Johannesburg - The top US Aids official says the US will fund training for 140 000 African healthcare workers in an initiative to "transform and dramatically increase" medical education and research on the continent.
Ambassador Eric Goosby's plan comes as the continent suffers a brain drain of doctors and nurses, recruited to work overseas as Africa shoulders the worst of the world's HIV-Aids epidemic.
Goosby says he has been frustrated watching African colleagues leave, and hopes the initiative will offer opportunities to encourage medical workers to remain or return.
About $130m from the US President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief and the National Institute of Health will be awarded as grants over five years to medical schools across sub-Saharan Africa.