Description/Overview: Nurses, who make up over seventy percent of the global workforce, are essential to care and treatment of people living with HIV/AIDS in high prevalence countries. Jhpiego, an international NGO affiliated with Johns Hopkins University has been a steadfast partner in the battle against HIV/AIDS epidemic in Southern Africa. Jhpiego national offices have collaborated with Ministries of Health and important nursing stakeholders on projects aimed at HIV/AIDS related results in several Sub-Saharan African countries including South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia. All of Jhpiego’s offices are staffed with highly experienced nurse experts from within their individual countries. Armed with clinical and public health expertise, a robust understanding of their health systems and the respect of leaders within these systems, Jhpiego nurses are well positioned to lead projects aimed at improving health systems within their countries. This symposium will discuss the efforts of Jhpiego nurses working with their governments on nursing workforce improvement projects in three countries that have been heavily impacted by the HIV epidemic. The panel moderator, Dr. Peter Johnson has provided direct technical support to each of these projects. Phelelo Marole will discuss Jhpiego’s work with the Government of Botswana and the Botswana Nurses and Midwives Council to reinstate a reliable and valid licensing examination based on a national task analysis study. Debora Bossemeyer will discuss her team’s role collaborating with the Ministry of Health to restructure and streamline the nursing education system in Mozambique, where she serves as the Jhpiego Country Director Lastina Lwatula will highlight Jhpiego’s recent collaborative work with the Government of Zambia aimed at developing a competency-based blended learning training response needed to reach all nurses deployed within the health system.