International Practicum Focused on Program Monitoring and Evaluation in Zambia: Experiences and Reflections

From July-December 2010 Ted Marak was a project assistant for Boston University's Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV Integration Program (BUPIP), working on program monitoring and evaluation. Mother to Child Transmission (MTCT) is the leading cause of HIV infections in children under 15 years of age in Zambia. In the absence of interventions to prevent transmission, the risk of a child acquiring the virus from the mother is as high as 40%. Boston University's Zambia Center for Applied Health Research and Development (ZCAHRD) aims to further public health research in Zambia through engagement with local experts and partners with the Government of Zambia in capacity-building for the health sector. The BU PMTCT Integration Project (BUPIP) focuses on service delivery work related to prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV and early infant diagnosis (EID) for pediatric HIV care. As an M&E project assistant my duties included overseeing collection of monthly monitoring reports from supported facilities, management and analysis of program data, maintenance and development of program databases and generation of reports to communicate program progress and impact to key stakeholders. As part of the student and recent graduate panel I will describe my work responsibilities, the success of BUPIP, and the development of my M&E skills. Further, I will share how cross-cultural experiences, workplace challenges, and extended work in a developing country has led to tremendous personal growth and made me a more confident and competent public health professional.