ESRC DFID Development Research Funding

ESRC-DFID JOINT SCHEME FOR RESEARCH ON INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (POVERTY ALLEVIATION) – Phase 2, second call

DEADLINE: 30 September 2010

DFID and ESRC are pleased to announce a second call for applications under Phase 2 of their strategic partnership to provide a joint funding scheme for development research. The purpose of the scheme is to provide a more robust conceptual and empirical basis for development, and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

WORKSHOPS: A series of workshops are planned for potential applicants in July to give advice on the application process and further detail on the remit of the call.
· 10.00 on 16 July - e-Science Institute, Edinburgh University - register via the National e-Science Centre website at http://www.nesc.ac.uk/esi/events/1101/
· 14.00 on 21 July - Priory Road Social Sciences Complex, Bristol
· 14.00 on 22 July - Wellcome Collection, London - hosted by the UK Collaborative on Development Sciences (UKCDS)
· 10.00 on 23 July - The Rose Bowl, Leeds Metropolitan University
To register for workshops in London, Leeds or Bristol please email DFID@esrc.ac.uk and include in the email subject the date and venue of the workshop you wish to attend.

THEME: The second phase of funding retains the overall 'poverty alleviation' theme from the first phase, and applications under this broad heading will still be eligible. However, ESRC and DFID have identified three thematic areas for this call where work will be of particular interest:
· Population and Development;
· Development in a Changing World: the Challenge for Theory, Policy and Action;
· Inequality and Development.

FUNDING: This second phase of the joint scheme has a total budget of £23 million and consists of three annual calls for proposals. £7m is set aside for this second call. Full applications are invited between £100,000 and £500,000 (100 per cent FEC).

APPLICATION PROCEDURE: Any UK and non-UK applicant(s) and their institutions intending to apply to this call must ensure they are registered with Je-S.

CONTACT: Email DFID@esrc.ac.uk or tel Lyndy Griffin (0) 1793 413135, or Peter Stephenson (0) 1793 442162, or Eloise Stott (0) 1793 413387.

Introducing a new approach to global poverty

INTRODUCING A NEW APPROACH TO GLOBAL POVERTY

The Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and the UNDP Human Development Report Office would like to invite you to participate in a special policy forum at the Commonwealth Club in London on Wednesday 14 July 10.00 – 11.30am. Speakers include Jeni Klugman, Director of the UNDP Human Development Report Office, Sabina Alkire, Director of OPHI at the Oxford Department of International Development, James Foster, Professor of Economics and International Affairs at George Washington University and OPHI Research Associate, and Michael Anderson, Director General for Policy and Global Issues at the Department for International Development.

Our aim is to focus discussion on the impact on global poverty strategy of a new measure, the Multidimensional Poverty Index or MPI, which will be prominently featured in the forthcoming 2010 UNDP Human Development Report, 20 Years On: Pushing the Frontiers of Human Development. In this report the MPI supplants the Human Poverty Index or HPI used in recent Human Development Reports as a tool for measuring the nature and impact of poverty at the household level. The report, which marks the 20th anniversary of the UNDP’s flagship publication, will be released in October but research findings from the introduction of the new internationally comparable measure will be made available at the July policy forum.

The UNDP Human Development Report Office is joining forces with OPHI, who developed the MPI, to promote a debate internationally on how the new instrument can help better analyse the drivers of acute poverty across the world and target development resources more effectively. We hope that you will want to join the specially invited audience of senior development policy-makers, media commentators, academics and aid practitioners at the policy forum.

Please RSVP to Sarah Valenti at sarah.valenti@qeh.ox.ac.uk or on +44 (0)1865 271528. We hope you will join us for this event and look forward to welcoming you on 14 July.

Warm regards,

Sabina

Sabina Alkire
Director
Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI)
Oxford Department of International Development,
Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford
3 Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3TB

Global Justice and the Social Determinants of Health

Global Justice and the Social Determinants of Health
Ethics & International Affairs, Volume 24.2 (Summer 2010)

Sridhar Venkatapuram

June 14, 2010

Public scrutiny and deliberation are central to both the sciences and ethical reasoning. In the sciences, research findings and analyses are put forward in the public arena not simply to announce new evidence but also for public examination, to be either corroborated or disputed. In ethics there is a similar process, whereby reasoned arguments are put forward about what is the good or right thing to do. In either domain, knowledge is expanded through the coherence and acceptance of the analyses and arguments, which depends on their being able to withstand public scrutiny. Therefore, when scientific and ethical arguments are brought together, the task of public deliberation is twofold, as it must encompass the empirical and the normative; and when the arguments concern an issue of such enormous scope as global health inequalities, public deliberation has to include national and global domains.
It is precisely this kind of twofold public deliberation that the World Health Organization's (WHO) Commission on the Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) anticipated when it released its final report at the end of 2008. In that report, the commission combined epidemiological analysis of health inequalities within and across countries with an essentially cosmopolitan ethical argument for motivating global social action to mitigate ill health and health inequalities. By doing so the commission brought together the consideration of scientific evidence, the centrality of global public deliberation to global health, and a view on global social justice.


For rest of article click title above or link here

Global Public Health Fulbright Scholar Program

Dear Colleagues in Higher Education,

I am writing to alert you to the exciting opportunities for Fulbright Scholar awards in Europe in the field of Public and Global Health.Applications for the 2011-12 academic year are currently being accepted for many awards in your field, including, but not limited to:

1165: Azerbaijan: Social Sciences
1176- Bulgaria: All Disciplines
1183- Bulgaria: Pure and Applied Sciences
1202- Estonia: Science Disciplines
1546- Finland: Fulbright-Aalto University Distinguished Chair
1205- Finland: Saastamoinen Foundation Award in Health Sciences
1318- Portugal: Engineering and Public Health
1327- Russian Federation: Community College Administrators
1328- Russian Federation: Community College Faculty
1329- Russian Federation: Science and Innovation
1369- Ukraine: Public Administration, NGO Management, Health Administration or Public Health


The application deadline for all awards listed above is August 2, 2010.

Applicants must be US citizens and hold a Ph.D. or appropriate professional/terminal degree at the time of application.

Please note that many All Disciplines awards: http://catalog.cies.org/index.aspx are available in Europe and can be a good option if the above awards do not match your expertise. More information about these and other Fulbright programs can be found on our website at www.cies.org.You can also explore the ‘My Fulbright’ home page, a resource center and online community of academics and professionals interested in the program.

Please share this information with interested colleagues and feel free to include it in your listserv or newsletter. If you have any questions, please contact the Program Staff listed in the award description or send your initial message to me. I will forward your inquiry to the appropriate program staff.

Jean McPeek
Senior Program Officer-Europe
Institute of International Education
Department of Scholar and Professional Programs
Council for International Exchange of Scholars Division
3007 Tilden St. NW, Suite #5L
Washington, DC 20008
Tel: 202-686-6246; fax: 202-362-3442
jmcpeek@iie.org / www.iie.org/cies

The Fulbright Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, is the U.S. government’s flagship international exchange program and is supported by the people of the United States and partner countries around the world. For more information, visit fulbright.state.gov.

The Fulbright Scholar Program and the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Program are administered by the Institute of International Education’s Department of Scholar and Professional Programs, which includes the Council for International Exchange of Scholars. For more information, contact us at scholars@iie.org or 202-686-4000, or visit www.iie.org/cies.

World Health Assembly closes after passing multiple resolutions

Sixty-third World Health Assembly closes after passing multiple resolutions
The delegates at the World Health Assembly adopted resolutions on a variety of global health issues

21 MAY 2010 | GENEVA -- The Sixty-third World Health Assembly, which brought together Health Ministers and senior health officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) Member States, concluded business and closed Friday evening.


Related links

Sixty-third session of the World Health Assembly
Full coverage

The Director-General's closing remarks




"You reached agreement on some items that are a real gift to public health, everywhere. Thanks to some all-night efforts, we now have a code of practice on the international recruitment of health personnel," said Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General. " In addition, you have given public health a policy instrument and guidance for tackling one of the world’s fastest growing and most alarming health problems. This is the rise of chronic noncommunicable diseases, like cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory disease."

The delegates adopted resolutions on a variety of global health issues including:

Public health, innovation and intellectual property: global strategy and plan for action
The issue of intellectual property is critical for 4.8 billion people who live in developing countries, more than 40% of them living on less than 2 US dollars a day. Poverty affects their access to health products to fight disease. The debate this year focused on financing issues, including the rational use of funds, and conducting research through regional networks. The global strategy proposes that WHO should play a strategic and central role in the relationship between public health and innovation and intellectual property within its mandate. The strategy was designed to promote new thinking in innovation and access to medicines, which would encourage needs-driven research rather than purely market-driven research. A new consultative working group will examine the way to take this work forward and is expected to report back to the 65th Health Assembly in 2012.

Counterfeit medical products
A working group on counterfeit medical products proposed, and the Health Assembly accepted, that WHO convened an intergovernmental working group, participation in which is to be open to all Member States. This group will examine WHO's:

•role in ensuring availability of good-quality, safe, efficacious and affordable medicine;
•relationship with the International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce (IMPACT); and
•role in prevention and control of substandard/spurious/falsely-labelled/falsified/counterfeit medical products.
The proposal emphasized that the group should restrict itself to public health issues only. Intellectual property or trade issues will not form part of its remit. The working group will make specific recommendations to the Sixty-fourth World Health Assembly, in 2011.

Viral hepatitis
Member States accepted the report to the World Health Assembly and adopted a resolution including a World Hepatitis Day on 28 July. Viral hepatitis (i.e. hepatitis A, B, C, D and E) — a combination of diseases that are estimated to kill over 1 million people each year and an estimated 1 in 12 persons are currently infected and have to face a life with liver disease if unrecognized. This endorsement by Member States calls for WHO to develop a comprehensive approach to the prevention and control of these diseases.

Monitoring of the achievement of the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
The resolution expresses concern at the relatively slow progress in attaining the Millennium Development Goals, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and at the fact that maternal, newborn and child health as well as universal access to reproductive health services remain constrained by health inequities. Member States noted that MDGs 4 and 5 were lagging behind and agreed to strengthen national health systems as well as take into account health equity in all national policies. They also reaffirmed the value of primary health care and renewed their commitment to prevent and eliminate maternal, newborn and child mortality and morbidity.

International recruitment of health personnel: global code of practice
The code of practice on the international recruitment of health personnel aims to establish and promote voluntary principles and practices for the ethical international recruitment of health personnel. It provides Member States with ethical principles for international health worker recruitment that strengthen the health systems of developing countries. It discourages states from actively recruiting health personnel from developing countries that face critical shortages of health workers, and encourages them to facilitate the "circular migration of health personnel" to maximize skills and knowledge sharing. It also enshrines equal rights of both migrant and non-migrant health workers.

Food safety
A large number of countries noted many diseases can be caused by unsafe food, that national food production systems are susceptible for food safety problems and that more food is traded across borders than ever before. The resolution supports improving the evidence base to estimate the burden of food borne diseases and the strengthening of global networks including INFOSAN (International Food Safety Authorities Network) and to improve the assessment, management and communications of foodborne and zoonotic risks in a timely manner.

WHO is encouraged to continue working directly with FAO and OIE to strengthen public health, support economic development, and continue joint risk assessments through WHO/FAO expert bodies, and establishment of standards through the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission.

Prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases: implementation of the global strategy
Noncommunicable diseases - mainly cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes - kill nearly 35 million people per year. Almost 90% of fatalities before the age of 60 occur in developing countries and are largely preventable. Member States reviewed progress achieved during the first two years in implementing the Action Plan for the Global Strategy on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases. Member States highlighted successful approaches in:

•implementing interventions aimed at monitoring noncommunicable diseases and their contributing factors;
•addressing risk factors and determinants supported by effective mechanisms of intersectoral action; and
•improving health care for people with noncommunicable diseases through health system strengthening.
Developing countries also underlined that official development assistance in building sustainable institutional capacity to tackle noncommunicable diseases remains insignificant.

Strategies to reduce the harmful use of alcohol
Each year, 2.5 million people worldwide die of alcohol-related causes. Harmful drinking is a risk factor for noncommunicable diseases and is also associated with various infectious diseases, as well as road traffic accidents, violence and suicides. For the first time, delegations from all Member States reached consensus on a resolution to confront the harmful use of alcohol. In addition to the resolution, Member States discussed a global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol which sets priority areas for action and recommends a portfolio of policy options and measures.

Global eradication of measles
Member States endorsed a series of interim targets set for 2015 as milestones towards the eventual global eradication of measles. Countries were encouraged by the efforts and progress made in controlling measles but also highlighted the challenges that need to be addressed to achieve the 2015 targets. These include competing public health priorities, weak immunization systems, sustaining high routine vaccination coverage, addressing the funding gap, vaccinating the hard-to-reach population and addressing an increasing number of measles outbreaks particularly in cross border areas. Success in achieving the measles 2015 targets is a key issue if the Millennium Development Goal 4 to reduce child mortality is to be reached.

Availability, safety and quality of blood products
The resolution paves the way to increase access to safe blood transfusion and to safe and affordable blood products in developing countries by encouraging them to establish national regulatory systems, using expertise and regulatory experience that already exists in other parts of the world.

Human organ and tissue transplantation
New guidelines on human organ and tissue transplantation, add two new guiding principles to existing guidance. The first improves safety, quality and efficacy of both donation and transplantation procedures - as well as the human materials used. The second increases transparency, while ensuring the protection of the anonymity and privacy of donors and recipients.

Treatment and prevention of pneumonia
WHO Member States adopted a resolution on the treatment and prevention of pneumonia - the number one killer of children under five years globally. The resolution makes it clear that intensified efforts to address pneumonia are imperative if the achievement of Millennium Development Goal 4 is to be achieved.

Infant and young child nutrition
About 112 million children worldwide are underweight and 186 million children under five are stunted (i.e. low height-for-age), 90% living in 36 countries. Malnutrition in children is related to inappropriate infant and young child feeding practices. Globally, only 35% of infants less than six months of age are exclusively breastfed and complementary feeding practices are far from optimal. Improvement of breastfeeding practices could save annually the lives of about one million children. Complementary feeding along with continual breastfeeding for up to two years or beyond could save the lives of another half a million children.

The resolution includes a call for increased political commitment, the implementation of the global strategy for infant and young child feeding, and strengthening of nutritional surveillance systems and improved use of millennium development goal indicators to monitor progress.

Birth defects
A resolution was adopted to help redress the limited focus to date on preventing and managing birth defects, especially in low- and middle-income countries. The resolution calls on Member States to prevent birth defects wherever possible, to implement screening programmes, and to provide ongoing support and care to children with birth defects and their families.

Pandemic influenza preparedness: sharing of influenza viruses and access to vaccines and other benefits
Members States expressed strong support for the continuing efforts of the Open-Ended Working Group to further global pandemic influenza preparedness by strengthening the sharing of influenza viruses and of benefits such as vaccines. Member States spoke on the progress made at the recent intergovernmental meeting (held 10-12 May 2010) and characterized the interaction as transparent, substantive, collaborative and an important foundation for future negotiation in this area. The role of industry as a stakeholder in the process to increase global capacity for vaccine production, increased technology transfer to developing countries, and access to supplies of vaccine and medicines at affordable prices for resource-limited countries were among issues raised. A number of countries urged the collaboration to move forward to increase pandemic preparedness and protect global public health. Having considered the report of the Open-Ended Working Group (15 April 2010), a resolution was passed:

•to request the Director-General to continue to support the effort and undertake any technical consultations and studies as necessary; and
•to decide that the group will report through the Executive Board to the Sixty-fourth World Health Assembly (May 2011).
Implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005)
The first report of the of the review committee assessing the functioning of the International Health Regulations (IHR) during pandemic influenza was discussed.

Delegates stressed that the IHR is broader than pandemic and plays a vital role in global public health, and their countries fully support IHR implementation. Delegates detailed activities that their countries are carrying out to implement the Regulations at national and regional levels.

Member States underscored the need for individual, country-based capacity strengthening, learning from past lessons, the importance of flexibility and of reaching out beyond the health sector. They further expressed their appreciation of the IHR training and awareness raising activities supported by WHO and stressed the importance of monitoring IHR implementation. They also emphasized the need for strong communication and partnerships.

The election of the Director-General of the World Health Organization
Delegates discussed whether the election of the Director-General should be done uniquely on merit or on a rotational basis by region.

Other resolution included:

•Health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan.
The President of the Health Assembly was Mr Mondher Zenaïdi, the Minister of Health of Tunisia.

"My conviction is that the important decisions taken, by consensus between the Members States, reflect a common desire to come up with concrete results that could profit all humanity in exercising its right to health," said Mr Zenaïdi.

More than 2800 delegates attended the Health Assembly this year.

On the sidelines of the Sixty-third World Health Assembly public health leaders unveiled a statue at WHO headquarters to commemorate 30 years of smallpox eradication.

For more information please contact:
Christy Feig
WHO Director of Communications
Mobile: + 41 79 251 70 55
E-mail: feigc@who.int

Fadéla Chaib
Mobile: +41 79 475 55 56
E-mail: chaibf@who.int

Media inquiries
Telephone: +41 22 791 2222
E-mail: mediainquiries@who.int

Public Health Scholarship for developing country resident

The EPOS Postgraduate Public Health Scholarship is for a young professional from a developing
country to undertake a Master degree programme in Public Health / Management of Health Systems /
Management of Health Facilities and Services at a University in Europe.
The EPOS Postgraduate Public Health Scholarship has been established in 2010 to coincide with
EPOS Health Management’s 25th Corporate anniversary. The scholarship highlights EPOS’
commitment to development cooperation that aims to contribute to the long term capacity building and
sustainability of public health systems in developing countries. The scholarship will cover: A) Tuition
fees; B) Monthly living allowances up to € 1,000; C) Two return economy tickets for home travel.
Full scholarship information and application procedures can be found at:
http://www.epos.de/EPOS-Postgraduate-Public-Health-Scholars.1279.0.html?&L=1
Following a participatory approach, EPOS has implemented during the last 20 years, over 290 projects
in nearly 75 countries in the areas of: Health Policy and Financing, Integrated Primary Health Care and
Health Facilities and Services
Being part of the GOPA Group, EPOS belongs to one of the strongest consulting groups in Europe.

WHO Call for research proposals on health equity for civil society orgs

Call for research proposals from civil society organizations (CSOs):
The WHO Scientific Resource Group on Equity Analysis and Research together with the Global Forum
for Health Research and People's Health Movement just opened a call for research proposals from civil
society organizations (CSOs) on the theme: ‘‘Advancing health equity through research and practice –
identifying what works to reduce health inequities”.
The call is available at: http://bit.ly/bvtCN3 . Deadline for receipt of entries is 23 May 2010.
Civil Society Organizations CSOs interested in evaluating the interventions they implemented and their
impacts both on health outcomes and on health equity are invited to submit research proposals.
The interventions (including policies, programmes, etc) to be evaluated need to address social,
economic and political determinants of health. Submission of proposals dealing with interventions and
research projects already in progress is strongly encouraged. The application should be emailed as a
Word or PDF document to sylvie.olifson@globalforumhealth.org.
In the header of the email, please put "CSOs advancing health equity”. Receipt of applications will be
confirmed by e-mail. The deadline for submission is 23 May 2010.