Institutional commitment and HIV/AIDS: Lessons from the first 3 years of the Lesotho–Boston University Collaboration

Abstract

In mid-2003, Boston University made a decade long institutional commitment to collaborate with the Government of Lesotho as it grappled with the human resource implications of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The collaboration is a work in progress. We explore the rationale for the University's commitment, detail the development of the relationship between the Government and the University, review the principles that guide the collaboration, report on the activities, results, and challenges to date, and conclude with a look toward the future. We stress the importance of six principles: trust, mutual respect, shared interests, a long time horizon, sustainability, and a country-driven agenda. Although technical or programme content is important, long-term results of value are difficult to achieve if these principles are not honoured.