To expand the trained oncology workforce in sub-Saharan Africa, Go Together will include pharmaceutical and other health-related companies, cancer experts and caregivers, academic institutions, international, regional, and national normative or professional agencies, and cancer patients and survivor organizations. The alliance’s vision is to bring together the power of collaborative partnerships with multiple member countries in sub-Saharan Africa, led by each country’s Ministry of Health.
The terms of reference and subsequent agreements from the alliance members will determine how Go Together functions to achieve its goals. It will be important to establish the functions of each party in the alliance from the beginning. The figure below shows the basic relationship of the Go Together Steering Committee, the other three committees reporting to the Go Together Steering Committee, and the Secretariat, which supports the committees and the operations of the alliance.
As the Secretariat, the Rutgers Global Health Institute and the Botswana Rutgers Partnership for Health will provide essential support and management for the alliance and its efforts. The institute catalyzes and convenes global health activities across Rutgers, a major public research institution with health-related partnerships on six continents and in most of the world’s countries. Institute director Richard Marlink and many Rutgers faculty work extensively with and within countries across sub-Saharan Africa.
The Roles and Responsibilities of Go Together:
| Leadership | Go Together Members Each organization that is a core member of the alliance will nominate at least one representative to serve in a leadership role on the Go Together Steering Committee during Phase 1 and beyond. Ministries of health will have a lead role in the Go Together Steering Committee and activities in their respective countries. |
| Operationalization | Other Go Together Committees The Alliance will form at least three other committees to organize recommendations to the members concerning: 1) governance 2) communications and 3) monitoring and evaluation. Go Together members can be on more than one committee based on each member’s area of interest, expertise, and experience. Collectively, the committees will help Go Together create an effectively governed organization, terms for joint communications, and metrics for the planned outputs and outcomes, according to the Go Together framework (Figure 2). |
| Management & Support | Secretariat Office Rutgers Global Health Institute and the Botswana Rutgers Partnership for Health will be responsible for the coordination of the Go Together membership and its activities. The Secretariat Office will also help coordinate the Go Together committees above, the involvement of the ministries of health, and the international organizations’ input. The Secretariat Office will also ensure that milestones are managed, supported, and achieved on time. |
High-level meetings
Go Together will hold quarterly virtual meetings and an annual in-person/virtual “mixed” meeting. The quarterly meetings are an opportunity for alliance members to hear updates and have committee meetings virtually. They are also a time to address shared challenges and decide on alliance issues in our progress toward the alliance goals and objectives.
The in-person annual meeting is a setting for members and ministries of health to network, collaborate, and review the Go Together milestones and achievements. The meeting areas include alliance planning, priorities, work plan, metrics, and resource mobilizations. The in-person meeting will also feature presentations facilitating knowledge sharing and capacity building.
Go Together 