Partners In Health (PIH) has long been a beacon of hope for underserved communities worldwide, strengthening healthcare systems and delivering life-saving services in some of the world’s most vulnerable regions. With operations spanning 11 countries and a workforce of 18,000 employees, PIH is united in its mission to close critical gaps in healthcare.
But despite its global reach, PIH faced significant hurdles in one key area: learning.
Their fragmented and inefficient learning systems were holding back progress, making it difficult to deliver consistent, high-quality training to their teams.
The adoption of Tovuti LMS marked a turning point, revolutionizing how PIH approached training and collaboration across its vast network.
The Challenge
Before implementing Tovuti, training at PIH was a patchwork of systems and processes. Each site operated independently, relying heavily on Moodle platforms. This created a fragmented training environment where courses were siloed, and collaboration between countries was almost nonexistent.
“For years, individual country sites were like islands,” explained Liberty Wickman, Chief Training Officer of the Center for Global Health at PIH. “If the team in Malawi created training, the team in Sierra Leone had no way of accessing or adapting it for their use. It led to duplication of effort and wasted resources.”
“Instead of individual country sites working as islands, we’re now creating a platform of resource sharing of all training materials.” - Liberty Wickman
Adding to the complexity, Moodle required external engineers to build courses. Each program needed to be developed from scratch, with courses only accessible for 90 days before expiring. The lack of control over their learning management system (LMS) was costly and unsustainable.
“Why aren’t we controlling our own LMS?” Wickman recalled questioning early on. “Why are we losing access to these courses and having to continuously rebuild them?”
The decentralized system also stifled collaboration and strained resources. Teams were hesitant to adopt a unified platform, fearing it would limit their autonomy over branding and course design. “When people have been doing something a certain way for years, it’s hard to convince them there’s a better way,” said Wickman.
These challenges were compounded by a lack of robust feedback and reporting tools. Facilitators had to manage evaluations manually, using email to provide feedback on assignments—a time-consuming process that hindered efficiency and growth.
The Turning Point
Recognizing the need for a transformative solution, PIH adopted Tovuti LMS to unify its training efforts and create a collaborative, scalable system. From the outset, the platform addressed the organization’s most pressing challenges.
“Tovuti has been a stepping stone into launching a stronger training initiative at Partners In Health,” said Wickman. “It allows us to scale up trainings across the organization, collaborate on course creation, and track results more effectively.”
With Tovuti, PIH transitioned to a single, centralized platform that supports training in English, Spanish, and French. The intuitive design made onboarding straightforward, with +30 administrators trained to manage courses across the organization.
Transformation Through Tovuti
The impact of Tovuti was immediate and far-reaching. For the first time, PIH’s teams could collaborate seamlessly. Training materials were no longer locked within individual sites but instead stored in a shared repository accessible to all. This shift eliminated the inefficiencies of duplicating courses and fostered cross-site innovation.
“Instead of individual country sites working as islands, we’re now creating a platform of resource sharing,” Wickman noted. “A course created in one country can be easily adapted for another, saving time and money.”
One of the most significant advantages of Tovuti was its scalability. PIH no longer needed external engineers to build courses, and training materials could be reused for multiple cohorts.
During the pandemic, PIH developed a clinical use of oxygen course, which was reused six times with minimal additional effort—a stark contrast to the expensive, one-time courses of the past.
“The courses we create don’t just disappear,” said Wickman. “They’re easily replicable if another cohort of students wants to go through it the next year.”
Tovuti also improved engagement and completion rates. Interactive features, such as pop-up questions within videos, kept learners focused and active throughout their courses. “With adult learners, it’s really hard to keep their attention,” Wickman explained. “The interactive videos ensure they can’t just hit play and walk away.”
“Interactive videos are huge... They force learners to engage rather than just hit play and walk away.” - Liberty Wickman
The platform’s robust reporting capabilities allowed PIH to monitor progress and make data-driven decisions. Monthly reports now track metrics such as lesson completion rates and user activity, providing insights that were previously unattainable.
A Platform for the Future
Tovuti is at the heart of PIH’s training operations. The organization has transformed its approach to learning, creating a sustainable and collaborative environment where courses are built to last and shared across sites.
“Tovuti is the most collaborative LMS I’ve ever worked with,” said Wickman. “It’s user-friendly, and the support team is incredible. Without it, training would still be a very isolated, small-scale initiative at Partners In Health.”
“One of the greatest benefits of the Tovuti team is how easy it is to communicate with them. You don’t need a specialist.” - Liberty Wickman
PIH is not just meeting the demands of today but building a foundation for the future—one where training is accessible, efficient, and impactful for all. We’re honored to partner with PIH and support their training initiatives.
