Canon Collins Trust currently manages a scholarship programme on behalf of Mrs. Graça Machel. The aim is to provide female students from Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, South Africa and Zambia with scholarships that will equip them to take up leadership roles for the benefit of their community, nation and region. One of the key concerns of Mrs Machel is giving a voice to rural women and the scholarship is therefore aimed at empowering rural women. The Graça Machel scholarship is for women who have experienced significant struggle in their life and who have sought to overcome those barriers, be they related to gender, disability, poverty, age or racial discrimination. Applicants will be expected to demonstrate clearly how their application fits within this vision of empowerment. All scholarships are for postgraduate study, for two years if based in South Africa. The scholarship includes payment of a maintenance allowance, travel, health insurance and tuition fees. Scholarships are awarded on a competitive basis to women on the basis of academic/professional merit, financial need, intended academic programme, leadership potential and commitment to work for constructive change in Africa. Applicants must have at least two years relevant work experience. Subject Areas include: Health; Education; Science and Technology; Economics and Finance; and Development. The closing date for applications is 31st August 2008.
Jobs and Announcements
The IHHR is planning to host the next UNSW Intensive Course on Health, Development and Human Rights from 8th - 12th December 2008 on the Kensington Campus of the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. New opportunities and risks associated with human development, widening gaps between health needs of particularly vulnerable populations and responses to these needs, and widespread movements of people through labour and forced migration as a consequence of economic pressure, climate change, conflicts and natural disasters, are key issues for the new millennium.
CIVICUS is recruiting for a Participatory Governance Project Coordinator to lead a multi-country project in Africa involving a range of country-level and international partners. The project seeks to enhance the capacity of citizens and their organisations to make use of evidence-based participatory approaches in engaging with governments to promote greater transparency, responsiveness and accountability. Besides contributing to project design and providing technical assistance in participatory governance to country-level partners, the incumbent will be responsible for project administration, including budget and reporting; supporting country-level partners in networking and institutional development, and organising regional and global learning events. Submit a cover letter, a detailed CV and the contact details of 3 referees to humanresources@civicus.org by Monday 15 September 2008.
Transparency International (TI) is a global civil society organisation leading the fight against corruption. Through more than 90 chapters worldwide and an international secretariat in Berlin, Germany, TI raises awareness of the damaging effects of corruption and works with partners in government, business and civil society to develop and implement effective measures to tackle it. Transparency International is looking for a senior research coordinator to manage the research components of a three-year, eight-country programme on ‘Transparency in Service Delivery in Africa’ (TISDA). The programme seeks to improve delivery in basic services in three key sectors (education, health and water) by empowering civil society to advocate for improved transparency and accountability in the management of financial resources in these sectors. Working closely with TI’s Africa and Middle East Department, participating TI national chapters and external (national and international) consultants, the senior research coordinator will be responsible for overseeing the design, implementation and analysis of public sector service delivery surveys on education, health and water in participating African countries (Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia).
The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine are holding this event in recognition of the historical importance of the Alma-Ata declaration, and the continuing interest in primary health care from a range of stakeholders. The key objectives of the symposium are to highlight successes of failures of primary health care (PHC) in the last 30 years; discuss how to apply the lessons learned to strengthen health systems for future challenges; look at the threats / challenges to the PHC approach and how to combat them; outline the tensions between disease specific programmes and PHC approaches - how can they be addressed?; identify Alma-Ata values and how they can be translated into programmes; and consider the implications of PHC for decision makers( donors, governments, research funders, academic institutions) in the future.
Health Action International (HAI) Africa and the Southern African Treatment Access Movement (SATAMO), with support from the Open Society Institute’s Public Health Programme, will organise a seminar on access to essential medicines (AEM) in Nairobi in October 2008.
York University (Toronto) working with the Training and Research Support Centre is running an internet-based course, “Civil Society and the State in Africa”, in September 2008 – April 2009. Members of civil society organisations in East and Southern Africa are invited to apply for participation in the course, which is provided free-of-charge. The 12-unit course will take place over 26 weeks, and is designed for civil society practitioners and post-secondary students (see the Lecture Schedule and Topics at the end of this announcement). The course is intended to provide both a firm grounding in current research and debates on civil society interventions around issues of social and economic policy and to provide capacity building in analysis for research on civil society - state interactions in social policy. By the end of the course, students should have a strengthened background in theoretical, strategic and practical issues in and approaches to civil society- state interactions in policy development and implementation, and an improved capacity to locate relevant research sources and support mechanisms for future policy-oriented work. York University will provide formal written acknowledgement of a student’s successful completion of the course once all of the course requirements have been met. Please email your application BEFORE 30 AUGUST 2008 to the following address: rsaunder@yorku.ca and admin@tarsc.org.
This annual event brings together scientists, public health experts, clinicians, epidemiologists and members of the corporate sector. The conference aims to encourage a strategic plan for HIV vaccine research, funding and greater collaboration in the field.
Organised by the national branch of the Southern African HIV Clinicians Society, the conference will give new insights into HIV treatment regimens and initiatives to reduce HIV transmission.
The UPEACE Africa Programme has secured funding from the Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC). This funding will be strictly allocated to African students studying at African institutions and, in particular, for those who are in the final stage of their PhD studies. The award is intended to support PhD candidates in their field research, data analysis, associated travel and production costs. In addition, part of the award may be used to access updated scholarly materials and disseminate research findings through publications and conference presentations. The maximum award is US$10,000 per eligible student. The deadline for applications is 12 September 2008.