In the run-up to the Third People’s Health Assembly (PHA3), the People’s Health Movement (PHM) is releasing monthly updates on preparations for the Assembly – this is the first issue. PHM reports that, in the Africa region, various pre-PHA3 mobilisation activities have begun and in attempt to have co-ordinated efforts towards the assembly, mobilisation committees have been set up. Four sub-regional committees have been formed: West Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa and Central. A regional mobilisation committee will be developed from representatives of these sub-regions aiming to support national initiatives and bring regional health issues to the foreground in PHA3 discussions. Other countries which have started PHA3 activities and discussions are Zimbabwe, Kenya, Pakistan, Togo, Niger, Congo Brazzaville, Italy, Belgium and many others. Join the PHA3 facebook group to stay updated on preparatory events taking place around the world. PHM is calling on all interested parties to inform them what is happening in their countries so it can be shared through the monthly updates.
Jobs and Announcements
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is convening a global conference on 19-21 October, 2011, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to build support for the implementation of action on social determinants of health. The Brazilian Ministry of Health, the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) and the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs are working closely with WHO on preparing the event. The conference will bring together Member States and stakeholders to share experiences on policies and strategies aiming to reduce health inequities. The event will provide a global platform for dialogue on how the recommendations of the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health (2008) could be taken forward. The key aim of the process is to draw lessons learnt and to catalyse coordinated global action in five key areas: governance to tackle the root causes of health inequities by implementing action on social determinants of health; the role of the health sector, including public health programmes, in reducing health inequities; promoting participation through community leadership for action on social determinants; global action on social determinants by aligning priorities and stakeholders; and monitoring progress in terms of measurement and analysis to inform policies on social determinants.
The East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA-HC), in collaboration with the Ministries of Public Health and Sanitation and Medical Services Republic of Kenya will host the 54th ECSA Health Minister’s Conference from 07 - 11 November 2011 in Mombasa, Republic of Kenya. The Conference, will bring together Ministers of Health, Senior Officials from Ministries of Health, Experts, Health Researchers, Heads of Health Training Institutions from Member States of the ECSA Health Community; diverse Collaborating Partners in the region and beyond with the aim of identifying policy issues and making recommendations to facilitate the implementation of high impact interventions for improved health outcomes. The theme of the 54th ECSA Health Ministers Conference is “Consolidating the gains: Addressing High Impact Interventions for Improved Health Outcomes” Abstracts are being invited for presentation of papers under the ECSA-HC Regional Forum on Best Practices which is held annually in conjunction with the Health Ministers Conference for the East Central and Southern Africa - Health Community (ECSA-HC) You are kindly requested to submit your abstract(s) by 16 September 2011 to admin@ecsa.or.tz.
The BRAC University is calling for applicants for its Masters of Public Heath programme. Since its inception, the School has received 191 diverse students from different corners of the globe such as South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, Australia, North and South Americas, and Europe. The graduates move on to work for their respective governments, national and/or international NGOs, or with various donor and UN agencies. Additionally, universities and research organizations also acquire a large number of our MPH students. The MPH curriculum is structured to maximize learning around the health problems faced by communities in Bangladesh, and elsewhere. This includes extensive field-based instructions complemented by interactive classroom based work in teams. The School has a generous scholarship programme that aims to promote global access to the MPH amongst potential students from all over the world based on merit. The admission process includes an application, reference letters, statement of interest in public health, individual and group interviews, as well as written and oral tests.
The Africa Programme for Advanced Research Epidemiology Training(APARET) is an European Union-funded programme whose goal is to support independent research activities by fellows in Africa . The programme will run for four years with three fellow intakes, and each intake will last for two years in selected African research training institutions. During this period, the fellows shall conduct epidemiologic research with their host institutes. A major part of the first year shall be the application for a major research grant. Each fellow shall be supported by a mentor and supervisor and a grant averaging 6,000 Euros to facilitate their research during the fellowship. Fellows will be supervised and trained in planning and conducting independent epidemiological research as well as in the analysis of epidemiological data. Further training will be provided on critically reviewing scientific papers and on the submission of scientific manuscripts to a peer-reviewed journal.
The MRC/DfID African Research Leader scheme is awarded for non-clinical and clinical researchers of exceptional ability. The aim of the scheme is to strengthen research leadership across sub-Saharan Africa by attracting and retaining talented individuals undertaking high quality programmes of research. The ARL scheme will continue to build on existing strong research partnerships between African and UK research organizations by providing support for outstanding non-clinical and clinical researchers, ideally from less resourced, sub-Saharan Africa countries. The scheme is open to all research areas within the Medical Research Council’s remit that address the priority health problems of people in developing countries and where the research is best conducted in sub-Saharan Africa. This includes biomedical and health research (including social sciences and public health research) relevant to national and regional health needs and priorities. Potential African Research Leader candidates must supply a high-quality science proposal, be affiliated to an African research organisation and have a UK partner (investigator and institution).
The International Development Research Centre and the Canadian Global Tobacco Control Forum are calling for concept notes concerning the expansion of fiscal policies for global and national tobacco control. The key objective of this call is to generate knowledge designed to accelerate the adoption of effective fiscal policies for tobacco control in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). Key thematic areas include: research on the impact of various types of tobacco taxes or pricing policies; region-based research to establish actual and model budgets for tobacco control; research on coordinated regional and global taxes, tariffs and/or other levies on tobacco products and the profits from tobacco sales; and research to identify barriers to, and strategies for, accessing Official Development Assistance for tobacco control. The principal applicant must be a citizen or permanent resident of a LMIC and with a primary work affiliation in a LMIC institution.
The International Development Research Centre is calling for concept notes concerning the promotion of healthy diets as a key strategy for the prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in low- and middle-income countries(LMICs). The key objective of this call is to support Southern-led research designed to influence the adoption and implementation of effective policies and programmes for the promotion of healthy diets in LMICs. Key thematic areas include: research on policies, population-wide programs and community-based interventions that aim to discourage production and consumption unhealthy food products and promote healthy eating; and evidence syntheses or situation analyses to inform policy dialogues and the adoption and implementation of key interventions to address unhealthy diets as a key NCD risk factor. Please note that three major cross-cutting issues are central to the NCD programme: equity, intersectoral action and commercial influence on public health-related policy. The principal applicant must be a citizen or permanent resident of a LMIC and with a primary work affiliation in a LMIC institution.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is calling for papers for all sections of the Bulletin and encourage authors to consider contributions that address any of the following topics: disease burden assessments in low-income countries, since information in this area is scarce; vaccination implementation and policy, particularly on the cost and public health benefit of vaccination programmes; and the evaluation of nonpharmaceutical public health measures since these are widely described as control measures, but there is less published evidence on their effectiveness than for pharmaceutical interventions (vaccines and medicines). In particular, WHO seeks submission of papers that document experiences from low-resource settings.
At the Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, approximately 2,000 delegates will review global progress in improving the impact and effectiveness of aid, and make commitments that set a new agenda for development. The Forum follows meetings in Rome, Paris and Accra that helped transform aid relationships between donors and partners into true vehicles for development cooperation. Based on 50 years of field experience and research, the five principles that resulted from these fora encourage local ownership, alignment of development programmes around a country’s development strategy, harmonisation of practices to reduce transaction costs, the avoidance of fragmented efforts and the creation of results frameworks.