Research for International Tobacco Control (RITC) of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is pleased to announce a Call for Letters of Intent for the African Tobacco Situational Analyses (ATSA). This competition is a joint initiative of RITC/IDRC and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The competition is administered by RITC/IDRC. The Call is available in English and French. A Portuguese translation will also be available shortly. The deadline for receipt of Letters of Intent is March 17, 2008 and will be accepted in English and French. Support for document translation from Portuguese to English or French will also be available.
Jobs and Announcements
IDRC: African Tobacco Situational Analyses - Call for letters of intent
Scholar Rescue Fund: Fellowships for Threatened Academics
Institute for International Education
The Institute of International Education's Scholar Rescue Fund (SRF) provides fellowships for established scholars whose lives and work are threatened in their home countries. These fellowships permit professors, researchers and other senior academics to find temporary refuge at universities and colleges anywhere in the world, enabling them to pursue their academic work and to continue to share their knowledge with students, colleagues, and the community at large. When conditions improve, these scholars will return home to help rebuild universities and societies ravaged by fear, conflict and repression. During the fellowship, conditions in a scholar's home country may improve, permitting safe return; if safe return is not possible, the scholar may use the fellowship period to identify a longer-term opportunity.
Further details: /newsletter/id/32892
Training: HIV Positive Living Train the Trainer, 24-28 March 2008
SAFAM Training Academy, Johannesburg, South Africa
The Positive Living training based upon the book Positive Health is regarded as the bench-mark for interventions aimed at empowering people living with HIV or AIDS to take positive actions to maintain their health. The training targets Peer educators - Medical practitioners - Community workers – Wellness coordinators - EAP counsellors, HIV Champions; Health and Safety, VCT staff; CSI implementers; HR practitioners; as well as implementers for NGOs, VSOs, ASOs and FBOs. This training has formed the basis for corporate and government programs in 17 countries in Africa. The methods have been assessed by medical experts and were found to have solid credentials and cost-effectiveness.
United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS
UNAIDS
The UN General Assembly has called for a high-level meeting on 10-11 June 2008, to undertake a comprehensive review of the progress achieved in realizing the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the 2006 Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS , as well as to promote the continued engagement of leaders in a comprehensive global response to AIDS. The high-level meeting will comprise plenary meetings, five thematic panel discussions and an informal interactive hearing with civil society. The outcome of the high-level meeting will be a Summary of the President of the General Assembly, reflecting the views expressed during the discussions. To facilitate civil society involvement in the high-level meeting and ensure an open, transparent and participatory process, the President of the General Assembly in partnership with UNAIDS will establish a Civil Society Task Force comprising representatives from civil society, the private sector and relevant UN focal points. The Task Force will, among other things, help identify participants for the civil society hearing and help determine the format, theme and programme. In addition, UNAIDS is working closely with a coalition of civil society organizations to provide support to civil society and community groups in maximizing the impact of the 2008 UN General Assembly high-level meeting on AIDS. Submit your application to attend the meeting at: http://www.un-ngls.org/unaids/en/application.php
Call for Applications: Gender, Mental Health and Addictions
Research Net
CIHR's Institute of Gender and Health (IGH) and the Institute of Neurosciences Mental and Addictions (INMHA) are committed to improving mental health, a priority, according to leading national and international experts and policy-makers, for Canadians and the international community. The purpose of this funding opportunity is to address this major gap in knowledge through the launch of CIHR Centres for Research Development in Gender, Mental Health and Addictions. This initiative will provide interdisciplinary teams of researchers and their stakeholders with core infrastructure support to develop integrated programs of research and knowledge translation that examine the influence of gender and sex on mental health and on policies and programs that affect mental health, and design and test new interventions.
5th Summer Institute (SI-5) for New Global Health Researchers
The Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research
The Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research (CCGHR) is pleased to announce the 5th annual Summer Institute (SI-5) for researchers who are new to the field of global health research. By “new” they mean researchers who have become involved in this important area within the past five years. By “global health research” they mean research concerning the problems borne by societies in low and middle income countries (LMICs).The 5th Summer Institute for New Global Health Researchers, to be held in partnership with Network Environments for Aboriginal Research BC of the University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The Summer Institute will be held at the Quw'utsun' Cultural and Conference Centre located in the Cowichan Valley, in the southeast corner of Vancouver Island from July 16-23, 2008.
A call for expressions of interest to participate in new research and research training in Comprehensive Primary Health Care
People's Health Movement
In 2007, an international network of researchers and people involved in building comprehensive primary health care (CPHC) received funding to support research and research capacity-building. This network, associated with the People's Health Movement, includes individuals in India , Africa, Latin America, Europe, Canada and Australia. The ideals of comprehensive primary health care were first launched internationally by the 1978 Alma-Ata Declaration on Primary Health Care. This Declaration was partly based on earlier primary health care successes in significantly lowering infant, childhood and maternal mortality rates and creating over all population health improvements in many parts of the developing world. Since the Alma-Ata Declaration, however, most health systems reform in much of the world has been driven by 'selective' (single-disease or intervention focused) primary health care, and by increased marketization of health care services ( e.g. user fees, privatization). This has led to increasingly complex, inefficient and inequitable health systems driven by an ever larger number of special 'global health initiatives.'This document outlines how this project will set out to change this.
DelPHE launches call for applications
The British Council
The ACU's Development Partnerships in Higher Education (DelPHE) programme launched it's Third Call for Applications. DelPHE is led by the British Council with the support of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU). DelPHE is designed to support university collaborations which address Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in any of 25 focus countries across Africa and Asia (details available on the web site). Deadlines for applications will vary by country, as applications must be submitted to the local British Council office in the country of the lead applicant. Each of these offices determine a local deadline, before shortlisted applications are forwarded to the United Kingdom for final evaluation. Local deadlines range between 20 January 2008 and 1 March 2008, with details available on the web site.
Geneva Health Forum, 2008 Edition: Strengthening Health Systems and the Global Health Workforce
Geneva Health Forum
The Geneva Forum: Towards Global Access to Health brings together on an equal basis all actors involved in access to health – including international, national and local organizations; government agencies; the private sector; hospitals; universities; civil society; and most importantly those who need care. It provides an interactive and dynamic platform for critical reflexion on the complexity of global access to health. Under the flags of equity, partnership, and capacity building, it strives to link policies and guidelines to actual practice in the field. The Geneva Health Forum 2008 will maintain the broad range of themes considered as priorities: access to health systems; health and inequities; access to drugs, vaccines and diagnosis; civil society and social issues in health; and capacity building and partnerships. The Geneva Health Forum 2008 places special emphasis on the strengthening and integration of health systems and the importance of the global health workforce. Health systems cannot be addressed without a critical look at the current crisis of the global health workforce. The Forum will focus on key initiatives and best practices that address issues such as motivation, working environment, migration, and gaps in competencies. The role that universities, hospitals, and training institutions can play in this domain will be reviewed in light of innovative partnerships and programmes. The conference site provides all relevant details on deadlines for abtract submission and registration.
Health, development, and equity — Call for papers
Hornton R, Pang T: The Lancet, Volume 371, (9607), 12 January 2008
Research can lead to more cost-effective interventions, better delivery strategies, improved management practices, rational health-system policies, and optimum ways to increase health-seeking behaviour. Research is essential to ensure that new strategies are adapted to fit local political, cultural, and economic contexts. Ultimately, the only truly sustainable way to improve health outcomes is to build local research and innovation capacity so that developing countries can continually improve the effectiveness, equity, and efficiency of their own health systems. To address these issues, a Global Ministerial Forum on Research for Health will be held in Bamako, Mali, Nov 17–19, 2008, that will convene ministers of health, science, and technology, to discuss research and innovation with leading experts and stakeholders in the research process from around the world. The Lancet plans to produce a theme issue on research for health, development, and equity, and is inviting papers that address the core themes of the conference. The deadline for submission of articles is 2 June 2008.