The Botswana-Penn Medicine Partnership was born in 2001 with the goal of improving Botswana’s patient care, education and research. While Botswana has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS infection in the world — 300,000 people in a country of 1.8 million — its stable, democratically elected government is determined to fight the virus. Penn’s School of Nursing has forged strong ties, based on personal relationships, with the University of Botswana and Princess Marina Hospital (PMH) in the capital city of Gabarone. This growing clinical and academic partnership has provided educational opportunities for Penn Nursing students in Botswana, and generated collaborative research initiatives on HIV/AIDS-related issues.
Penn Nurses are Making Change in Botswana
Penn Medicine nurses provide education to the nurses at Princess Marina Hospital in Botswana through various campaigns, including preventing violence against HIV-infected women and girls, and a hand-washing campaign which served as the vehicle for empowering the Botswana nurses to facilitate change. Currently, Penn Nursing is working with the University of Botswana School of Nursing to develop a curriculum in infection control.