Intersectoral collaboration between the medical and veterinary professions in low-resource societies: The role of research and training institutions.

Background: Neglected zoonoses continue to significantly affect human health in low-resource countries. A symposium was organised in Antwerp, Belgium, on 5 November 2010 to evaluate how intersectoral collaboration among educational and research institutions could improve the situation.

Results: Brucellosis and echinococcosis were presented as models for intersectoral collaboration.

The contribution of international health volunteers to the health workforce in sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: In this paper, we aim to quantify the contribution of international health volunteers to the health workforce in sub-Saharan Africa and to explore the perceptions of health service managers regarding these volunteers.

Methods: Rapid survey among organizations sending international health volunteers and group discussions with experienced medical officers from sub-Saharan African countries.

Results: We contacted 13 volunteer organizations having more than 10 full-time equivalent international health volunteers in sub-Saharan Africa and estimated that they employed together 2072 full-time equivalent international health volunteers in 2005.