The Embassy of Ireland in South Africa in partnership with Canon Collins Trust invites applications for scholarships for postgraduate study in Ireland commencing in September 2020. In 2020 fellowships will be offered for postgraduate study in: Agriculture, Environmental Science, Conservation, Rural Development; Food Science, Food Engineering and related; Pharmacy and Biotechnology; Health, Medicine and Health Economics; Development Studies, Peace Studies, Conflict Resolution and Humanitarian Action; Social Policy, Social Research, Community Development and Sociology; Law, Human Rights, Women’s Studies, Gender Studies, Equality Studies; Engineering, Hydrology, Sustainable Technology; Economics, Finance, Accounting, Management and Business; Information Systems and Communications Technology and Tourism. Applicants must be a resident national of South Africa and have a minimum of two years relevant work experience. Applicants already in possession of a Masters degree are not eligible.
Jobs and Announcements
The 2019 Public Health Association of South Africa conference will reflect on the intersections between democracy and health, and the progressive realisation of health care in South Africa. Despite the legislative, economic, social and cultural accomplishments since 1994, South Africa is facing a quadruple burden of diseases; increasing corruption; the grossly inequitable distribution of access between public and private health care sectors and governance crises in provincial health departments. These have seriously compromised the right to health care and many South Africans remain desperately deprived. This year’s conference will focus on the status of health care since 1994 in South Africa and what can be done to move closer to achieving the targets of the National Development Plan and equity in universal health coverage.
The Association of Schools of Public Health in Africa (ASPHA) welcomes abstract submissions for oral and poster presentations for the 2019 ASPHA Conference and Annual Meeting. The main theme of the conference is ‘Universal Health Coverage in Africa: The Role of Public Health Workforce.’ The sub-themes of the conference are ‘Developing Public Health Workforce to expand Universal Health Coverage’, ‘Innovations to improve Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health Care in Africa’, ‘Current and Emerging Public Health Issues (Non-communicable and Communicable diseases)’, ‘Evidence to Policy: Financing Healthcare for Universal Health Coverage’ and ‘Public Health Education’. Consider including the following information in the abstract, when relevant: objective, problem under investigation, hypothesis, or research goal, the description of research methods, summary of findings and statement of how the research advances public health. See the website for further information.
The 2019 2nd Social Policy in Africa International Conference invites abstracts and papers that address the dynamics of social policymaking in Africa, identify the drivers of policies and their policy preferences, and address the issue of the nature of politics and the constitution of the public sphere necessary for enhanced economic transformation, human flourishing, and new forms of social compact in inclusive development. Presenters are invited to engage with these issues and explore the different national and regional experiences of modes of governance of the African social policy space, the drivers of public policy, and explore the modes of governance and politics necessary for enhanced human wellbeing and development. The conference also invites papers in the broad areas of social policy not directly concerned with the theme of the 2019 conference.
This conference will tackle robotics, electronic health records, delivering personalised healthcare, artificial intelligence, IoT in healthcare, driving down the cost of care with technology, security, legal impact of eHealth, healthcare policy, telemedicine advances, future of healthcare and much, much more. The summit will look at the role technology plays in patient empowerment, disease diagnosis and enhancing operational efficiency in medical facilities. HISA 2019 presents the latest healthcare technologies and showcasing their practical application and integration into existing healthcare infrastructure.
The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) is seeking potential case studies for its project Cities in Transition—Urban Struggles for Just Transition(s), run by the Just Transition Research Collaborative (JTRC). This project analyses urban approaches to just transition, exploring the role of cities in implementing progressive and transformative just transition strategies and plans. Building on the theoretical framework and assessment carried out by the Just Transition Research Collaborative and published in the report Just Transition(s) to a Low-Carbon World (2018), the project collects new empirical evidence and stories from several cities, and fosters exchange of experience and mutual learning on the role of cities in just transition. The research contributes a better understanding of the potential of city-level just transition policies and frameworks to influence higher level policy change and climate justice. The case studies will be a major part of a research report which will be presented to decision makers and activists at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP 25 in Santiago de Chile in December 2019.
The Museums Association of Namibia is inviting musicians and members of the public to assist by identifying musical instruments, recordings, photographs or stories that might be included in the museum. They are calling on submissions to the development of the museum by Namibian artists and the general public alike, to contribute ideas about what the museum should contain. The museum will be a museum of Namibian music that will endeavour to showcase all forms of Namibian music across all genres, cultures, instruments, uses and time.
The theme of the 2019 SAMA conference is “Leadership and Quality in Healthcare – Let’s close the Gap” and will cover the future direction of healthcare and various initiatives of the National Health Insurance (NHI). It also resonates with the discussions emanating from the private sector in South Africa. The conference will feature a parallel research track and undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as colleagues involved in research are invited to attend and participate.
The World Health Assembly is the decision-making body of WHO. It is attended by delegations from all WHO Member States and focuses on a specific health agenda prepared by the Executive Board. Background reports, daily information can be found at the website shown.
In 2020, the world will still have a decade to harness global momentum and advance progress towards UHC by 2030. A special issue of the Bulletin of the World Health Organization will focus on the theme of accelerating progress towards UHC to encourage learning and information sharing on this dimension of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The issue will explore policy options and country experiences on how to expand population coverage, service coverage and financial protection. Manuscripts that capture knowledge and experience in addressing bottlenecks and root causes of stagnation that hamper successful UHC advancement are welcomed. Analysis of breakthroughs in health systems that have been conducive to rapid expansion of coverage are also encouraged. Papers should focus on, for example, implementation science in health systems, innovative health financing, strategic purchasing, UHC and primary health care, the role of the private sector, policy coherence across government levels (particularly in decentralized health systems), the role of innovative technology and the design and use of health information. Best practices in good governance for health, based on transparency and accountability, would also be useful to learn how vested interests that hamper progress towards UHC are countered in different socioeconomic and political contexts. Comparative cross-country analyses are encouraged.