News & Updates

September 2024 Edition, Issue 81

Welcome to another edition of the CARTA monthly updates. Read on to keep abreast with what is new.

CARTA Engages Partners and Stakeholders on Governance and Strategy in Nairobi

CARTA, a Benchmark to Establish Strong and Long-Lasting Partnerships

On September 9, 2024, CARTA co-director, Sharon Fonn presented during the virtual inception meeting of a budding international coalition hoping to bring together partners across the continent to strengthen research on sexual and reproductive health and rights. Her presentation highlighted CARTA's history and evolution, including its governance structure, and how the Consortium has worked to realize its success.

Institutionalization Efforts at Partner Institutions

The 18th CARTA Partners Forum, held in Nairobi highlighted key achievements across partner institutions, including the increasing number of PhD fellows graduates, expanded research training, and the integration of CARTA activities into institutional frameworks. Additionally, CARTA has fostered leadership development among its graduates. Despite these successes, challenges such as funding limitations, administrative delays, and attendance issues persist. The partners resolved to strengthen collaborations, secure sustainable funding, deepen engagement in CARTA activities, and further embed CARTA initiatives within academic systems to ensure their long-term sustainability and impact.

PhD Defense

Kganetso Sekome, cohort 10, University of the Witwatersrand, defended his PhD thesis on September 9, 2024. His PhD is titled ‘Feasibility and Acceptability of a Contextualized Physical Activity and Diet Intervention for Hypertension Control in a Rural Adult Population of South Africa.’.

Appointment

Olusola Olawoye, cohort 7, University of Ibadan, was elected Chairperson of the Glaucoma Society of Nigeria (GSN) on September 6, 2024. The GSN is an integral and robust part of the Ophthalmological Society of Nigeria, established to propel Glaucoma care in Nigeria to the optimal levels.

Enock Chisati cohort 7, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, shared part of the preliminary research results of the Pan-African Utilization of Lay Assessment Systems (PAULUS) Malawi project at the International annual meeting of the interRAI Network on Integrated Care and Aging (iNICA) in Washington DC, USA, that was held on September 4 to 6, 2024. The PAULUS project is piloting the feasibility of using the interRAI Self Report Check-Up instrument across eleven African countries. The project also aims to build capacity and establish an African Leadership Network in research to promote evidence-informed clinical practice and policy decisions.

Frederick Oporia, cohort 10, Makerere University, was a panelist in a session titled, ‘Exploring Evidence, Policy, and Action in Drowning Prevention’ at the 15th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion held in New Delhi, India, from September 2 - 4, 2024. During the conference, he received a certificate for completing a one-year fellowship in Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Emerging Leaders in Drowning Prevention program.

Godwin Anywar, cohort 6, Makerere University was a panelist and distinguished guest speaker on September 11, 2024, at the Science Summit, held during the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 79), with the theme “Tapping the untapped: Valorizing Indigenous Knowledge Systems to meet UN Sustainable Development Goals.” The Science Summit is a global event that unites thought leaders, scientists, policymakers, and innovators to address the most pressing scientific and technological challenges.

Henry Zakumumpa, cohort 4, Makerere University, commenced his on-site CARTA postdoctoral fellowship at Moi University, College of Health Sciences on September 7, 2024. He was received by the university’s Christopher Odhiambo, CARTA focal person, and Jepchirchir Kiplagat, CARTA cohort 5 graduate. Jepchirchir will be mentoring Henry on research-seeking pathways for integrating hypertension and diabetes management in HIV care platform.

Nomfundo Moroe, cohort 6, University of the Witwatersrand, was awarded a grant under the Africa Research Excellence Fund (AREF)’s Research Development Fellowship Seed Fund worth £5000. She will be evaluating the feasibility, acceptability, and fidelity of a behavior change intervention aimed at promoting consistent utilization of hearing protection devices among mineworkers exposed to occupational noise. Running for 12 months, the work builds on her PhD work, which was funded by CARTA.

Kirsty van Stormbroek, cohort 9, University of Witwatersrand, presented early results of her post-doctoral/implementation project titled ‘Open Hand Therapy Initiative: Early Evaluation of a Capacity Strengthening Access Webinar Series’ at the 53rd Annual Conference of the South Africa Society for Surgery of the Hand (SASSH) held in Cape Town on August 24, 2024. She was awarded the SASSH Therapist Prize for the best paper read at the Congress.

Funding: Research on Interventions for Global Health Transformation

NIHR's Research on Interventions for Global Health Transformation (RIGHT) program is launching its 8th call that will support targeted research to develop and evaluate interventions to strengthen and improve prevention, management, and response to unintentional injuries and accidents arising from any cause in ODA-eligible countries. The call especially seeks interventions that are relevant to unintentional injuries and accidents occurring due to climate change and natural hazards. Details

Deadline: October 23, 2024

Funding: Research for Patient Benefit   

The NIHR Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) program is inviting stage 1 applications for research proposals that are concerned with the day-to-day practice of health service staff and that have the potential to have an impact on the health or well-being of patients and users of the NHS. As a researcher-led program, RfPB does not specify topics for research but instead encourages proposals for projects that address a wide range of health service issues and challenges. Details

Deadline: November 6, 2024

Funding: Global Health Research – Researcher-led Programs 

Global Health Research (GHR) – Researcher-led programs (bands 1 to 3) are seeking applications for this new annual funding opportunity. GHR – Researcher-led funds research aims to improve health outcomes for the most vulnerable people in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Research must address evidence needs that are locally identified and prioritized and must promote health equity, aligning with the aims of Sustainable Development Goal 3. Details

Deadline: November 6, 2024

Funding: Public Health Research - Ultra-Processed Foods

There is growing interest in food processing and its effect on health. The Public Health Research (PHR) Program is accepting stage 1 applications to their commissioned workstream for this topic. The PHR program is predominantly interested in the evaluation of interventions operating at the population/group level, rather than at an individual level, which should address health inequalities and the wider determinants of health. Interventions are likely to impact different (sub)populations in different ways and encourage researchers to explore such inequalities of impact in their study design. Details

Deadline: December 13, 2024

Funding: Research in Mental Health Nursing (HSDR Program)

The National Institute for Health and Care Research is interested in funding high-quality applied health and social care research to increase and improve the evidence base about mental health nursing and the mental health nursing workforce under the Health and Social Care Delivery Research (HSDR) Program. Details

Deadline: January 8, 2025

Funding: Research in Mental Health Nursing (HTA Program)

The National Institute for Health and Care Research is interested in funding high-quality applied health and social care research to increase and improve the evidence base about mental health nursing and the mental health nursing workforce under the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Program. Details

Deadline: January 8, 2025

Fellowship: Fuel for Survival (PhD and Postdoctoral)

The Fuel for Survival (FFS)project investigates the relationship between colostrum feeding and BCG vaccination to determine whether BCG is rendered ineffective in metabolically ill-equipped (e.g. colostrum deprived) neonates, and if so, what supplementation strategies are most effective at restoring the protective capacity of BCG vaccination. This project will apply tools of systems and molecular biology and cutting-edge methods such as non-invasive metabolic phenotyping using indirect calorimetry. Successful applicants will join a team within the Canadian Centre for Vaccinology, and the I3V research cluster at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, including international collaborations (with exchange visits) with our partners in Denmark, Ghana, Kenya, and Guinea Bissau. Details

Call for Papers: Special Issue in Demographic Research

The ambition of this special issue is to provide new understanding of transformative changes in families beyond adaptive responses to socioeconomic crises. With the theme of  ‘Families’ Resilience and the Well-being of Children and Youth in Contexts of Global Socioeconomic Crises’, the editors conceptualize a transformative change as a mechanism that alters power relations in intergenerational relations and provides youngest family members with more resources and skills, autonomy, authority, as well as socioeconomic power linked to enhancing their current well-being and securing a better future. heme of ‘Families’ Resilience and the Well-being of Children and Youth in Contexts of Global Socioeconomic Crises.’ Details

Deadline: October 31, 2024

Call for Papers: Globequity Scheme

The International Journal of Public Health (IJPH, 2022 Impact Factor: 4.6) and Public Health Reviews (PHR, 2022 Impact Factor: 5.5) - owned by the non-profit Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+) - publish all content Open Access. The journals also support first authors from low- and middle-income countries to publish without fees. The APC waivers are offered through the journals’ GLOBEQUITY program, funded by Swissuniversities. Ddetails: PHR, IJPH

Deadline: Before the end of 2024

Call for Papers: Health in Africa Collection

Nature Communications, Communications Medicine, and Scientific Reports are launching an open call for papers to support and showcase research related to all aspects of health in Africa. They aim to promote high-quality research that advances understanding of health issues in Africa, and advocate for better healthcare on the continent in line with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, specifically, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Submissions that are focused on both intra- and inter-regional health are encouraged. Details

Deadline: December 31, 2024

Course: Engaged Research for Community and Policy Impact

The course is designed for those working in any field who are interested in designing and carrying out research that makes an impact, using community-based or participatory research approaches. This is a highly practical course - you will be required to identify and engage with a relevant community through several activities, to try out the methods and tools that you learn on this course. Starting on October 7, 2024, the course will be delivered via the learn@inasp Moodle platform, with 5 live Q&A sessions, and an accompanying WhatsApp community to learn from other participants. Details

NIHR CEI Virtual Advisory Panel Member 

The NIHR Global Health Research Program invites expressions of interest for new CEI Virtual Advisory Panel members. The panel will bring together people with local knowledge and experience in engaging and involving communities in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). Interested applicants must email ceiglobalhealth@nihr.ac.uk to request an ‘Expression of Interest’ form and submit the completed form by October 14, 2024.

Conference: 12th African Conference on Immunology (FAIS 2024)

FAIS brings together immunologists from across Africa and beyond and promises to significantly advance immunology research and scientific collaboration to address health challenges in Africa and around the world. Scheduled from December 10th to 13th, 2024, at the Palais des Congrès de Cotonou in Benin, the 2024 Federation of African Immunology Societies Congress (FAIS-2024) is themed “Innovative Strategies Against Infectious Diseases and Emerging Immunological Disorders in Africa. The Congress in Cotonou is a major event that gathers experts, researchers, and professionals from Africa and globally to discuss the latest advancements in various scientific and medical fields. Register

Community of Practice for Health Research

The Global Health Network connects researchers and research organizations, transferring know-how between disease areas and across regions and networks. This gateway will point you to guidelines, tools, templates, web apps, databases, crowd-sourcing initiatives, webinars, workshops, training material, and documents, as well as links to external resources that are relevant to health research themes, regions, and/or diseases. Details

A community of Social and Behavior Change Professionals

Springboard is an online community of social and behavior change (SBC) professionals passionate about making a difference in the world. Members seek access to experts, the latest theories and tools, and the most stimulating discussions and educational opportunities to advance their knowledge and skills. Details

The Africa Online Safety Platform

This impact amplifier initiative addresses the critical issue of online safety across Africa. A comprehensive platform has been built to tackle the social challenges stemming from internet access across the continent. The AAU invites you to explore the AOSP as a valuable resource for your research and educational endeavors. The platform is ideal for disseminating research findings to a wide audience and collaborating with other institutions on online safety projects. Details

Mesh Global Community of Practice

Mesh is a free, collaborative, open-access knowledge hub and networking project for people working in community engagement with global health research. This hub provides a neutral online space where community and public engagement practitioners, researchers, health workers, and others can network, share resources, and discuss good practices. Details

To be featured in the next CARTA Monthly, share with us your news and updates

via email to cartacomms@cartafrica.org on or before October 25, 2024.

Submissions should include but are not limited to:

Upcoming events, meetings, story ideas, new collaborations, new trials/updates, upcoming and published papers, policy briefs, community engagement activities, scholarships, what you are reading, if you won a grant, attending or about an upcoming conference, a call for applications/funding/papers, etc.

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