The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), in partnership with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), is pleased to announce the seventh call for applications for the African Doctoral Dissertation Research Fellowships (ADDRF). The ADDRF Fellowship Program seeks to facilitate more rigorous engagement of doctoral students in research, strengthen their research skills, and provide them an opportunity for timely completion of their doctoral training. The Program targets doctoral students with strong commitment to a career in training and/or research. The ADDRF will award about 20 fellowships in 2014 to doctoral students who are within two years of completing their thesis at an African university. In this phase of funding and in consideration of IDRC’s health programming priorities, candidates whose dissertation topics address health policy or health systems issues will be given special consideration. The Program has also reserved a small number of fellowships specifically for doctoral students conducting research on health inequities in urban areas or the reproductive health of marginalized urban communities.
Jobs and Announcements
An upcoming Special Issue on "How Public Health Can Meet the Challenges of the Twenty-First Century," will be published in the Public Health subject area of BioMed Research International in July 2014. A call for papers has been made for the Special Issue, which is open to both original research articles as well as review articles. BioMed Research International is an open access journal, which means that all published articles are made freely available online without a subscription, and authors retain the copyright of their work.
Applications are now being accepted for the first round of fellowships for the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship (ADF) Programme. Public and private higher education institutions in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa and Uganda are eligible to apply to host a Fellow, an African-born scholar who lives and works in a college or university in the United States or Canada.
The eLearning Africa “Through your Lens” Photo Competition is back this year in its fifth edition. Under the theme of “Social Africa: building bridges through ICT”, budding photographers are invited to submit snapshots depicting how ICT is enhancing the way individuals and communities in Africa live, learn, cooperate and connect. Contributions from all sectors and walks of life are welcome. The photo should show how communication tools and information technologies can build bridges and foster relationships between people and be accompanied by a brief description outlining the inspiration behind their idea.
UNAIDS is calling for all to join Zero Discrimination Day as an opportunity to celebrate everyone’s right to live a full and productive life with dignity—no matter what they look like, where they come from or whom they love. "By joining hearts and voices, individuals, communities and societies can transform the world every day and everywhere. Zero Discrimination Day is a moment to highlight how everyone can become informed and promote tolerance, compassion and peace". The day is part of a global campaign.
The 4th Ethics, Human Rights and Medical Law Conference is a must attend event for healthcare professionals in South Africa and the surrounding region. A one-day conference that is fully dedicated to the above topics, it was created to demonstrate how important all three subjects are, as well as how they connect to one another.
Global Health Governance will be publishing a special issue on a proposed Framework Convention on Global Health (FCGH) in December 2014. The proposal for an FCGH would create a new international framework, grounded in the international human right to health, that would support health at the national and global levels. For this FCGH special issue, Global Health Governance invites submission of theoretical and empirical policy research articles that examine and analyse how the FCGH could improve health through improved governance and realization of the right to health, in particular articles on 1) defining and articulating the underlying normative aspects of the FCGH and the prospects of implementing these norms across global, national, and local levels; 2) global health diplomacy and the process of drafting a Framework Convention; 3) institutional and political implementation concerns; 4) the roles of and relationship between state and non-state actors in the formulation and implementation of the FCGH; 5) the connection between existing norms and institutions and the FCGH; 6) strategies and challenges for integrating the norms of the FCGH into existing global, national, and local institutions; 7) accountability under the FCGH; and 8) strategies and challenges for using the FCGH to reshape or build on existing global, national, and local institutions to advance health equity and realization of the right to health. Abstracts (up to 400 words) for proposed articles are due March 30, 2014. Submissions should be made by email, in Microsoft Word format, to Lance Gable.
The University of Turin, Italy, in partnership with the International Training Centre (ITC) of the International Labour Organization (ILO), is offering a Master course in Occupational Safety and Health. This one-year programme, to be held in English, includes an Internet-based distance learning phase, a face-to-face residential period on the ITC/ILO's campus in Turin followed by another distance phase for the preparation of the dissertation. The proposed programme combines the advantages of the academic experience in OSH of Turin University with the ITC/ILO's international training experience. An international approach has been applied to the contents, the methodology development as well as to the composition of the training team. This programme involves participants from both developing and developed countries, who will thus have an opportunity to share their different experiences. Applicants to visit the website for information on applications. A number of partial fellowships are available only for participants from developing countries on a competitive basis.
The African Network for Strategic Communication in Health and Development (AfriComNet), a network of health communication practitioners across 50 countries, proposes an interactive three-day practicum focused on health communication monitoring and evaluation. The practicum will address topics such as how health communication strategy design influences monitoring and evaluation plans; the use of behaviour change theories/models to guide evaluation planning; using evaluation and monitoring data to inform program strategies; using health communication research to test theories; and effectively disseminating and using evidence and findings to improve the science of health communication. Early registration is encouraged as the practicum is limited to a maximum of 150 participants. To register, please complete the registration form on the website.
The Municipal Services Project (MSP) explores alternatives to the privatization and commercialization of essential services, focusing on health, water and electricity in Africa, Asia and Latin America. We are convening an international conference to bring together researchers, activists, labour representatives, development practitioners and policy makers working to promote progressive public services in Cape Town from April 13-16, 2014. The event will showcase promising service provision alternatives, pushing forward our conceptual and methodological understandings of how public attitudes and practices arise, how they are constituted, and how they might be sustained. It will also offer practical alternatives and help advance debates about public services in South Africa. Registration is open to South Africans and participants from the region who would like to take part as observers for the full length of the conference. Registration is free but you will be responsible for your own expenses. Space is limited and MSP will review applications on a first come, first served basis and give priority to people with a demonstrated interest in conference themes.