40 Years of Global Health Partnership
Train health professionals. Strengthen health systems. Transform lives.
Millions of people around the world lack access to trained health professionals. HVO partners with local institutions to strengthen the health workforce through education, mentorship, and professional development.
Why HVO
Everyone has a right to accessible, quality health care close to home.
Shortages of trained health professionals limit access to quality care in communities around the world. HVO’s response is to invest in the people already delivering care where they live, strengthening their skills so that care improves for generations.
Volunteer expertise
Experienced health professionals share their knowledge.
Local training & partnership
HVO volunteers teach and mentor colleagues at local institutions.
Stronger health professionals
Local providers gain skills they continue to use.
Knowledge multiplies
They teach others and strengthen care across their institutions.
Better patient care
More people receive high-quality care for years to come.
Get Involved
Global Reach
Local expertise. Global reach.
For four decades, HVO has partnered with health professionals and institutions around the world, not to deliver short-term outside aid, but to strengthen local systems from within by training the providers who stay.
Impact Story
Cambodia
Oncology
Transforming Pediatric Cancer Care in Cambodia
Nearly two decades of collaboration between HVO and Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC) in Cambodia has transformed cancer care not only at AHC but also at pediatric hospitals across the country. In 2017, the survival rate for patients at AHC with leukemia was zero percent. Today, it is 66 percent.
Stories from the field
Looking Back and Moving Forward with HVO Nursing Education in Vietnam
A License to Trade
The Knowledge Left Behind
Our Regional Reach
Local Expertise. Global reach.
HVO works in 24 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean across nearly 20 health specialties, but our reach extends far beyond those numbers. Every health worker we train becomes a teacher in turn, passing new skills to colleagues, students, and future generations of providers. Knowledge shared is knowledge multiplied, strengthening health systems from within and reaching patients we’ll never meet.
Anesthesia
HVO anesthesiologists and anesthetists work with local colleagues to strengthen perioperative care, building the teaching capacity that keeps operating rooms safe.
Where we work: Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Rwanda, Uganda, Vietnam.
Dermatology
HVO dermatology volunteers teach clinical examination, microscopy and management of skin disease alongside local providers and trainees.
Where we work: Cambodia, Uganda, Vietnam.
Emergency Medicine
HVO volunteers support emergency medicine training — triage, resuscitation and acute care — in partnership with local faculty and residency programs.
Where we work: Bhutan.
Hand Surgery
HVO hand surgery volunteers teach operative and non-operative management alongside local surgeons and therapists, building durable local expertise.
Where we work: Ghana.
Hematology
HVO hematology volunteers work with local clinicians and laboratories to strengthen diagnosis and management of blood disorders.
Where we work: Cambodia, Peru, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia.
Internal Medicine
HVO internal medicine volunteers teach through ward rounds, didactic sessions and case discussion, supporting local faculty and trainees.
Where we work: Bhutan, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Nepal, Uganda.
Mental Health
HVO mental health volunteers support local clinicians and educators in strengthening assessment, treatment and training in resource-scarce settings.
Where we work: Bhutan.
Nursing Education
HVO nursing volunteers mentor nurse educators and clinical instructors — multiplying one assignment into a generation of stronger bedside care.
Where we work: Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Vietnam.
Nutrition
HVO nutrition volunteers work alongside local teams to strengthen assessment, counseling and management of malnutrition and related conditions.
Where we work: Cambodia.
Obstetrics & Gynecology
HVO volunteers teach alongside local obstetricians, midwives and trainees to strengthen maternal and newborn care, supported by ACOG.
Where we work: Cambodia, Nepal, Tanzania, Vietnam.
Oncology
HVO oncology volunteers support local teams in building diagnosis, treatment and multidisciplinary care — teaching rather than treating.
Where we work: Bhutan, Honduras, Nepal, Vietnam.
Oral Health
HVO oral health volunteers teach alongside local dentists, therapists and students, strengthening clinical practice and dental education.
Where we work: Laos, Nepal, Tanzania, Uganda.
Orthopaedics
Orthopaedics Overseas was HVO’s founding division. Volunteers teach operative and non-operative management alongside local surgeons and trainees.
Where we work: Costa Rica, Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda.
Pediatrics
HVO pediatrics volunteers teach on wards and in intensive care, supporting local residents, interns and nurses in caring for critically ill children.
Where we work: Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Uganda.
Rehabilitation
HVO partners with rehabilitation professionals and institutions to strengthen physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology and rehabilitation education.
Where we work: Belize, Bhutan, Georgia, Ghana, Haiti, India, Malawi, Rwanda, Vietnam.
Residency Training
HVO volunteers support residency programs directly — teaching, mentoring faculty and helping build sustainable postgraduate medical education.
Where we work: Bhutan.
Wound Care & Lymphedema
HVO volunteers teach wound assessment, dressing technique and lymphedema management alongside local nurses and clinical teams.
Where we work: Cambodia.