The Global Development Network is now accepting submissions for its annual competition for development research proposals/papers and development projects. Researchers and non-governmental organisations from developing and transition countries are invited to participate in the competition. The competition is funded by the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Finance, the government of Japan and other donors. It focuses on key issues such as globalisation, regional integration, climate change and international migration against the backdrop of the current global economic and financial crisis, the political and economic repercussions of which can already be felt across countries and regions. The impact of these crises on the architecture of developing countries cannot be understated. They have prompted many to challenge globalisation and they are also likely to hasten the structural shift in global economic power from Western countries to emerging markets.
Jobs and Announcements
The British Medical Association's (BMA) International Department runs the BMA Information Fund, which helps to provide health information to organisations in developing countries. The Fund donates educational materials, such as books and DVDs, and is run in association with Teaching Aids at Low Cost (TALC). It is currently inviting applications for 2009 from health care institutions, health non-governmental organisations, medical school libraries and other related organisations. (Please note that it is unable to consider requests from individuals.) To submit an application, please download the application form and TALC book list from the Fund’s website. Please note that the maximum award per application is £2,000. Completed application forms and booklists should be sent to the email address provided.
All interested parties are invited to submit abstracts in the form of oral presentations and posters exploring the overall theme of the Conference ‘Sexuality and HIV and AIDS in Africa’. The theme may be explored through the following objectives and sub-themes: identifying new, emerging and existing vulnerabilities and vulnerable/marginalised people that are critical to sexual health and rights/HIV and AIDS interventions using a sexuality- and rights-based approach; exploring how the application of human rights framework to sexuality might provide new insights in developing interventions to reduce the spread of HIV and AIDS and provide a more comprehensive sexual health to all persons; and reviewing and mapping out new and existing innovative strategies, programming and funding that best addresses the links between sexuality, sexual health/rights and HIV and AIDS for future interventions.
The International Conference on Healthcare and Trade, organised by the Erasmus Observatory on Health Law, will focus on the influence of the law of both the European Union and the World Trade Organization on trade in health services, health insurance services and health goods (pharmaceuticals). The application of the EC Treaty, the GATS and the TRIPS to national regulation of health services, health insurance services and pharmaceuticals raises questions of applicability of, compatibility with and possible exceptions to the provisions of these instruments. In these areas, these questions have not yet been answered conclusively and further research and discussion in this area is ongoing. The conference aims to contribute to the discussion, attempting to formulate both legal and economic answers to these questions. Prepaid advanced registration must be electronically submitted, faxed or mailed no later than 1 December 2009. The conference fee is 250 euros (concessions are available for students).
The Fund for Gender Equality is a multi-donor initiative designed to advance high-impact gender equality programmes that focus on women’s economic and/or political empowerment at local and national levels. It provides grants to civil society and governmental agencies in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, the Arab States, Latin America and the Caribbean, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Commonwealth of Independent States. The Fund is unique in its focus on turning local and national laws and policies into tangible gains for women’s rights. Potential grantees may apply for one of two types of grants. Implementation grants will range from US$2 million to US$5 million distributed over a period of two to four years. Catalytic grants will range from US$100,000 to US$500,000 distributed over a period of one to two years. Once a plan, policy or law is developed and endorsed, successful institutions will be eligible to apply in the future for a larger implementation grant.
The Global Symposium is an annual event that has developed a worldwide movement through a global partnership with civil society and educational organizations to establish sustainable development, world unity and world peace. This is an opportunity for many to meet some amazing people, aside from being able to directly help address major issues confronting the world today. The purpose of this international gathering is to strengthen cooperation among the civil society to unite their efforts in world interest and to act and achieve our common goals by laying a strong foundation of a nuclear-free, democratic, sustainable, just and peaceful world order and creating a widespread awareness about issues like scarcity of safe drinking water and more equitable distribution of resources. Register now. There is no registration or participation fee. All delegates from abroad will be provided with complimentary boarding and lodging (accommodation and meals) facilities.
On 13 August 2009 the Rural Health Advocacy Project was launched at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, coinciding with the launch of the Wits Centre for Rural Health. A renewed focus on access to health care in rural areas is vital in a context of worsening key health indicators in South Africa, a 34% national vacancy rate for doctors and inequitable access to quality health care. The Advocacy Project aims to tackle these inequities by achieving measurable improvements in rural health services through: contributing towards policy development including human resources policies for rural health at provincial, national and international levels; advocating for improvements in rural health care in cooperation with rural communities and stakeholders such as government, academic institutions and the private sector; and highlighting challenges and achievements in rural health care.
The Second Access to Healthcare in Africa Conference will concentrate on challenges to quality, product availability, access and management in effective health care, with a focus on HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Participants will be able to share their experiences in health care management with their peers while tapping into the knowledge and insight of experts in this field. Topics include the current global recession, donor’s responses and the challenge to make choices regarding accessibility, quality control, efficiency efficacy and health economics around health intervention programmes. These issues are not addressed properly at the global conferences but they are the difference between success and failure of the intervention at ground level. The Conference aims to put those topics on the table for discussion. Key international speakers will introduce each theme, followed by a high-level interactive panel and participant discussion.
It's time to register for the 16th Canadian Conference on International Health (CCIH). This year's conference is being held on October 25–28, 2009 in Ottawa, Canada. The Conference convenes more than 500 participants from 44 countries. It also creates a unique networking forum for practitioners, researchers, educators, policy makers and community advocates working at the intersection of health and development within and outside Canada, to share knowledge, experience and promote innovation and collaborative action. It provides a peer review process for individuals and organisations involved in health development, building knowledge and strengthening programmes in international health. The themes of the Conference are: Pathways to Global Health Competence; An Ethical View of Health Equity: Trends and Challenges; Global Health Diplomacy: A Tool for Global Health and Justice; and Thinking Globally/Acting Locally: The Reality and Challenges for the Future.
The Division of Dramatic Art, in collaboration with Drama for Life, Wits School of the Arts, is organising the 2009 Africa Research Conference in Applied Drama and Theatre. This year's conference will aim to facilitate dialogue across disciplines concerning the role of drama and theatre in HIV/AIDS education, prevention and rehabilitation, with the theme, ‘Interrogating drama and theatre research and aesthetics within an interdisciplinary context of HIV/AIDS’. The conference seeks to offer an opportunity for in-depth research, innovative practice and network building for academics and practitioners working within applied drama and theatre, and associated fields of study. The conference conversation will centre on research paradigms, the aesthetics of the art form, and interfacing with other disciplines. The main topics are: interrogating research as practice and practice as research in applied drama and theatre in the context of HIV/AIDS, the aesthetics of drama and theatre within the context of interdisciplinary demands, and applied drama and theatre as an interdisciplinary field.