And Essex doesn’t expect to reach the ultimate goal of establishing locally operated HIV/AIDS clinics any time soon in Botswana.

“We have students for research training and a number of medical students who are training clinical fellows at the hospital, but in relation to turning it over the people of Botswana—certainly that’s a long term goal in 10 or 20 years,” Essex says.

On the other hand, the establishment of the Africa Academy in Tanzania has made progress in training Tanzanians to give medical treatment.

The research and teaching hub for health professionals hopes to apply lessons learned from the University’s research endeavors to improve health infrastructure in the region—an effort that may have long-term positive repercussions for health in sub-Saharan Africa.

“These organizations will allow us to have a better chance to develop initiatives to address public health problems in Tanzania and the region and to tap into our resources,” Fawzi says.

—William N. White contributed to the reporting of this article.

—Staff writer Elias J. Groll can be reached at egroll@fas.harvard.edu.