Page 28 – Public Health Update

Accreditation Standards for MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) 2024

by Public Health Update July 22, 2024

Overview of the MBBS Program

The MBBS program consists of a minimum of four-and-a-half-year academic course followed by one year of compulsory rotatory internship.
The core curriculum for the MBBS program shall be composed of following preclinical and clinical departments (Human Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Pathology, Pharmacology, Community Medicine, Forensic Medicine, Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, Orthopedics, Psychiatry, Dermatology, Ophthalmology, Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Anesthesiology, Radiology, General Practice and Emergency Medicine, Dental Surgery, non-credit and soft skill courses such as health care management, medical ethics and professionalism, communications skills, etc.
The Compulsory Rotatory Internship (CRI) shall be of one calendar year as per the NMC guidelines.

The Core Curriculum

The aim of the core curriculum is to provide a broader framework for universities and academia’s to develop their own curriculum, defining specific learning objectives together with teaching hours (credit hours) in each discipline. The curriculum should be student-centered, organ system based, integrated within and between basic medical sciences and clinical subjects preferably with the use of community-based, self-directed, computer assisted and problem-based learning methods aspiring notion of compassionate care.

Considering the innovations, the increased number of students, limited access to patients, and increasing awareness of patients in recent days, learning in Lab, Computer assisted learning platform and Simulation based learning should be planned where it is applicable.

The horizontal integration of basic medical science subjects should be achieved by the concurrent integrated teaching/learning of human anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pathology, microbiology, pharmacology and community medicine/community health sciences. Vertical integration of basic medical science subjects should be acquired through early clinical exposure. The curriculum should encompass the following components (interdisciplinary in orientation) that represent the broad categories or professional activities and concerns that occur in the general practice of medicine.

Scientific foundation of medicine
Comprehensive, Patient-Centered Care
Clinical Skills
Communication Skills
Leadership skills
Population Health and Health Systems
Information Management
Critical Thinking and Research
Professional values, attitudes, behavior and ethics
Teaching-Learning Methodology

Criteria for admission to the MBBS Program

Eligibility Criteria: To be considered eligible for selection to the MBBS program, a candidate:

Must have passed 10 + 2 or equivalent qualifications recognized by universities/boards in single attempt with physics, chemistry, and biology (PCB) securing a minimum of 50% in each subject.
Higher Secondary Education (Science); 10+2 (Science);
Cambridge University ‘A’ level with Biology, Physics, and Chemistry securing a minimum of 50% (equivalent) in each subject. Or equivalent Science education with Biology, Physics, and Chemistry.
Must have passed in the Bachelor level common Entrance Examination conducted by Medical Education Commission.
Students going to foreign countries to study medical course must get the eligibility certificate from MEC and must have passed the bachelor level Medical Entrance Examinations.

Selection of students: (As per MEC)

For Nepalese students:

Eligible candidates desirous of pursuing MBBS program must take and qualify the specific Bachelor level Medical Entrance Examination, conducted by the MEC. Test should qualify by fulfilling its enrollment criteria.

For International students:

Eligible candidates desirous of pursuing MBBS program must take and qualify the specific Bachelor level common entrance examination conducted by the MEC and other enrollment criteria laid down by MEC
Candidates should present valid document of passing recent years National Medical Entrance Test of their country of origin acquiring minimum of 50% score, SAT/GRE or equivalent exam of their country or letter from licensing authority of their country of origin.
However, the international candidate must have passed 10 + 2 or equivalent qualifications recognized by universities/boards with physics, chemistry, and biology (PCB) securing a minimum of 50% in aggregate. The validity of these national board exams is for two academic years only.
First priority will be given to the candidates passing MEC Entrance Examination.

Faculty Requirement for different departments

The roles and responsibilities of faculty in running the MBBS program is considered to be of utmost importance. The numbers of faculty required in different departments have been determined in a composite way on the basis of the following criteria:

The total number of teaching hours in each of the subjects contained in the existing MBBS curricula.
The total number of student admission per session.
The number of hospital beds and units in each clinical department will depend on the need of academic programs and hospital services;
Since the discipline of Community Medicine/Community Health Sciences consists of various components (Biostatistics, Sociology/Behavioral Sciences, Environmental Health, Health Education, Epidemiology, Demography and Family Health) the faculty of Community Medicine/Community Health Sciences must comprise of individuals with adequate expertise in the areas mentioned above.
Tutor/Demonstrator/Instructor with MBBS or equivalent degree may be appointed as required in each of the basic science departments to assist faculty members in practical/demonstrations. However, they will not be counted as the faculty.

A unit of a major clinical department shall be composed of the following:

Professor- one,
Associate Professor – One
Assistant Professor – One or
Professor/Associate Professor– one and
Assistant Professor– two.

Senior Resident/Registrar/Teaching Assistant/ Clinical Tutor/House Officer as required.
Though the Senior Consultant/Consultant/Senior Registrar/Registrars are hospital positions for providing clinical services in the hospital, they may be accepted for clinical teaching of undergraduate medical students. But they will not be counted as teaching faculty for allocation of seat.
All faculties must be approved and renewed annually by the concerned University/Academy/Institution authorities and registered with the Nepal Medical Council or with other professional council, wherever applicable.
All the heads of the departments should be a professor/ or an associate professor.
Faculty Verification should be done quarterly basis in each institute.

Eligibility criteria for faculty

All faculty appointments must be according to the rules of the concerned University/Academy/Institution. All affiliated institutions must have the teaching faculty approved by the parent University/Academy/Institutions as well as by Medical Education Commission.

Medical Education Commission approves faculties under two broader headings:

With MD/MS/MDS or equivalent degrees after MBBS or BDS
With Master degree/PhD in Clinical or Medical or Human Sciences.

All MBBS/BDS personnel must possess a basic university postgraduate degree (MD/MS/MDS) or equivalent qualifications in the relevant discipline in order to be eligible to become a faculty member. They should also have specialty registration with the Nepal Medical Council, prior to joining the faculty position.
All Personnel with other than MBBS/BDS or equivalent degrees must possess a Master degree/PhD in Clinical / Medical / Human sciences for the enrolment of initial faculty position. But to become Associate Professor/Reader, it is mandatory to possess Ph.D. in the appropriate discipline.
All faculties are allowed to do their academic and hospital-based practice within the premises of Teaching hospital, affiliated centers, satellite centers of allocated universities. They are not allowed to do private practice neither in any other medical institute or in hospitals.
All faculties should be fulltime and will not be allowed any assignment or practice outside their parent institute as per MEC Act/Regulation.
Foreign faculties must be registered with Nepal Medical Council and their registration status renewed up-to-date.

Designation of the faculty and their criteria: (As per MEC) The nomenclatures of the designation for faculty positions are:

Professor
Associate Professor
Assistant Professor

NB: Medical Education Commission strongly recommends that the designation/nomenclature of the faculties should be uniform among all the Universities/Academies/Institutions throughout the country as early as possible.

Basic requirement of undergraduate faculty

All affiliated institutions must have the teaching faculty appointment approved by the parent University/ Institution/ Academy. Similarly, the academic qualifications required for faculty position will be according to the rules and regulations of the University/Institutions/Academy. Visiting faculties are not counted for the allocation of seat in any undergraduate program. They may be appointed for the upliftment of overall academic standard and betterment of the training institution. Basic requirements and broad principles for appointment of faculties with medical qualifications to different levels are as follows: (as per MEC guidelines of faculty).

A. Professor

Should have DM/MCh or clinical Doctorate or Postgraduate Master degree (MD/MS) or equivalent qualification in the respective subject or specialty from University/Institution/Academy, recognized and registered by the Nepal Medical Council, together with teaching/working experience of minimum five years as Associate Professor or equivalent post. But the total duration of service counted under different faculty appointments held should not be less than ten years for becoming eligible for the post of Professor and
Should have minimum of two research/original articles as main author and four other publications in national/international indexed/peer reviewed scientific journal as main/co-author at the level of Associate Professor.

B. Associate Professor

Should have DM/MCh or clinical Doctorate or Postgraduate Master degree (MD/MS) or equivalent qualification in the respective subject or specialty from University/Institution/Academy, recognized and registered by the Nepal Medical Council, together with teaching/working experience of minimum five years as Assistant Professor.
Should have minimum of two research/original research as main author and two other publications in national/international indexed/peer reviewed scientific journal as main/ co-author at the level of Assistant Professor.

C. Assistant Professor

Should have Postgraduate Master Degree (MD/MS) or equivalent qualification in the respective subject or specialty, from University/ Institution/ Academy recognized and registered by the Nepal Medical Council.

Note:

Research and publications already considered for the previous post shall not be taken into consideration.
Case reports, case series and book review are not counted as a research article.
For the entry faculty position, requirement of publication is not mandatory.

Criteria for Visiting Faculty

The posts of Professor Emeritus and Visiting Faculty may be conferred upon the teaching faculties holding posts in another University/Institutions/Academy.

The same criteria which are applicable for appointment of regular Undergraduate faculties will be also applicable to the visiting faculties.
The Visiting Faculty title may be awarded to a teacher involved in teaching/training of the Undergraduate program run by the University/Institution/Academy provided the candidate fulfills the following criteria:

Requirement of academic qualifications, teaching/working experiences and publications: as per regular faculty position, recognized by Medical Education Commission.
The appointment should be institution specific for a minimum of six months and time limited. 3. In case, the Visiting Faculty is no longer involved in the teaching/training program of the institution or is transferred to another institution, this title should be automatically cancelled.
Visiting faculties are not counted for the allocation of seat in undergraduate program, i.e. enrolment of undergraduate students. They may be appointed for the upliftment of overall academic standard and betterment of the training institution.
Note: Faculties having DM/MCh degree or PhD will get one time 2 years as grace for promotion of Associate Professor or Professor.

Minimum Faculty requirements

Minimum Faculty requirements in Basic Medical Sciences and Clinical Sciences for Intake of 50, 75, 100, 150 Students per session for MBBS program in all Universities/Academies/ Institutions of Nepal.

Read More: Accreditation Standards for MBBS 2024

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July 22, 2024 0 comments

Grants and Funding Opportunities International Jobs & Opportunities Opportunities by Region PhD Public Health Opportunities Public Health Opportunity

PhD Opportunity! Disasters, Conflict and Shocks and Violence Against Women in the Indo-Pacific Region

by Public Health Update July 19, 2024

written by Public Health Update

The ARC Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (CEVAW) is the world’s first centre to tackle the full range of forms of violence against women in Australia and the Indo-Pacific region. CEVAW aims to transform our understanding of the problem by:

examining the structural drivers that cause and compound violence against women (VAW)
pioneering new, evidence-based approaches to inform trajectory-altering practice and policy.

CEVAW will generate fundamental knowledge on the causes of violence, the contexts in which it occurs, and the most effective and efficient responses. This interdisciplinary research will be data-driven, Indigenous-centred and co-designed with partners.

CEVAW brings together more than 40 world-leading experts to develop scalable approaches to eliminate violence against women across the legal, security, economic, health and political systems of Australia and the region. By building strategic and strong partnerships with Australian and international research institutions and partner organisations, CEVAW will translate research into innovative tools and strengthened capacity to drive the elimination of violence against women.

Disasters, Conflict and Shocks and Violence Against Women in the Indo-Pacific Region

We are seeking 2 highly motivated PhD candidates to join our team and contribute to a significant research project focusing on the intersection of shocks and violence against women (VAW). This project aims to analyse how different shocks, such as climate-induced disasters, conflicts, political instability, and health emergencies, impact various forms of VAW in the Indo-Pacific region including Asia, Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, and the Blue Pacific.

The scholarship recipient will be located at the Nathan campus with the Griffith University Node of the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (CEVAW), under the supervision of Professor Sara Davies, Deputy Director (Indo-Pacific Research), CEVAW.

The PhD candidate will benefit from multidisciplinary supervision provided by CEVAW’s Chief Investigators across different Australian universities as well as networking opportunities across academia and industry through conferences and CEVAW’s partner organisations, nationally and internationally.

Candidate profile

The selection of applicants for the award of higher degree research scholarships at Griffith University involves consideration of your academic merit and research background. To be successful within this role, you will have evidence of gender-based violence research, advocacy, or practitioner expertise.

You will have knowledge in applied research methodologies, and a strong desire to undertake field research across the Indo-Pacific.

Expressions of interest are welcome from domestic and international applicants (including citizens of Australia and or permanent residents of Aotearoa New Zealand)
If you are an international applicant who is currently offshore please consider the viability of travelling costs before submitting an expression of interest. Please see the FAQs web page for requirements for offshore international applicants.
Applicants must have completed, or expect to complete, a bachelors degree with honours equivalent to IIA/first class honours or a Masters degree (AQF Level 9) incorporating a significant research component of a standard comparable to a bachelor honours degree or be regarded by Griffith University as having an equivalent level of attainment in accordance with Schedule One of the HDR Scholarship Procedure. For further information on the eligibility requirements for the program refer here.

Please note:

A master’s, honours, or bachelor degree in a relevant field such as Gender Studies, International Relations, Sociology, Social Work, Law, Public Health, or Environmental Studies will be favourably considered.
Strong background in research methodologies, both qualitative and quantitative, is desirable.
Experience in conducting research and/or working in contexts affected by shocks is desirable.
Prior experience with field research in the Indo-Pacific region (including Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand) is desirable.
Applicants of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent, who identify themselves as such, are strongly encouraged to apply.

International applicants should ensure that English Language Proficiency requirements for the program are met before formally applying. Applicants to research programs will need to show they meet:

A minimum overall band score of 6.5 on the IELTS (Academic) with no band score less than 6.0 OR
A minimum score of 575 on the paper-based TOEFL including a score of no less than 5.0 on the TWE OR
A score of 79 on the internet-based (iBT) TOEFL with no sub-score less than 19.

Scholarships and offer

The 2024 Griffith University Postgraduate Research Scholarship has an annual stipend of $33,480 (indexed) for a period of up to three years of full-time study. Please see the GUPRS Conditions of Award for more information. Competitive additional stipend rates available for successful Australian Indigenous applicants.

A successful International applicant will also be awarded a Griffith University International Postgraduate Research Scholarship to cover tuition fees for up to three years. Please see the GUIPRS Conditions of Award for more information.

As a scholarship holder, you will study with a University that ranks among the top 2% worldwide and spans across campuses in South East Queensland. At Griffith University, we’ve worked hard to create a culture that will challenge you to be curious, creative and courageous. We also support the professional and personal development of all our HDR candidates and invest in the skills of our people. Griffith University values diversity, inclusion and flexibility and we encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and people of all backgrounds to apply. Griffith’s strategic goals are to also increase the proportion of women in senior academic and administrative roles and in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM).

More info:
For project related enquiries please contact:
Prof Sara Davies
Phone: (07) 3735 9785
Email: sara.davies@griffith.edu.au
For administration enquiries please contact:
Griffith Graduate Research School
Email: hdr-scholarship@griffith.edu.au

All expressions of interest must be submitted to cevaw@griffith.edu.au containing:

Statement addressing your suitability for the project and how you meet the eligibility criteria (no more than one page)
Research proposal outlining your proposed research question, a brief literature review on VAW and shocks and proposed mixed method research design (1000 words).
A writing sample as lead author or co-author (e.g. published paper, thesis, report)
Evidence that you have completed a program with the required grades for eligibility
Names of two referees
A curriculum vitae (CV) using the Griffith CV template.

The closing date for expressions of interest is: 5pm Wednesday 31 July 2024. The preferred applicant will then be invited to apply for the program and scholarship on-line.

Official Link

July 19, 2024 0 comments

European Region Grants and Funding Opportunities International Jobs & Opportunities PhD Public Health Opportunities Public Health Opportunity

Call for Applications! PhD Candidate in Project management for sustainable health care environments

by Public Health Update July 14, 2024

written by Public Health Update

PhD Candidate in Project management for sustainable health care environments

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) creates knowledge for a better world and solutions that can change everyday life. NTNU is a broad-based university with a technical-scientific profile and a focus in professional education. The university is located in three cities with headquarters in Trondheim. At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

You will find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here.

About the job

We are looking for a PhD candidate with a passion for sustainability and eagerness to develop deeper understanding of how practice can continue to implement sustainability in complex building construction projects. Our focus is on how hospitals in Norway can move in a more sustainable direction when financial resources are restricted and implement changes that ensure that built health care environments contribute to a sustainable, circular and regenerative world. Relevant themes for this PhD candidate include decision-making, users’ needs, innovation, organisational learning and the like.

The candidate will have the opportunity to continue developing a framework for sustainability knowledge to ensure it fits organizations who wants to develop and implement common understanding and actions within the built environment. The research shall have particular focus on health care facilities, such as hospitals. The focus for this PhD candidate is not directly related to the facilities and how to construct them. The focus is on understanding the perspectives of different roles and actors that links to this issue at hand. Based on this understanding it is expected that the PhD candidate develops frameworks and knowledge that others (later research projects and practitioners) can use to improve their strategies and processes and as such advance their journey towards a sustainable, circular and regenerative built environment.

Researchers and construction industry actors have desire to create sustainable business models and value chains. Many innovative solutions and state-of-art ideas exist that tend to be expensive. The high cost makes the funding organizations reject such ideas and solutions, thereby hampering the transformation into a sustainable future. So, what can we do? What projects and actions are possible to implement? In this PhD project, we aim to develop deeper understanding for the possibilities enabling project owners to contribute to a sustainable built hospital environment when they are constrained by limited funding.

The Norwegian health care sector’s core business, facility management and construction program are currently developing strategies to battle climate change, looking for sustainability improvement areas. In this PhD project, the aim is to:

Extend the framework for sustainability knowledge to provide guidance to practice
Conduct literature reviews that focus on organizations room for maneuver
Identify relevant roles to interview
Developing a system sketch, an overview, of the different role’s focus and needs

For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree. Currently, we have a vacancy for a PhD candidate at the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering in the Project and Quality Management Research Group (PKL). The person hired for this PhD position is expected to be an active and integrated part of the academic environment at the institute, in our research group and to participate in cooperation with industry in the private and public sectors. The research groups collaborate closely with the centre Project Norway (https://prosjektnorge.no/) – the world’s biggest research network in project management. In addition, this PhD candidate will be linked to NTNU’s Centre for Green Shift in the built environment (GREEN2050, https://www.ntnu.edu/green2050).

Your immediate leader and main supervisor is associate professor Nora Johanne Klungseth.

Duties of the position

execute a PhD project within 3 years
take part in and complete the mandatory PhD research education programme
prepare scientific journal articles and conference papers under supervision and developing minimum three research publications of high quality
present results from the research at international scientific conferences and in dissertation.

Required selection criteria

you must have a professionally relevant background in project management, real estate / facilities / service or construction management, business or health care administration management, information and communication technology
your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree program, where 120 credits are obtained at master’s level
you must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and an average grade from the master’s degree program, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared with NTNU’s grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic basis. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be assessed if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
you must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty’s doctoral program
good knowledge of engineering, health care and/or innovation field
good sustainability knowledge
good written and oral English

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, Phd candidate, research assistant and specialist candidate and Regulations concerning the degrees of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) and Philosodophiae Doctor (PhD) in artistic research national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant

Preferred selection criteria

work experience from project-oriented business
good knowledge of the Norwegian AEC/FM industry and Norwegian health care industry
good understanding of the connection between technology, process and human interaction
fluent in a Scandinavian language.

Personal characteristics

analytical, respectful and excellent at thinking «out-of-the-box»
motivated, ambitious and eager to «walk new paths»
collaborative, positive, open-minded and able to take initiatives, open to feedback and input from others as well as able to respect and negotiate with others
able to work independently and in team, with high degree of personal responsibility
excellent communication skills, both written and orally
eager to disseminate knowledge, both nationally and internationally

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

We offer

exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment
an open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues
favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
employee benefits

Salary and conditions

As a PhD candidate (code 1017) you are normally paid from gross NOK 532 200 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 3 years.

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD programme in Engineering within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period.

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After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution daily.

About the application

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must be attached to the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

The application must include:

CV and certificates
transcripts and diplomas for bachelor’s and master’s degrees. If you have not completed the master’s degree, you must submit a confirmation that the master’s thesis has been submitted.
a copy of the master’s thesis. If you recently have submitted your master’s thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed master’s degree must be presented before taking up the position.
a motivational letter describing what makes you interested in this position
a brief project proposal (2-5 pages) outlining the research topic and research methods; showing your ability to structure a 3-years research study with clear motivation, objectives, research questions, methodologies, expected results and dissemination plan incl. the mandatory education for PhD candidates
name and contact information of three referees
if you have publications or other relevant research work

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both bachelor’s and master’s education, in addition to other higher education. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills, please attach this as well.

We will take joint work into account. If it is difficult to identify your efforts in the joint work, you must enclose a short description of your participation.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates.

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment – DORA.

While developing your research proposal you may find the following resources useful:

Information about hospitals in Norway, https://www.regjeringen.no/en/topics/health-and-care/hospitals/id10935/
Ademi, B., Sætre, A.S. and Klungseth, N.J. (2024) Advancing the understanding of sustainable business models through organizational learning, Business Strategy and the Environment, 1-21, https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3746
Beste, T. and Klakegg, O.J. (2022) Strategic change towards cost-efficient public construction projects. International Journal of Project Management. Volume 40, Issue 4, May 2022, Pages 372-384. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2022.04.006
Martinsuo, M., Klakegg, O.J. and van Marrewijk, A. (2019) Special Issue: Delivering Value in Projects and Project-Based Business. Editorial. International Journal of Project Management. Volume 37, Issue 5, Pages 631-635 (July 2019), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2019.01.011
The Norwegian’s Minister of Health and Care Services’ assignment for hospitals in 2023, https://www.regjeringen.no/en/aktuelt/the-minister-of-health-and-care-services-assignment-for-hospitals-in-2023/id2959577/

July 14, 2024 0 comments

Abstracts Call for Proposal, EOI & RFP Conference International Jobs & Opportunities Public Health Opportunities Public Health Opportunity

2024 Canadian Conference on Global Health

by Public Health Update July 14, 2024

written by Public Health Update

The Canadian Conference on Global Health is an annual conference that brings together researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and students from various disciplines and sectors to discuss pressing global health issues. The conference provides a platform for sharing knowledge, best practices, and innovations in global health research, policy, and practice.

The 2024 Canadian Conference on Global Health will be held in person from October 25 to 27, 2024 at the Simon Fraser University, downtown Vancouver campus, BC, Canada, and virtually.

2024 CONFERENCE THEME

Poly-crisis and global health: How can we improve human health and equity while protecting the planet?

The quarter of a century from 1990 to 2015 saw remarkable and unprecedented gains in global health. Progress was, however, uneven, with the poorest countries not making sufficient progress. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, sparked more optimism for accelerated and equitable progress across human development indicators, including the global health and planetary ones, in the global north and south indiscriminately.

In recent years, the world has experienced a series of economic, social, geopolitical, and environmental shocks that have impacted our development, well-being, and collective future. In Canada, we have seen inequities being exacerbated by concomitant crises affecting our health, education, housing, and ecological systems. The current global context is particularly challenging: the COVID-19 pandemic added an additional source of complexity; increasing state-sponsored violence over the past three years, such as in Artsakh, Ethiopia, Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine, has also raised concern among humanitarian health communities due to its multi-layered impact on civilian populations as well as the growing impunity of the state perpetrators of this violence. It is estimated that a combination of these shocks will result in 2.1 billion people living in fragile or extremely fragile countries by 2030.

This combination of events, the COVID-19 pandemic, extreme climatic events, degradation of food and land systems, global instability precipitated by war and conflict, high energy prices, and inflation, have stalled, and even reversed progress. This has been termed as “poly-crisis”, an interconnected web of simultaneous adversities manifesting interdependently in a globalized world. Through complex and interrelated pathways, these critical events impact our health and well-being, and our planet.

For the Canadian Conference on Global Health (CCGH) 2024, we are inviting researchers, practitioners, policymakers, advocates, students, and others within the global health community, as well as from other fields and those with lived experiences, to exchange learnings and ideas from research and practice on how this multifaceted challenge could be addressed to improve human and planetary health outcomes from a global public health perspective. CCGH has a strong history and track record of welcoming colleagues from outside of Canada.

Sub-themes

The purpose of CCGH 2024 is to address the drivers and immediate impacts of poly-crisis and lay the foundation for more equitable, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable global health ecosystems. In particular, equity, social justice, community engagement, proactive involvement of population groups in situations of vulnerability and marginalisation, and authentic partnerships between researchers and practitioners from the global south and global north will be emphasized.

Sub-theme 1: Unpacking the drivers of poly-crisis

Objective: To critically examine the structural factors such as politics, policy, governance, leadership, accountability, and power dynamics and structures that drive the poly-crisis. We are concerned with unpacking drivers at various levels (e.g., global, national, subnational).

Examples of topics (not exhaustive):

Political economy: “Political economy focuses on power and resources, how they are distributed and contested in different country and sector contexts, and the resulting implications for development outcomes.” Analyzing how historical, political, and socioeconomic factors intersect and exacerbate health inequities and crises.
Governance, leadership, and accountability: Strengthening governance structures and accountability and leadership mechanisms to ensure responsive, transparent, inclusive, and equitable health systems; lessons learned and evidence-informed best practices to move toward transformative health outcomes
Power dynamics and structures and empowerment: Distributing power and resources more equitably at global, national, and local levels, with a particular emphasis on pathways for community empowerment, particularly populations in situations of economic and political vulnerability or marginalization, enabling the engagement of diverse perspectives in the development of policy and interventions.

Sub-theme 2: Mitigating and adapting to the impacts of poly-crisis

Objective: To explore innovative mechanisms and adaptive strategies to effectively reduce the impacts of simultaneous and intersecting crises while committing to evidence-informed interventions and enhancing resilience against poly-crisis.

Examples of topics (not exhaustive):

Evidence-informed policymaking: Strengthening the linkages between research and policy to ensure that interventions are grounded in scientific evidence and community-based knowledge, thereby enhancing effectiveness and sustainability.
Governance-related innovations: Promoting and implementing strategies to strengthen inclusive, equitable, and transparent governance mechanisms and systems, grounded in accountability, leadership, data-driven, and participatory decision-making; intersectoral collaboration; and health equity impact assessments.
Innovation in health financing for health system strengthening: Exploring sustainable financing models such as impact investing, blended finance, global health bonds, and fiscal and taxation systems that can mobilize resources efficiently to address crises in a sustainable manner at the national level, with a focus on locally-generated innovations and lessons learned.
Technological innovations: Harnessing the power of artificial intelligence, big data, e-health, and m-health, including digital surveillance systems, to predict, monitor, and mitigate the effects of crises on health systems, especially in the global south, while capitalizing on local existing systems, including digital platforms.

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

The call for abstracts for the Canadian Conference on Global Health (CCGH) 2024 is now open! We invite researchers, practitioners, policymakers, advocates, students, and others within the global health community to submit their abstracts and share their insights on this year’s theme, “Poly-crisis and Global Health: How Can We Improve Human Health and Equity While Protecting the Planet?”.

Please click here to submit your abstract.

Abstract Timelines

Submission Deadline: July 19th, 2024
Outcome Notification Date: August 6th, 2024

Abstract Submission Guidelines

Abstracts must be submitted online by the deadline date: 19 July at 23:59 Eastern Standard time.
Only abstracts submitted in English and French will be considered.
Abstracts must not be more than 350 words.
The abstract should follow the structure: Issue/Objective, Methodology/Approach, Results, Discussion/Conclusions. If your abstract does not fit into this format, please choose appropriate headings.
Please include a statement on the relevance to the conference sub-theme. This may be of direct relevance, or it may be as a contribution to methods that result in more robust evidence production.
The abstract title should not be longer than 20 words.
Abbreviated terms should be written in full the first time they are used.
Tables and graphs can be submitted as an attached image document with your abstract. Allowed formats are: gif, png, jpg, jpeg, tif, tiff,; max. file size is 15 MB; max. size of one image is 1500px. Please remember to insert the reference (Table 1, Figure 1, etc.) in the abstract.
All accepted abstracts will be copy-edited before being published.
Do not include any personal data about specific individuals.

Acceptance and notification of abstracts

Acceptance of abstracts into the conference programme will be determined by the scientific merit, relevance, readability, and clarity, and learning potential of the submitted work.
If you have any questions about the relevance of your submission to the conference sub-themes, please contact us: conference@cagh-acsm.org .

REGISTRATION

All presenters of accepted abstracts are required to register and attend the conference. The organizers reserve the right to withdraw abstracts if presenters have not registered and fully paid for the 2024 Canadian Conference for Global Health 2024 by 30 August 2024.

Please click here to register for CCGH 2024.

The conference is taking place in and around the Segal Building on Simon Fraser University Vancouver campus.

Simon Fraser University
500 Granville Street
Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 1W6

INVITATION LETTERS

Invitation letters will be provided to attendees who indicate this need at registration or abstract review submission. Please note: Visa letters will only be granted to applicants who meet the following criteria:

Live and work in an LMIC country (List of countries).
Have already paid for a virtual ticket to attend the conference.
Have a letter of support to attend CCGH from university, public health institute, CSO or similar organization.
Have submitted an abstract or are participating in the conference as a speaker or invited guest.
Applicants not presenting are also encouraged to apply but letters are not guaranteed.

Please register for a virtual ticket and a link will be sent for you to provide additional information.

2024 Canadian Conference on Global Health

July 14, 2024 0 comments

Call for Proposal, EOI & RFP Call for Research Participants Eastern Mediterranean Region Grants and Funding Opportunities Implementation Research International Jobs & Opportunities Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)Public Health Opportunities Public Health Opportunity Research & Project Grants Research & Project Grants

Call for Proposals: 2024-25 Joint EMRO-TDR Impact Grants for Regional Priorities Focused on IR in Infectious Diseases of Poverty

by Public Health Update July 10, 2024

written by Public Health Update

Overview

The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO) and the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/ WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) are pleased to announce the 2024-25 Call for Applications of the Joint EMRO/TDR Impact Grants for regional priorities focused on implementation research in infectious diseases of poverty.

Deadline for submission: 15 September 2024 (17:00 CEST)

Only applications from the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region are eligible.

Eligible countries

Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen and the occupied Palestinian territory.

Proposals may only be submitted in English.

The 2024–2029 TDR strategy builds on our experience to support country-led implementation research that improves access to and scale-up of health interventions, strategies, and policies and strengthens health systems. We will work with implementers and social innovators, alongside researchers, to help democratize research and demonstrate that it is a useful and practical tool for people tackling health issues on the ground.

TDR will focus on four major global health challenges affecting infectious diseases of poverty using a One Health approach (Human Health+Animal Health+Environment).

Epidemics and outbreaks
Control and elimination of diseases of poverty
Climate change’s impact on health
Resistance to treatment and control agents

Guided by these priorities of TDR, this call supports the generation of evidence from local research for the prevention and control of infectious diseases of poverty in WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) countries. The Call emphasizes the importance of using implementation/ operational research for ALL of the priority topics below. In addition, it welcomes research that links EMR-based healthcare delivery and disease control programmes with research/academic institutions.

2024-2025 Priority Research Areas

TDR Global Challenges

Country-led implementation research to improve access to quality health interventions.
Strengthening the capacity of people, institutions and societies to produce research evidence that is useful for reducing the burden of infectious diseases of poverty. (strengthening the postgraduate training scheme or strengthening links between local institutions through information sharing on trainings on implementation research).
Engagement and collaboration with the wider global health effort to promote and facilitate the role of research for development.

Neglected Tropical Diseases

Compare the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of physical (cryotherapy and thermotherapy) and local (antimonials) treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis.
Measuring the burden of snake bite envenoming and risk factors in EMR countries.

Malaria and Vector Control

Describe the epidemiology and assess the impact of malaria in urban settings in EMR, including identification of risk factors for infection.
Role of community health volunteers (CHV) in providing malaria service as part of the integrated community case management.
Behavior of invasive Anopheles stephensi in a new ecological niche in the Horn of Africa and Yemen.

Reverse Tuberculosis

Evaluating the impact of contact investigation on the coverage of TB preventive treatment.
Evaluating the impact of adequate active screening on the coverage of TB preventive treatment.

Hepatitis, HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)

To assess the feasibility and outcomes of integrated models of care for HIV, hepatitis and STIs in primary care.
To identify innovative solutions to scale up testing services and self-testing for HIV, hepatitis and STIs.
Monitoring the progress of reduction of zero-dose children under the Big Catch-Up initiative in high-priority countries (as a pointer to the recovery of the health system post-pandemic).
Assessing the BeSD (behavioral and social driver) towards the HPV vaccine in countries that recently introduced it in their routine immunization programmes.

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)

Determine optimal (feasible, accurate and cost-effective) methods and metrics to monitor antimicrobial use and consumption in the community and healthcare settings and appropriate targets to monitor progress in reducing inappropriate antimicrobial use and consumption.
Determine the levels, patterns, trends and drivers of appropriate and inappropriate prescribing, use and consumption of access, watch and reserve (AWaRe) antibiotics across healthcare settings.
Identify the most effective, cost-effective, acceptable, and feasible multimodal infection and prevention control strategies for reducing different types of healthcare-associated infections caused by multidrug-resistant pathogens across geographical and socioeconomic settings.

Eligibility criteria

Applicants submitting proposals must be researchers or health professionals working in a public health institution under the umbrella of a Ministry of Health, university or research institution, or a nongovernmental organization from one of the countries or areas listed above.

Proposals may only be submitted in English, using the eTDR system.

Applicants must demonstrate experience in operational and/or implementation research. This might include, but is not limited to, evidence of having been trained in operational /implementation research and being able to conduct research independently. Such training could include the TDR Implementation Research Toolkit, the MOOC (massive open online course) on implementation research, or another formal research training experience.

We are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusivity in science.

Applications from EMR first-time qualified young researchers, female researchers, and under-represented countries are also strongly encouraged.

Selection process

Proposals will be selected on a competitive basis by WHO staff in the Regional Office and TDR. Scoring will depend on scientific merit and the public health impact of the project. Publications resulting from the supported projects and data are required to:

follow the World Health Organization’s open access policy; and
clearly refer to the Joint EMRO/TDR Impact Grants Scheme support, indicating the TDR grant number.

Funds: US$ 8000–$10 000 per grant. Co-funding from domestic or other sources is encouraged.

Study duration: 6–9 months

HOW TO APPLY

Applications should be submitted online no later than 15 September2024 (17:00 CEST), through the eTDR Community Site. You will need to create an account (if you don’t already have one) on the site and log in before you can apply.

Before you start the online application process, please complete the form linked below:

Download the application form

The application form must be completed, signed appropriately, and uploaded in eTDR as part of your online application. Please also include all investigators’ current curriculum vitae (CV).
Incomplete applications will not be considered.
In case of questions/information related to administrative documentation, please contact:
Dr Arshad Altaf (altafa@who.int) or Ms Dalya Mostafa (mostafad@who.int)

If you encounter technical issues with the online submission, please consult the document with instructions on how to apply to Call for Proposals in eTDR system.
If your issue is still not resolved, please contact: Ms Elisabetta Dessi (dessie@who.int)

Application Due Date / Time: 9/15/2024, 5:00 PM

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

July 10, 2024 0 comments

The Asia Pacific Council of Optometry in association with the Nepal Association of Optometrists is now inviting abstracts for the 24th Asia Pacific Optometry Congress to be held in Kathmandu Nepal from 7-8 September 2024.

Abstracts Call for Proposal, EOI & RFP Conference Public Health Events Public Health Opportunities Public Health Opportunity

The 24th Asia Pacific Optometry Congress

by Public Health Update July 2, 2024

written by Public Health Update

Call for abstracts

The Asia Pacific Council of Optometry in association with the Nepal Association of Optometrists is now inviting abstracts for the 24th Asia Pacific Optometry Congress to be held in Kathmandu Nepal from 7-8 September 2024.
The Asia Pacific Optometry Congress provides an unparalleled platform for optometrists, researchers, educators, and industry leaders to exchange ideas, present cutting-edge research, and discuss the latest advancements in our field.

Optometrists, educators, and scientists are welcome to submit abstracts for Original Research, Case Study or Clinical Lecture. The submission deadline is 8 July 2024. Can either be oral or poster presentation.

Congress date: 7-8 September 2024

Venue: Park Village Hotel, Kathmandu, Nepal

Important dates

Activities	Date
Abstract Submission Opens	May 31, 2024
Early Bird Registration Opens	May 31, 2024
Abstract Submission Closes	July 8, 2024
Early Bird Registration Closes	July 10, 2024
Abstract acceptance announcement	July 22, 2024
On -site Registration	September 7-8, 2024

Email: info@apoptometriccongress.com

Conference website

July 2, 2024 0 comments

Conference Public Health Events Public Health Opportunities Public Health Opportunity

The 17th Asian Conference on Diarrhoeal Disease and Nutrition

by Public Health Update July 2, 2024

written by Public Health Update

Asian Conference on Diarrhoeal Disease and Nutrition (ASCODD)

The 17th Asian Conference on Diarrhoeal Disease and Nutrition (ASCODD) 2024, hosted by Oxford University Clinical Research Unit Nepal (OUCRU Nepal) is scheduled to take place in Kathmandu, Nepal from 8th to 10th December 2024. This year’s conference theme is “Emerging Enteric Infections and Impact of Climate Change.”

ASCODD is an international interdisciplinary forum where researchers, practitioners, academics, and experts present and discuss trends, challenges, techniques, applications, and innovative solutions in diarrhea and nutrition. The three-day conference aims to particularly address issues around the impact of climate change on enteric infections and intends to seek innovative solutions through scientific research and healthcare delivery in the field of diarrhea and nutrition in Asia by bringing national and international experts to a common platform. With an expected 300-350 national and international participants, the 17th ASCODD-2024 will consist of plenary sessions where distinguished invited speakers will deliver keynote speeches followed by panel discussions. Also, selected participants will have opportunities to present their research papers and posters on specific conference themes.

Venue: Soaltee Hotel Limited

The 17th ASCODD will be held at the Soaltee Hotel Limited in Kathmandu, Nepal, where accommodation will be available for those interested.

Program Highlights

The 17th ASCODD conference intends to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange among researchers, practitioners, and experts. By exploring the intricate connections between enteric infections and climate change, the conference aims to:

share insights on the impact of changing climatic patterns on vector habitats and disease seasonality.
showcase pioneering research in the field of vaccines, trials, and historical triumphs.
discuss the importance of nutrition in building resilient immunity and preventing infectious diseases.
delve into advances in the field of AI and data analytics for exploring preventive strategies.
identify innovative solutions for prevention and treatment.

Our comprehensive program constitutes of key sub-themes focusing on the issues and development on:1. Impact of altered climate on dynamics of enteric and other infectious diseases:

Understanding how changes in ecological niches influence epidemiology of enteric infections.
Investigating shifts in geographic distribution of infectious diseases.

2. Synergizing interventional strategies to control enteric and other infectious diseases and associated antimicrobial resistance:

Exploring epidemiology of enteric infections.
Addressing childhood diarrhoea with focus on nutritional strategies.
Exploring advance interventions by harnessing power of vaccines and artificial intelligence.
Underscoring importance of disease surveillance, systematic data analysis, and data modeling to predict future events enabling improved management.

3. Addressing challenges, way forward:

Ethical consideration.
Addressing challenges around treatment and diagnostics.
Future directions.

At the end of day 3, there will be a specialized session on genomics for interested participants. It will be delivered by a world-renowned specialized group of genomics experts. The symposium will offer an unparalleled opportunity for participants to delve into the latest advancements and discoveries in the field of genomics around enteric and infectious diseases.

ASCODD 2024 call for abstracts

We are excited to call for abstracts for the ASCODD 2024 conference that is going to be held in person on 8th to 10th December 2024 in Kathmandu, Nepal. We invite individuals and organizations alike to contribute their invaluable experiences to this essential event.
The call for abstracts is open from 14th May 2024 to 30th August 2024. Please refer to the abstract submission guideline here to prepare your abstract.

Submit your abstract by filling the form below.

ABSTRACT FORM

Contact:
Oxford University Clinical Research Unit Nepal (OUCRU Nepal)
Jhamsikhel, Lalitpur, Nepal
Phone: +977 1 591 1730
Email: info@ascodd2024.org

CONFERENCE WEBSITE

July 2, 2024 0 comments

Fact Sheet Global Health News Health in Data Public Health News Public Health Update Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)World News

World Health Statistics 2024: Monitoring health for the SDGs, Sustainable Development Goals

by Public Health Update May 26, 2024

written by Public Health Update

Overview

The World health statistics report is the annual compilation of health and health-related indicators, which has been published by the World Health Organization since 2005.

The 2024 edition reviews more than 50 health-related indicators from the Sustainable Development Goals and WHO’s Thirteenth General Programme of Work. It also highlights the findings from the Global health estimates 2021, notably the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on life expectancy and healthy life expectancy. The 2024 edition reviews more than 50 health-related indicators from the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and WHO’s Thirteenth General Programme of Work (GPW13). The report consists of four chapters, complemented by tables presenting the latest available data (https://www.who.int/data/gho/publications/worldhealth-statistics).

Key messages

In just two years, the COVID-19 pandemic reversed over a decade of gains in both life expectancy at birth and healthy life expectancy (HALE). By 2020, both global life expectancy and HALE had rolled back to 2016 levels (72.5 years and 62.8 years, respectively). The following year saw further declines, with both retreating to 2012 levels (71.4 years and 61.9 years, respectively).
The WHO regions most affected were the Region of the Americas and South-East Asia Region, with declines of about 3 years in life expectancy and 2.5 years in HALE between 2019 and 2021. The Western Pacific Region saw the smallest impacts over the first two pandemic years, with losses of less than 0.1 and 0.2 years in life expectancy and HALE, respectively.
Globally, the share of deaths from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) among all deaths rose steadily to 73.9% by 2019, while the share of communicable diseases dropped to 18.2%. With the emergence of COVID-19, communicable diseases surged back to 23.0% of all deaths in 2020 and 28.1% in 2021 – a return to 2005 levels. Consequently, the share of NCD deaths declined to 70.0% in 2020 and 65.3% in 2021.
COVID-19 ranked among the top three leading causes of death globally in 2020 and 2021, responsible for 4.1 million and 8.8 million lives lost, respectively.
In the Region of the Americas it was the number one cause of death in both years, and ranked in the top five
causes for all regions except for the African and Western Pacific regions.
At the midway point for the SDGs, progress on health-related Goals has been mixed. Among the 53 health-related indicators included in this report, 32 have numeric SDG or global targets. None of these have yet been achieved, and none are on track under current trends. However, most indicators (42) are showing movement in the right direction globally.
The world is also off-track to achieve the universal health coverage (UHC), health emergencies preparedness and healthier populations “Triple Billion” targets by 2025.
From the 2018 baselines, 585 million more people are expected to have access to essential health services without incurring catastrophic health spending by 2025, well short of the one billion UHC target. For health emergency preparedness, 777 million more people are expected to be protected by 2025, again short of the target. Healthier populations is the sole area positioned to meet its one billion target, with 1.5 billion additional people anticipated to be living healthier lives by 2025. But acceleration across all three areas is needed to achieve broader health-related SDGs by 2030.
The world continues to grapple with the double burden of malnutrition, characterized by the coexistence of undernutrition and overweight/obesity. In 2022, worldwide over one billion people aged 5 years and over were living with obesity, while over half a billion were underweight. In the same year, 148 million children under five were affected by stunting, 45 million suffered from wasting and 37 million were living with overweight.
Double-duty actions that efficiently and effectively address both facets of malnutrition are critical to make the most of limited resources.
This report also highlights health challenges faced by persons with disabilities, and refugees and migrants.
Globally, in 2021, an estimated 1.3 billion people (16% of the population) had disability and faced health inequities due to avoidable, unfair and unjust factors. Progress requires strengthening health systems that integrate targeted actions to increase equity.
Refugees and migrants are not inherently less healthy than host populations, yet various suboptimal health determinants – further exacerbated by linguistic, cultural, legal and other barriers – mean that they often experience significant health disparities. Access to health care is often limited for refugees and migrants, with only half of the 84 countries surveyed between 2018 and 2021 providing them access to government-funded health services on par with nationals. Lack of quality data further obstructs understanding of their needs and tracking progress on health goals.
The report serves as a crucial reminder that today’s health systems must swiftly adapt to respond to changing demographics and persisting inequities

Read more: Download World Health Statistics 2024: Monitoring health for the SDGs, Sustainable Development Goals

New research flags the urgent need for research and evidence on the impact of climate change on neglected tropical diseases and malaria

by Public Health Update May 22, 2024

written by Public Health Update

22 May 2024 | Geneva – The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Task Team on Climate Change, Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) and Malaria, in partnership with Reaching the Last Mile (RLM), has released a major scoping review published in Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. The review of 42 693 articles reveals that there is not yet sufficient understanding of the actual and potential impacts of human-induced changes to climate patterns on malaria and NTDs.

Rising temperatures and changing weather patterns are altering the spread of vector-borne diseases, with significant implications for human health and placing additional strain on systems. As the geographic range of disease vectors like mosquitoes expands, so does the risk of introducing – or reintroducing – these diseases to new, unprepared areas. The findings of this review highlight that these shifts in prevalence, incidence, range and intensity of malaria and a number of NTDs may be felt hardest in those communities already disproportionately impacted by them.

“The findings presented in this major review highlight the need for more comprehensive, collaborative, and standardized modelling, so that we can better understand and predict the effects of climate change on malaria and NTDs, both directly and indirectly,” said Dr Ibrahima Socé Fall, Director of WHO’s Global NTD Programme, who led the study. “This important and timely review reveals alarming trends and is a call to urgent action. Malaria transmission is likely to shift both polewards and to higher altitude, while the mosquito vector responsible for transmission of dengue and chikungunya is predicted to continue to expand its range. If we are to protect and build upon the hard-won victories of the past two decades, the time to mobilize is now.”

Despite this, the paper highlights that published research has too often focused on low-disease burden countries with High Access to Quality Healthcare (using HAQI measurement). Given that the effects of climate change on malaria and NTDs will vary significantly by disease and location, exhibiting non-linear patterns and evolving over time, this focus presents what the Task Team calls a growing emergency for the communities that have been historically underserved in relation to these long-overlooked diseases.

“The climate crisis has the potential to reverse decades of progress in global health and development, said Tala Al-Ramahi, Chief Strategy Officer of Reaching the Last Mile. “Greater investment in research is urgently needed to support the development of timely and evidence-based interventions, and to allow us to anticipate and mitigate the worst consequences of climate change on human health.”

With just 34% of studies reviewed (174 studies) addressing mitigation strategies and 5% (24 studies) looking at adaptation methods, this review further highlights the lack of evidence required to protect the gains made against malaria and NTDs in recent decades. Our collective progress could unravel at the hands of a climate in crisis.

“We have recently seen the consequences of extreme weather events on malaria, and they are only predicted to become more commonplace. The paper provides a clarion call for mitigation and evidence responsive adaptation to climate change,” said Dr Daniel Ngamije Madandi, Director of the WHO’s Global Malaria Programme. “As the impact of climate change is likely to be disproportionately borne by the poorest people, who are also disproportionately affected by malaria and NTDs, a more equitable, comprehensive and sustainable response is needed.”

In order to assess the impact of climate change on malaria and NTDs, this state-of-the-art scoping review analysed peer-reviewed papers and grey literature published between January 2010 and October 2023, with investigators summarizing the identified data and analysing the distribution of studies by country.

In total, 42 693 records were retrieved, from which 1543 full-text papers were examined. Researchers correlated the number of publications with national disease burdens, the Healthcare Access and Quality Index (HAQI), and climate vulnerability scores. Of the 511 papers that met the inclusion criteria, 185 papers addressed malaria, 181 focused on dengue and chikungunya, and 53 reported outcomes on leishmaniasis. Other NTDs, however, were significantly under-represented, having not been sufficiently studied.

“Climate change, malaria and neglected tropical diseases: a scoping review” is published in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (2024; 0: 1–18). See: Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

May 22, 2024 0 comments

Fellowships, Studentship & Scholarships Grants and Funding Opportunities Implementation Research International Jobs & Opportunities Master's Degree Opportunities by Region Public Health Opportunities Public Health Opportunity South-East Asia Region Western Pacific Region

Call for applications! IIHMR University TDR Postgraduate Scholarship in Implementation Research

by Public Health Update May 17, 2024

written by Public Health Update

The SD Gupta School of Public Health, IIHMR University in Jaipur, India, is pleased to announce a Call for applications for the award of TDR postgraduate training scholarships leading to a 2-year Master of Public Health (MPH) postgraduate programme, with a focus on implementation research, for the academic session 2024–2026, beginning in October2024.

Funding for these full scholarships is being provided by TDR, the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, hosted by the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland (https://tdr.who.int/). A scholarship will be granted to 11 candidates who are resident in a low- or middle-income country (LMIC) of the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region (https://www.emro.who.int/countries.html) and two candidates who are resident in India.

Implementation science is a growing field thatsupportsthe identification of health system bottlenecks and approaches to address them and is particularly useful in LMICs where many health interventions do not reach those who could benefit from them.

The goal of this scheme is to enhance graduate training capacity and augment the number and quality of researchers in LMICs. The training will focus on courses relevant to a career in Implementation research with a focus on four major challenges affecting infectious disease of poverty using a one health approach; Epidemics and outbreaks; Control and elimination of disease of poverty; climate change’s impact on health; and growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance.

Further information on implementation research is available here.

Study areas
Scholarships will be offered for the academic session 2024–2026 for a 2-year MPH programme with a focus on implementation research. It will be a full-time programme to promote problem-based experiential learning. Ideally, recipients will be offered on-campus teaching with their thesis project on implementation research being undertaken in their home country. Recipients will be encouraged to adopt a health approach in their project, to focus on the key strategic domains related to the infectious diseases of poverty, which include epidemics and outbreaks, disease control and elimination, the effects of climate change on public health and the growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance.

The programme will be in English, with recipients enrolled as postgraduate students. Recipients must register on the TDR Global platform (https://tdr.who.int/activities/tdr-global ), which is designed to provide networking opportunities for all TDR alumni and stakeholders.

Eligibility
The applicant should:

be a national of and resident in India or be from an LMIC of the WHO Eastern Mediterranean
Region (see the list above);
be under 37 years of age at the time of application;
be interested in developing a career in implementation research to address major global challenges such as epidemics and outbreaks, control and elimination of diseases of poverty, the effects of climate change on public health and the growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance.
hold either a Bachelors and/or Master’s degree in Health Sciences(Medicine, Nursing, Midwifery, including allied Health Sciences) or in Social Sciences (Anthropology, Public Health, Food and Nutrition, Sociology, Psychology or any other Social Sciences Discipline);
be an employee of an academic or research institution, not for profit organization, or ministry of health or its agencies in an LMIC of the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region or in India for the two Indian national candidates; be able to identify a local supervisor or mentor before the commencement of the programme (preference will be given to applicants currently working with health programmes);
have proficiency in oral and written English and basic biostatistics;
meet the academic requirements: a Bachelor’s degree with a cumulative Grade Point Average of at least 3.0 out of 4.0, TOEFL score of at least 550 (paper based) /at least 80 (internet based) or IELTS score of at least 5.5; and have basic computer skills, including Microsoft Office and Data Analysis Software.
Candidates with 2–3 years’ experience in a relevant fields may be given weightage.

The applicant is expected to:

meet the University’s requirements for international postgraduate students, such as a valid passport, appropriate visa and travel documents;
submit a Statement of Purpose and letter of recommendation from a current or former supervisor;
be interested in developing a career in implementation research on infectious diseases of
poverty;
submit a No Objection Certificate from their department/employer and documentedpermission to obtain study leave from employment (if applicable) before programme commencement;and
agree to meet health requirements in line with the regulations of the Government of India and IIHMR University.

What the scholarship covers:

Return economy airfare from the home country to Jaipur (two visits).
Tuition and academic fees. TDR is committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity in science. Applicants are encouraged to apply irrespective of gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religious, cultural and social
backgrounds, or (dis)ability status.
Basic medical and accident insurance.
Board and lodging for the duration of stay on the IIHMR campus from 1 October 2024to 15 October 2025 (on campus in-residence is compulsory).
In the first year, a monthly subsistence allowance to cover cost of living expenses such as food,
transport, etc.
In the second year, financial support towards practicum project expenses during data collection.
Note: Candidates who do not have their TOEFL / IELTS scores can submit them up to 20 June2024.

How to apply
Candidates should submit their application online through the IIHMR University portal. Complete details of the IIHMR MPH (IS) program, admission process and registration for application is available on the IIHMR website: https://applications.iihmr.edu.in/master-of-public-health-implementationscience-mph-is-program To apply, you must complete the following steps:

Step 1. Register and create login credentials Log in or sign up and choose Master of Public Health under Discipline, then click “Master of Public Health (Implementation Science)” under the “Select Program”dropdown.
To apply, click the link APPLY NOW and create logincredentials.
Step 2. Complete and submit the online application form
The application form must be completed and the required documents uploaded prior to submission.
Only completed forms accompanied by the required documents will be accepted. Shortlisted applications will be contacted for further assessment through an interview process.
Final selection of candidates will be done in conjunction with TDR, considering gender and geographic representation.
Selected candidates will receive a letter of offer from the University. Candidates must confirm their acceptance within seven days of notification. The University reserves the right to refuse admission or end attribution of scholarship if any ofthe information provided by the candidate is proven to be false.

Timelines

15 April: Call for Applications
15 June: Last date for submission of completed applications
20–30: June Review of applications
1 July : Invitation to shortlisted applicants for interviews
7–10 : July Interviews
30 July : Final selection subject to TDR scholarship acceptance
26–30 : September Arrival at IIHMR University and orientation
Early October : Academic session begins

For more information, please contact:
Program Coordinator
Master of Public Health (Implementation Science) Program
SD Gupta School of Public Health
IIHMR University 1, Prabhu Dayal Marg, Near Sanganer Airport
Jaipur – 302 029
Rajasthan, India
Phone: +91 141 392 4700
For guidance and support with regard to application process and filling of admissionforms:
ismphadmissions@iihmr.edu.in
For all other queries related to MPH (IS) programme:ismph@iihmr.edu.in

May 17, 2024 0 comments

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