On 23 May Australian Ambassador Suzanne McCourt will host the International Postgraduate Paediatric Certificate (IPPC) graduation of 46 Zimbabwean doctors and nurses from Harare Hospital and Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo.

The IPPC program is awarded by the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network and The University of Sydney and has seen health professionals trained from 21 countries worldwide over the last 25 years. The program aims to empower healthcare professionals treating children and young people globally.

In Zimbabwe this course has produced 71 graduates from its inception in 2014, and is now taking enrolments from other hospitals around the country. The Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network hopes to expand the IPPC program in the future, to incorporate Parirenyatwa hospital as an additional training site.

One of the doctors, who attended the course in 2015, says: “Honestly speaking, the IPPC/DCH (Diploma in Child Health) course has been life-changing not only for me but also for the children I meet. Now I have an even rarer opportunity to share this knowledge and spread the hope that children can be managed in a standard and efficient manner even in resource limited settings such as ours.”

The Australian IPPC program in Zimbabwe initially received Australian Government funding in 2014, through UNICEF.  It is now partially funded through the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network scholarships, and offered with significant subsidy for those without scholarships.

Training government hospital staff in Zimbabwe will boost workforce capacity in paediatric care, for the ultimate benefit of Zimbabwe’s children.