News & updates
September 4, 2019| Issue 20
We are conducting a retrospective 10-year evaluation, to understand if and how CARTA has influenced the actions of its key stakeholders such as fellows, graduates, focal persons among others.
We want to find out if there is something that you would describe as the most significant change you experienced that you think is related to CARTA. If interested to participate in the survey, please click to email the secretariat below.
Program News
CARTA mourns Peter da Costa’s death
The CARTA community joins family and friends in mourning one of our JAS 4 facilitators, Peter da Costa. He died on August 18, 2019.

CARTA Co-director, Catherine Kyobutungi, in a tribute said:

"Peter was especially passionate about data and data systems, and the need for countries to work more deliberately to turn statistics into data, and data into evidence. He believed in the power of numbers – and in the value of stories that turned those numbers into people. He was a true general in the data revolution, leading the charge for an Africa-driven approach to developing our own talent for data management and analysis."

Michael Mutua, Cohort Five Fellow and graduate of the University of the Witwatersrand said his death was: “...a big loss to the larger CARTA family! May his soul rest in peace and our heartfelt condolences to his family.”

Peter was the Kenya-based representative of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. He leaves behind his spouse, Ciru, and two daughters Yassin and Jarra.
Welcome: New Focal Person’s for the Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria
Prof. Eyitope Ogunbodede, Vice-Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Nigeria has appointed two new CARTA focal persons. They are, Olayinka Donald Otuyemi and Ojo Melvin Agunbiade (CARTA fellow Cohort Three and graduate) will assume their new roles from August 1, 2019. The two replace Mabayoje Aluko and Olapeju Esimai to whom we are grateful for their dedication.
Fellow News
Congratulations Emmanuel for the prestigious international fellowship
Our Cohort Five Fellow, Emmanuel Kaindoa, from the Ifakara Health Institute has won the NIHR–Wellcome Partnership for Global Health Research International Training Fellowship. As part of the £343,006 (USD$ 419 153.332) grant spread out over 36 months, he will carry out a project titled: ‘Using crowdsourcing to identify, characterize and target swarms of Anopheles funestus mosquitoes in rural Tanzania.’ 

This award, that officially began on September 1, 2019, is jointly funded by Wellcome and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) (using the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) Funding).

Commenting on the award, Kaindoa said: "It was a long process which involved submitting a preliminary application, full application and [an] interview. I'm happy I managed to pass all the steps and I thank CARTA for preparing me to go through [the] grant writing process."

He is a graduate of the University of the Witwatersrand and as part of his doctoral research on the Anopheles funestus mosquitoes, in 2017, the Ifakara Health Institute has initiated two major research initiatives funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The funding was based on the findings that showed that nearly 9 in every 10 new malaria infections in rural Tanzania is transmitted by the specific mosquito species.
Uwizeye to speak at Urban Health conference in China
Felicitations to our graduate, Uwizeye Dieudonne (Cohort One) from the University of Rwanda and currently a Postdoctoral fellow at the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) for receiving a scholarship to the 16th International Conference on Urban Health. The convening will be held in November 4-8, 2019 in Xiamen, China.

Uwizeye received the award for his abstract ' Illegality status shape access to livelihood and health status: Narrative from Kigali's urban informal settlements in Rwanda' that had been accepted for an oral presentation. The $2,000 scholarship will cover the conference registration fees, accommodation, and flights.
Three of our fellows secure Community and Public Engagement funds
Three of our fellows were in Nairobi from August 28-30 for the DELTAS Africa Community and Public Engagement (CPE) Seed Fund Induction meeting.

Adesola Olumide (Cohort Three) , Adebolajo Adeyemo (Cohort Two) from the University of Ibadan and Respicius Shumbusho ( Cohort Four) University of Dar es Salaam) are three of the 13 grantees to receive funding from the competitive seed fund that had over 90 applications. The DELTAS Africa CPE seed grants are designed to encourage a two-way dialogue to bridge the gap between our researchers and communities for the benefit of research and for better research outcomes and impact.
Two Maries in Italy for three weeks for short course
Marie Claire Uwamahoro (Cohort Seven) and Marie Chantal Uwimana (Cohort Six) participated in the 32nd Residential 3-weeks Summer Course in Epidemiology in Italy.

The two fellows from the University of Rwanda were among 100 participants from 35 countries who attended the epidemiology course organized by European Educational Program in Epidemiology (EEPE) from June 17 to July 5. During the first two weeks, the fellows took five modules on epidemiological study design and statistical analysis of epidemiological data.

In the third week, fellows choose thematic modules including clinical epidemiology, infectious disease epidemiology and environmental epidemiology. Fellows had an opportunity to engage in discussion with other doctoral students who shared their experiences in using different epidemiological designs and analysis.
Ayodele in Botswana for digital records training
Our Cohort Four fellow Ayodele John Alonge from the University of Ibadan participated in the Digital Records Curation Programme (DRCP) Study School for Archival Educators at the University of Botswana. The training equipped him with skills to develop digital records curation knowledge in new generation of archivists and records managers. Some of the facilitators of the training from August 5-9 were James Lowry and Margaret Crockett from the University of Liverpool. 
Viva, Nomfundo!
On August 27, 2019 our Cohort Six fellow Nomfundo Moroe from the University of the Witwatersrand was promoted to Senior Lecturer. 

"I cannot thank CARTA enough for the continued contribution towards my development as an early career academic and emerging researcher. I’d like to think that CARTA’s investment in me is not in vain," she said.
Noel attends One Health conference, training
Our Cohort Nine fellow Noel Korukire made an oral presentation at the One Health Central and Eastern Africa (OHCEA) International Conference in Kampala, Uganda. His presentation was titled: “Farmers’ awareness towards negative impacts of pesticide use on health and the environment”.

The conference held from July 24-26, 2019 was on ‘Harnessing One Health for Global Health Security.’ Earlier on, from July 1-12, 2019 he was at Egerton University in Kenya for a short course on Pandemic Preparedness with one Health Approach (PPOH) organized by the East African Community Secretariat in close collaboration with the German government and the university of Ergerton. 
Kudus in Budapest for migration short course
Our fellow Kudus Oluwatoyin Adebayo, (Cohort Six) from the University of Ibadan attended a five-day training on migration studies at the Central European University (CEU), Budapest, Hungary. The training July 1 to 5, 2019 brought together participants with migration fieldwork experience and those about to embark to the field.

The training was delivered through lectures, discussions, group work, daily group meetings and field visit.
“Particularly moving for me was a documentary titled ‘ Becky’s Journey’ by Sime Plambech. The real-life documentary featured Becky, a Nigerian woman who experienced trafficking, forced into prostitution in Europe and then deported back to Nigeria, where she became a ‘madam’ in her own right. However, this is not the moving part for me. What affected me the most about Becky's film was the knowledge that she died during her third attempt at Europe. She became pregnant while in transit, and her baby died inside the womb. ‘The baby died in her stomach, and Becky died, because the doctor’s attempts at getting the baby out in the worn down clinic failed.’ The full video of Becky’s Journey is freely available here
Fellows in the News
SOUTH AFRICA--Listen to our fellow and graduate from the University of the Witwatersrand (Cohort Four), Sara Nieuwoudt’s radio interview about breastfeeding in the workplace here.
SOUTH AFRICA--Read the article on Cheikh Faye (Cohort Five) fellow and graduate of the University of the Witwatersrand on his appointment as the inaugural director of the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) West Africa regional office. More details on the article here.
KENYA--A research by our fellow and graduate, Diana Menya (Cohort Two) from the Moi University informed this article on oesophageal Cancer in Kenya’s newspaper, Business Daily. Her doctoral research focused on how alcohol consumption - particularly local brews like chang'aa and busaa contribute to half of oesophageal cancer burden in Western Kenya.

Read more here.
UGANDA--Our fellow Annet Joselyn Atuhairwe (Cohort Nine) from Makerere University is quoted in an article in Uganda’s newspaper, Daily Monitor, on bedbugs and the effect they have on health.

She wrote it during the Joint Advanced Seminar 1 in March this year. Read all about it here.
KENYA--Our Cohort Nine Fellow Cyril Nyalik wrote this article on some of the risk factors of cancer in Kenya’s newspaper, The Nairobian.
What we are reading this month
Opportunities
We would love to hear from you
Share with us any news and updates such as u pcoming events, meetings, story ideas, new collaborations, new trials/updates on progress, 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.

Share these before September 13, 2019 to be included in the next CARTA news & updates. Send an email to cartaenquiries@aphrc.org