In February 2017, Jan Fehr visited Kampala together with Prof. Wolf Langewitz and Dr. Stefan Erb. Prof. Langewitz is specialized in internal medicine and psychotherapy; he is an internationally well-recognized expert in communication, and was the former president of the European Association for Communication in Healthcare. Dr. Erb is specialized in internal medicine and infectious diseases with working experience in Tanzania. He has also been involved in best communication practice for a long time. Prof. Wolf Langewitz and Dr. Stefan Erb performed a two-day training in patient-centered communication with health-care professionals at IDI. In addition to the workshops, lectures on communication in sub-Saharan Africa were given. Workshops and lectures stimulated good discussions about the roles, responsibilities, and attitudes of health-care workers towards their patients.
In parallel, Jan Fehr had the chance to catch up on the latest evolutions in different projects and to appreciate the way the Swiss newcomers interact with their Ugandan counterparts and build a strong team.
High level meetings took place with the Executive Director of IDI, Dr. Richard Brough, and the Principal of the College of Health Science of Makarere Prof. Charles Ibingira, as well as with Prof. Harriet Mayanja-Kizza, an Advisory Board Member of R4GH. During this visit the so called ‘Dialogue Days’ were planned, which should take place in November of this year in the format of a Ugandan-Swiss exchange on research, education, and best clinical care.
