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Welcome message
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Greetings from Alma Mata! Welcome to the latest instalment of our newsletter outlining the latest global health news, events, educational links and opportunities.
Next month sees the launch of our third series of global health advocacy seminars run in conjunction with the Royal College of Physicians. The first, "Responding to emergencies - the challenges of NGO competition", will be held on Thursday 27th March, 6:30-8pm, and will include speakers from the Disasters Emergency Committee, the UK International Emergency Trauma Register, and others. We also recommend that you save the date for the second seminar, "Global health in the digital age", to be held on Thursday 19th June. More details to follow soon!
Meanwhile, our friends at Medact have been tackling climate denialism, inequalities, and social injustice through workshops and written reports including a briefing on the science of climate change - worth a read if you want to be clear on what is fact and what is fiction. Also in the news: exotic disease detectives; the potential impact of the US/EU trade and Investment partnership; neurocysticercosis; the Immigration Bill; and, finally, what can 30 Jamaican 8-year-olds singing about life on an imaginary planet teach us about global mental health?
If you would like to be more involved in our work please either email us or fill in the doodle poll to attend our next working group meeting.
For details of Global Health related events and activities, see below or visit the events page on our website. Please get in touch if you have any events / news stories that you would like to be included in next month's newsletter.
Read, enjoy and tweet and Facebook away...
Photo credit:" Angry hot planet" (Image: Green Party)
Upcoming events
Education, Volunteering and Careers
Global Health News
Upcoming events
Healthy Planet UK Conference: "Global health and justice in a changing environment"
Date: Saturday 1st - Sunday 2nd March 2014
Location: UCL Institute of Global Health at 30 Guilford Street
Speakers include: Professor Sir Andy Haines, review editor for the health chapter of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s 5th Assessment Report; Professor Virginia Murray, the UK government’s Head of Extreme Events and Health Protection and an editor of the IPCC’s Special Report on Extreme Events; and Professor Andrew Watkinson, director of the Living With Environmental Change programme and former director of the Tyndall Centre.
Tickets range from £5 to £20 depending on whether you are a student or professional and whether you want to attend one or both days.
Global health alert: After the spring comes the fall - Finding health and shelter in a turbulent Middle East
Date: Monday 3 March 2014 6:15 - 8:30
Location: Royal Society Of Medicine, 1 Wimpole Street, LONDON, W1G 0AE
The conflict in Syria, which started in the March of 2011, has left hundreds of thousands dead and an even greater number wounded and displaced. In a relatively short span of time the health care system in Syria has crumbled.
With government restrictions on aid agencies working inside Syria, how is this conflict different than any before in the region? Can aid organizations develop different approaches to provide aid, shelter, and health care to those most in danger or are they failing to adapt to the present and ever shifting situation? How will the conflict affect health systems in neighbouring countries and what are the repercussions for the population in years to come even if the violence stopped today?
Speakers include:
Dr Paul Spiegel the Deputy Director of the Division of Programme Support and Management at UNHCR; Dr Francesco Checchi, the Senior Humanitarian Health Advisor at Save the Children;
Dr Ahmad Abou-Saleh a front line doctor assisting the provision of emergency relief in Syria through the NGO Hand in Hand for Syria.
The talk will be chaired by Dr Bayard Roberts, Senior Lecturer of Health Systems and Policy and co-founder of the Public Health in Humanitarian Crises Group at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
UCL lunch hour lecture: A tale of two cities: sex work in India
Date: Tuesday 4 March, 1.15pm
Location: Darwin Lecture Theatre, UCL, Gower St, London, WC1E 6BT
Dr Maryam Shahmanesh, UCL Infection and Population Health
What can female sex workers in India teach us about the structural drivers of the HIV epidemic? This talk will explore how underlying social and political factors contribute to female sex workers vulnerability to HIV and poor sexual health outcomes. Contact Catherine Dean
020 3108 3839 | c.dean@ucl.ac.uk
LSE Lecture: Punishing the Innocent: tackling global injustice in a world of climate change
Date: Thursday 13th March 2014, 6:30-8:00 pm
Location: Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building, London School of Economics
The poor of the world have not been responsible for climate change but they are paying the greatest price. How can this global miscarriage of justice be addressed? Mary Robinson is the former UN high commissioner for human rights and runs the Mary Robinson Foundation for Global Justice. Nicholas Stern is currently president of the British Academy and chair of the Grantham Research Institute.
This event is free and open to all with no ticket required. Entry is on a first come, first served basis. For any queries email events@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 6043.
Charities and NGOs Careers Fair
Date: Wednesday 19 March 2014, 12:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Location: South Courtyard Cafe and Manson Foyer, LSHTM, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
Centre for Global Health Policy - Sussex University - ROUNDTABLE... Tackling the Global TB Threat: Can We Learn from the HIV Response?
Date: Wednesday 19th March 2014, 2:00 - 5:00 pm
Location: Fulton Building, Room 104, University of Sussex
This roundtable will throw light on various dimensions of TB, including the global disease burden and the national situation in the UK, access to treatment, drug resistance, and recent efforts by pharmaceutical companies and global health initiatives to develop new therapies. The roundtable will be chaired by Professor Melanie Newport (Professor in Infectious Diseases & Global Health, University of Sussex).
For more details see website and register here.
LSHTM: Inaugural Women in Science Lecture
Date: Wednesday 19th March 2014, 5:30pm
Location: John Snow Lecture Theatre, LSHTM, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT
Part of the "Women in Science" Lectures. The focus of this lecture series is on the speaker’s career, how being a woman has influenced the decisions she has taken and identifying lessons that can be learnt that are broadly applicable to other people’s career choices and pathway in research and policy. The lectures are open to the public, will be filmed and made available on the School’s website.
The Inaugural Women in Science Lecture on Wednesday 19th March will be given with Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer for England.
Admission: Registration required, register here.
Email: events@lshtm.ac.uk
Global Health Film Initiative: How to survive a plague
Date: Tuesday 25 March 2014, 6:30pm
Location: Royal Society Of Medicine, 1 Wimpole Street, LONDON, W1G 0AE
Faced with their own mortality an improbable group of young people, many of them HIV-positive young men, broke the mould as radical warriors taking on Washington and the medical establishment.
HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE is the story of two coalitions - ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group) - whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition. Despite having no scientific training, these self-made activists infiltrated the pharmaceutical industry and helped identify promising new drugs, moving them from experimental trials to patients in record time. With unfettered access to a treasure trove of never-before-seen archival footage from the 1980s and '90s, filmmaker David France puts the viewer smack in the middle of the controversial actions, the heated meetings, the heart-breaking failures, and the exultant breakthroughs of heroes in the making. Film screening followed by a panel discussion and drinks reception. Film website and trailer: click here
Generating knowledge for health; the post 2015 challenge
Date: Wednesday - Thursday 26 - 27 March 2014
Location: Royal Society Of Medicine, 1 Wimpole Street, LONDON, W1G 0AE
With only one year to the deadline for achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) debates on the post-2015 agenda are taking centre stage; especially how it can be linked with the proposed Sustainable Development Goals.
The proposals for the post-2015 agenda include having one overarching 'health goal' possibly encompassing universal health coverage. The main aim is to eradicate extreme poverty, reduce social inequalities, and improve governance, while also considering how to 'slow the alarming pace of climate change and environmental degradation which pose unprecedented threats to humanity. This 2 day conference will address the challenges of generating and implementing research evidence for the post 2015 development agenda encompassing both health care delivery and strategies to link health and sustainability.
RCP/Alma Mata Seminar : 'Responding to emergencies - the challenges of NGO competition'
Date: Thursday 27th March 2014
Time: 18:30 - 20:00
Location: Royal College of Physicians | Regents Park | London | NW1 4LE
Free seminars to develop global health advocates followed by drinks reception
This seminar aims to explore the immediate response to emergency situations requiring humanitarian or healthcare intervention. This will include: how the immediate needs of each situation are assessed, and by whom; what challenges arise from having multiple agencies working in parallel; how the presence of multiple external organisations impacts on local services in the short and long term; and ultimately how dynamics between the different agencies affect their ability to meet the recipient communities’ needs.
Speakers Include:
Annie Devonport, Head of Programmes and Accountability, Disasters Emergency Committee
Amy Hughes, UK International Emergency Trauma Register.
Further details will be posted soon, see our website
Any queries please contact us
To reserve your place please email: international@rcplondon.ac.uk
War and Peace: The transition of the health sector in conflict to development
Date: Friday 11 April 2014
Location: Royal Society Of Medicine, 1 Wimpole Street, LONDON, W1G 0AE
A meeting in association with Military Medicine. This meeting will seek to explore the changing context and nuances of the civilian-military relationship within the humanitarian health sector, both through the eyes of the NGO community and those of the military. Later we set out the new frameworks and practices that are being developed and employed to facilitate greater understanding and cooperation both in the acute and post-conflict transition phase. Book your place before Monday 7 April 2014 to take advantage of the early bird rate!
Global health alert: Torture: an ethical dilemma for the medical profession?
Date: Tuesday 29 April 2014
Location: Royal Society Of Medicine, 1 Wimpole Street, LONDON, W1G 0AE
Programme and online booking will be available soon
Conference: Health Economics: Coming of Age
Date: Thursday 12 June 2014, 9am
Location: John Snow Lecture Theatre, LSHTM, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT
Health economics has now firmly 'come of age' as a critical component of public health and health systems research globally. This provides much to celebrate, but much to consider in strengthening its relevance and ability to respond to future challenges. This conference will reflect on these issues as we celebrate more than 35 years of health economics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. A day of lively debate and discussion will reflect on the development of health economics in the UK and globally, assess its current state, and look ahead to the key questions facing its era of maturity. Speakers include Antony Culyer, Cam Donaldson, John Henderson, Richard Layard, Di McIntyre, Anne Mills, Carol Propper, Mark Schulpher and Adam Wagstaff.
Email: events@lshtm.ac.uk
RSTMH Developments in Travel Medicine
Date: Wednesday 25 June 2014
Location: The Foresight Centre, University of Liverpool
RSTMH's next Developments in Travel Medicine meeting, once again in association with NaTHNaC, will take place in Liverpool this year. A full programme will become available soon via their website - for now, just save the date!
Dates: 21-23 May 2014
Location: Liverpool Medical Institution
Cost: £255
Featuring case presentations and talks by UK and international experts, as well as updates on the latest brain infections research, this three-day course is fantastically useful for any clinician with an interest in neurological infections. Registrations now open.
MSF Medical Press Review - a weekly round-up of global health research
Free Obs & Gynae text books for those working, or intending to work, in low resource settings.
The Refugee Project is an interactive map of refugee migrations around the world in each year since 1975. UN data is complemented by original histories of the major refugee crises of the last four decades, situated in their individual contexts.'
The Gorgas Courses in Clinical Tropical Medicine share their 2014 Clinical Cases on-line
2013 Canadian handbook of HIV drug therapy download here.
The Welbodi Partnership, a small but growing UK registered charity that is supporting improvements in child and maternal health in Sierra Leone, is looking for a Country Director.
This is an exciting opportunity for someone who wants to work in a young, dynamic organisation making a difference in healthcare in West Africa. For more details see here.
In addition to this it is looking for Summer Interns 2014: Child Health in Freetown, Sierra Leone with the Welbodi Partnership for 3 months in the summer of 2014. This is a great opportunity for those of you interested in health and development in Africa. The application deadline is 15th March 2014. Please see link for more information.
Job Opportunity: Public Health Specialist - Trauma/Injury Management
Six-month posting with the WHO in Lebanon to give technical support to the management of trauma. Please email Dawn at the The UK International Emergency Trauma Register @ dawn@uk-med.org for more information.
Job Opportunity - Director, Kenyan Orphan Project (KOP)
KOP works to support children’s access to school, health and nutrition in Western Kenya. KOP also runs an active and participatory Student Programme which provides UK-based University students with education and experience of, along with exposure to international health issues facing children in the developing world. Please see website for job description and required personal attributes. The role will be based across London or Bristol, with some national and international travel as and when required. This is an exciting opportunity to lead a progressive and growing organisation that provides vital support to thousands of orphans and vulnerable children in one of the most deprived areas of sub-Saharan Africa. To apply send your CV and a covering letter to: jobs@kopafrica.org
WANTED: 5 Research Physicians - Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit
To assist with clinical studies on severe malaria in Chittagong and Ramu, Bangladesh. Hands-on bedside experience will be gained in observational and intervention clinical studies focused on malaria pathophysiology and treatment, and day-to-day management of critically ill patients in a friendly and supportive environment. Successful candidates will work in a multinational team with experienced clinicians in a government-run hospital with on-site research laboratory. The studies will run from the end of May to the end of August 2014, although start and end dates for individuals are negotiable and there may be potential opportunities for longer term positions for successful candidates. Prior to departure for Bangladesh, a 2-day induction training course must be completed in Bangkok. Flights and accommodation will be paid for. Positions are available to suit physicians at all levels who wish to gain practical experience in clinical tropical medicine research. Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU) is a collaboration between Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand and University of Oxford, UK and a Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme. For more information please contact: Dr. Katherine Plewes; katherine@tropmedres.ac
The Africa Centre is looking for trial clinicians for its Treatment as Prevention Study. Based in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Strictly speaking, existing HPCSA registration is required.
ICROSS Internship Programme 2014
ICROSS Kenya’s 2014/15 internships and volunteer program are open to applicants. The program will focus on: Public health; Health services; Human rights; Cultural anthropology; Geography; and International Affairs.
The program takes 40 interns each year, who can be gap year students, elective and post graduate students, or professionals on sabbatical.
All those wishing to apply please contact Danny Ngwiri at director@icrossinternational.org
Volunteer at the Institute for Rural Health Studies in India
The Institute for Rural Health Studies are looking for volunteers, both medical and non-medical, to help support their work which provides quality healthcare to some of the poorest rural communities in Andhra Pradesh, South India. In India there is a chronic shortage of doctors in rural areas, however through the dedication of foreign volunteer doctors, the IRHS has trained local paramedics and health workers so that they can manage most of the patients who come to the clinics. If you would like to find out more about the organisation and volunteer email pdb7@cam.ac.uk
News from around the world...
Time for a quick look at Global health News stories:
A novel approach, using drugs instead of insecticides, may make it easier to eliminate malaria. But it is not without controversy
Medact releases first briefing on the science of climate change
What can 30 Jamaican 8-year-olds singing about life on an imaginary planet teach us about global mental health?
Jungle Fever: The Exotic Disease Detectives
Humanity remains deeply unequal despite impressive progress, says UNDP report
Atoms for Peace? An investigation into links between UK universities and the Atomic Weapons Establishment
US/EU Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership – setting neo-liberalism in stone
Neurocysticercosis as a Cause of Epilepsy and Seizures in Two Community-Based Studies in a Cysticercosis-Endemic Region in Peru
Family planning versus contraception: what's in a name?
Take Action!
Join the UK International Emergency Trauma Database
Finally
Make sure you e-mail us at info@almamata.org.uk with all your news stories, events and updates for the Alma Mata network!
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