At major meetings, advances in HIV management focuses mainly on either adults or children, leaving out adolescents. To meet this need for international interchange in order to bring the field forward, Virology Education and partners have initiated the International Workshop on HIV & Adolescence: challenges and solutions. This workshop is for multidisciplinary experts working with adolescents affected by HIV. It aims to share experiences, knowledge and best practices in optimizing care for adolescents living with HIV. The program will cover the spectrum of developmental changes in adolescents including social, behavioral, physiological and biological aspects and the impact of an HIV positive status, and prevention programs, testing, treatment and support services among adolescents.
Jobs and Announcements
The Children’s Institute has developed a cutting-edge short course in child rights and child law for health and allied professionals - including training on consent to medical treatment and the reporting of child abuse and neglect as outlined in the new Children’s Act and amendments to the Sexual Offences Act. This five-day intensive course provides an opportunity for doctors, nurses, social workers and allied professionals to explore how best can better give effect to children’s rights in their practice, and is accredited with both the Health Professions Council of South Africa and the SA Council for Social Service Professions. The course is accredited by both the Health Professions Council of South Africa and the SA Council for Social Service Professions, and is targeted at doctors, nurses, educators, social workers and allied professionals who are responsible for child health at all levels of the health care system.
This fellowship programme is aimed at African scholars who have obtained a doctoral degree within the preceding seven years and who hold an academic position at a university or research institution anywhere in Africa. Candidates should have established a research programme and have completed a post-doctoral fellowship or equivalent post-PhD programme. All disciplines are considered. Iso Lomso Fellowships provide an early career opportunity for Africa’s brightest minds in academia. Fellows will enjoy: a three-year attachment during which time they may spend a total of ten months in residence to develop and pursue a long-term research programme at a sister institute for advanced study in North America, Europe or elsewhere. The fellowship includes funding to attend up to two international conferences or training workshops; support to convene a workshop with collaborators and lecturer replacement subsidy for the fellow’s home institution during residency periods.
The International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action will take place from 21–27 October 2018, with particular focus on eliminating lead paint in all countries by 2020. Lead poisoning is preventable, yet in 2016 lead exposure was estimated to account for 540 000 deaths and 13.9 million years lost to disability and death due to the long-term health effects, with the highest burden being in developing regions. Of particular concern is the role lead exposure plays in the development of intellectual disability in children. Even though this problem is widely recognised, it remains a key concern of healthcare providers and public health officials worldwide. The World Health Organisation has produced campaign materials for organisations to plan a local event with government, industry or civil society.
Hearing loss, especially disabling hearing loss, is associated with delayed cognitive development in children and early cognitive decline in older adults. Hearing loss was highlighted at the World Health Assembly in 2017, when Member States unanimously adopted a resolution to develop public health strategies to integrate ear and hearing care within countries’ primary health-care systems. Against this background, the Bulletin of the World Health Organization will publish a theme issue on the public health approach of hearing loss. Papers are welcomed which focus on identifying and filling the gaps in evidence across comprehensive hearing-care services, from promotion of ear and hearing care, to screening, hearing devices and rehabilitation. In particular, the papers should report on unmet needs, outcomes of services, and effective and sustainable initiatives to reach underserved groups. Submission of papers reporting on both the magnitude of diseases and conditions, such as ear infections, meningitis and rubella, that can affect hearing, are encouraged, as well as papers addressing health system issues and promoting an intersectoral approach to ear and hearing care, such as looking beyond health. As much as possible, papers should seek to integrate examples from low- and middle-income countries across life course.
CA Global Headhunters are recruiting for a a position of Director of a Secretariat for an international organisation implementing malaria control in sub-Saharan Africa. The organisation Ministerial Committee and Secretariat Board are now seeking a Director to continue the momentum that has been started, and to allow the organization to consolidate on the lessons and experiences of its start-up period to steer the next phase of the strategy towards malaria-free Regions. The Director will manage a successful transition from the previous head of the Secretariat, while supporting and guiding the regional partnership through a period of focused growth. He/she will work closely with member states, the Board and the Ministerial Committee to steer the organization to a more impactful and sustainable model for regional malaria elimination, including Ministers of Health, Permanent Secretaries, and Malaria Program Directors/Managers. The Director will facilitate negotiation and alignment between member states to allocate resources effectively for regional priorities, while also strengthening mechanisms for joint monitoring and accountability for the mutual elimination goal. The website provides information for submission of applications.
The World Health Organization (WHO) World Antibiotic Awareness Week takes place every year in November, and this year will be 12-18 November, with national events for awareness about antimicrobial resistance. Towards this, the 3rd National Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Conference 2018 for Uganda is being hosted by Makerere University College of Health Science (CHS) in partnership with One Health Central and Eastern Africa (OHCEA, http://ohcea.org), an international network of universities in eight African countries and 16 Universities including Makerere University. This year’s conference will be held at Hotel Africana in Kampala on November 21 – 22 and the theme will be Understanding Drivers and Collective Action against Antimicrobial Resistance. At the conference, the National One Health Platform will launch the National Action Plan (NAP) against Antimicrobial Resistance and it will also one health initiatives in the country.
The Fourth People’s Health Assembly (PHA 4), will draw on civil society organizations and networks, social movements, academia and other actors from around the globe. PHA4 will provide a space for strengthening solidarity, sharing experiences, mutual learning and joint strategizing for future actions. The Assembly and associated activities aim to: evaluate and critically analyze current processes and policies that impact on health and healthcare at global, regional and local levels; undertake a collective assessment of PHM’s organizational and programmatic activities and to provide a renewed mandate for the years to come. They also seek to enhance the capacity of health civil society activists to engage with and intervene in the policy making process, to monitor and drive policy implementation and to ensure accountability in the functioning of health systems; to foster and support constructive dialogue, planning and mobilization around health and the broader social determinants of health, involving the widest possible range of practitioners; and to launch renewed sustainable structures and dynamics, both within and outside the health sector, that will continue to drive coordinated action to secure universal and equitable access to health and health care.
The Global Symposium on Health Systems Research is organized every two years by Health Systems Global to bring together the full range of players involved in health systems and policy research and practice. Beginning with the First Global Symposium in Montreux in 2010, the Symposia have played a crucial, catalytic role in convening a global community dedicated to strengthening health systems and building the field of health systems research. The Fifth Global Symposium on Health Systems Research (HSR2018) will take place at the ACC in Liverpool, UK from 8 to 12 October, 2018, bringing together approximately 2,000 health systems researchers, policymakers and practitioners from around the world. The full programme for the symposium is now online at the website.
HER Voice Fund is giving out grants amounting to USD 2000 for activities meant to influence policy processes. The funds are to address the financial access barriers limiting community based organisations (CBOs) working on AGYW issues to fully participate in various stages of Global Fund processes in the 13 target countries. Relevant processes include Global Fund country dialogues across the various stages of the cycle (concept note development, grant-making, grant implementation and grant monitoring); and meaningful participation in related processes including but not limited to: HIV national strategic plans, frameworks, policies, guidelines- development and reviews and their accompanying or related monitoring and evaluation and operational plans; as well as strategies, policies and guidelines related to adolescent health and their well-being. These funds can be used to support short-term key activities including but not limited to: Transport to attend meetings related to Global Fund processes; meeting arrangements to facilitate dialogue processes by community based organisations and communication processes related to participation in key discussions and forums, among others. Applications can be submitted online or by email