Health professionals, pre-med and medical students and those interested in health care are invited to participate in the Global Service Corps (GSC) International Health Program in Tanzania. This program requires a nine-week minimum commitment and can be extended to three months or more. International Health Program placements consist of two components. The first segment of the volunteer assignment is approximately three weeks, comprised of a week-long cultural orientation and technical training followed by participation in HIV/AIDS prevention and nutrition community training workshops. The second phase of the volunteer placement (minimum six weeks) includes participation in a computer-based capacity-building project in conjunction with shadowing health professionals in local hospitals. Placements are mainly in and around Arusha and Moshi.
During your first week in Tanzania, you and your fellow volunteers will attend orientation conducted at the GSC office, which includes Swahili lessons, information on safety, culture, and the history of Tanzania, as well as guest lectures on gender issues, home-based care, and living with HIV. At this time, you will also receive technical training to prepare you to educate the local community about HIV/AIDS, health, and nutrition. After completing orientation, you will find yourself prepared to help conduct workshops in the community.
As a result of rural development projects funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Canadians Foodgrains Bank and other funding sources, and in partnership with an international NGO, GSC is not only able to continue to offer training to groups in the town of Arusha, but has also expanded a package of trainings to rural villages. Women's groups, people affected by HIV/AIDS, Maasai and other indigenous cultures are amongst those populations served in the rural areas. HIV/AIDS Prevention and Nutrition Education trainings are just one aspect of GSC’s work to improve the health of Tanzania’s most vulnerable populations through increased food security and improved nutrition. 
Depending on the in-country scheduling logistics and the needs of the community, the HIV/AIDS prevention portion of your program may entail one or more components of the overall HIV/AIDS Program. As an HIV/AIDS trainer, you may find yourself camping in tents at a base camp along with GSC staff and other volunteers in a rural village outside of Arusha delivering a package of interventions. These interventions may include trainings on community poultry vaccination and other food security innovations, sustainable agriculture, and HIV/AIDS and nutrition. As an HIV/AIDS Program volunteer you will be a member of the team, which will include GSC Tanzanian counterpart staff. Together, you will conduct week-long workshops in HIV/AIDS prevention and nutrition. Although GSC has substantially expanded its programs to the underserved rural areas, we also continue to train community groups in Arusha so you may participate in town community trainings as well. International Health volunteers beginning their program in early June will fulfill the HIV/AIDS portion of their program by participating in the annual GSC HIV/AIDS Prevention, Health, and Life Skills Day Camp provided to students and teachers at Arusha secondary schools.
The subsequent six weeks or more of volunteer work in this program includes shadowing healthcare professionals, while also assisting with a capacity-building project leading to the use of telemedicine software. In collaboration with one of our local partners, GSC provides assistance to outlying rural Tanzanian hospitals in the development of an on-line telemedicine service. This service is a web-based system allowing these remote hospitals to communicate with those in the U.S., Europe and other developed countries. Some staff members may be ready for training in specialized telemedicine software, but as needed, International Health Program volunteers should also be prepared to help address the hospital staff’s need for basic computer training as well. Due to the nature of working with busy healthcare professionals, it is of the utmost importance that participants in this program be self-initiators and full of perseverance and patience!
As mornings at the hospitals are usually busy with outpatient care and rounds, computer training for hospital staff will be done mainly in the afternoons. In the mornings, you will have time for shadowing opportunities. You may also have the time and opportunity to become involved in other aspects of the hospital such as the pharmacy, HIV clinics, and observing surgeries.
Tanzania International Health Programs are offered year-round. The special skills of those with prior medical knowledge will be well-utilized in the HIV/AIDS prevention portion of the program. Through the Tanzania International Health Program, you will be able to engage in enriching service while learning about international health through shadowing.
Note: Since Tanzania requires licensing in order for foreign doctors or nurses to practice medicine and the licensing procedure is complex and very time consuming, it is impractical for GSC to provide doctors and nurses strictly clinical placements.
