present a poster exhibition on their research. Eleven ICOHRTA fellows attended this meeting. Support was also given to the Zimbabwe Medical Association conference held in Victoria Falls in August 2008, and this provided a forum for the presentation of current research activities in tuberculosis. Five ICOHRTA clinical fellows attended this meeting.

Through the ICOHRTA program the BRTI also provides support for the Annual Medical Research Day, held in conjunction with UZ-CHS This conference enables researchers from many disciplines to present their studies and findings. In 2008 we also contributed towards sponsorship of the Stephen Chandiwana Inaugural Lecture in memory of our friend and colleague, and we expect this to be an annual event at the AMRD. Student travel to other research centres, to enable access to specialized equipment or facilities, is supported through ICOHRTA. Visits were made by students to Cape Town (for a course on flow cytometry), to India for a visit to a centre producing contraceptive devices, and to Stanford University – our ICOHRTA partner – for gene sequencing.

Finance & Administration training

A “Finance & Administration Annual Planning Workshop” was held in 2008 at the Kadoma Ranch Motel. The aims of the workshop were to address shortcomings and gaps in BRTI Finance & Administration and to sensitize staff on the importance of their job skills, procedures and systems adherence. From BRTI 10 Finance and 8 Administration staff attended together with some staff members from Standard Chartered Bank. The workshop was held in line with progress for BRTI to attain ISO standards