NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH SCIENCES

A.I.D. will finance the construction of most of the physical facilities (including essential equipment such as lighting and wiring) required by a proposed expansion of the NIHS"s public health worker training program. The facilities to be constructed include an auditorium, an audiovisual laboratory, six lecture halls, a library, two seminar rooms, a cafeteria, a demonstration room and demonstration center, utilities, and an internal roadway. The design and supervision of construction will be done under a GSL contract with a Sri Lankan firm. The GSL will provide the land, all furnishings for the buildings, and some equipment. During the A.I.D. project period, the NIHS will take the following steps to expand its public health worker training program: (1) The Director of NIHS will assume the position of Deputy Director for Health Manpower Development within the Ministry of Health. (2) The NIHS will establish its own health planning and management unit to work with the Ministry of Health on manpower development. (3) The NIHS staff will be expanded. (4) Curricula (developed prior to this project) for the training of public health inspectors, nurses, and workers will be implemented. A multi-disciplinary approach to primary health care will be stressed in the new curricula. (5) A new course in community health management for mid-level managers will be offered. By the end of the project, NIHS will have the capability to train approximately 60 assistant medical practitioners, 80 public health inspectors, 50 family health workers, and 40 public health nurses annually. Other donors will include UNICEF, United Nations Development Program, and the World Health Organization.