What is the status of foreign aid in sub-Saharan Africa? What global health initiatives, like PEPFAR, have been effective? What doesn't work? And how is Alabama involved?
Dr. Craig Wilson, Professor Emeritus at UAB's School of Public Health Department of Epidemiology, has over 30 years of experience developing global health programs. In his time as director of UAB's Sparkman Center for Global Health, Dr. Wilson conducted workforce development projects in Ethiopia and Zambia, and participated in numerous HIV-related capacity building programs across the continent.
Did you know that a UAB-created software solution has been used for digitizing all Grade 9-12 content in Ethiopia? Plans for dissemination into all 3,800 high schools in Ethiopia were finalized in December 2017 and an agreement for digitizing content for Grades 7 and 8 was signed in May. Countries across the continent have expressed interest in this Alabama-made technology.
Come learn about the current status of foreign aid and AIDS in Africa, as well as Alabama's connection to the continent. We look forward to seeing you.
Biography of Dr. Craig Wilson
Craig Wilson joined UAB's Sparkman Center for Global Health as director in 2007 from the School of Medicine. Dr. Wilson has nearly 30 years of experience and expertise in international global health programs. His primary goal with the Sparkman Center is to develop international programs that would allow multidisciplinary engagement and opportunities for capacity building and research. He has secondary appointments in Pediatrics and Microbiology.
Dr. Wilson has over 20 years of experience in a leadership role in HIV management and prevention in HIV infected and at-risk youth in the US. He has been the Chair and PI of the Adolescent Medicine Trial Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions (ATN) (https://www.atnonline.org) for the past 15 years and serves on the NIH Division of AIDS Strategic Working Group and Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council. He is on multiple protocol teams testing HIV prevention methods and management strategies in youth and is co-chair for the licensing trials of PrEP in adolescents.
Dr. Wilson has an extensive background in HIV prevention programs in sub-Saharan Africa and provided clinical and laboratory technical assistance to the UAB PEPFAR initiative in Zambia starting in 2004 through the Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Zambia. He is presently the Co-Director of the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (http://www.mepinetwork.org) at the University of Zambia as well as the Zambia Education Partnership for Advanced Care and Treatment. He also works with the leadership of the Medical Education Partnership Initiative at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia to identify and disseminate e-learning tools and development of research capacity. He has served on many national and international advisory and planning panels for HIV prevention strategies and inclusion of youth in this planning.