The purpose of the October 19–22, 2009, Africa Health Managers’ Workshop was to bring senior health officers, managers, and team leaders together to build skills and assist them in effectively addressing major management and administrative challenges in the region.

Workshop Objectives

1. To provide opportunities to build practical skills in leadership, management and professional development topics, i.e., supervising and leading others, influencing and negotiating, conflict management, interpersonal effectiveness, structuring offices and building teamwork, staff motivation and professional development planning, and identifying ways to apply and impart those skills at Missions.
2. To update managers on current Agency initiatives, policies, trends, strategies, and processes relevant to health, as well as priorities of the new Administration.
3. To identify and prioritize critical constraints and needs facing field operating units, with the intent of exploring options and action plans to address them.
4. To strengthen working relationships among operating units in the region and facilitate ongoing communications between Missions and Washington.

The workshop was structured to give each participant the opportunity to enroll in four to six different courses over the course of the workshop. In addition, there were several brief plenary sessions devoted to discussion of new initiatives as well as interests of the new Administration, including health systems strengthening and health program integration. Some of the courses were offered more than once to ensure all participants the opportunity to enroll.

Participants received important updates on current and emerging Agency policies, procedures, and processes. The workshop also provided opportunities for sharing lessons learned and developing plans of action for applying lessons back at the Missions. Topics were selected based on a survey of staff in the field, with input from staff in Washington.