News & Updates

May 2023 Edition, Issue 65

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

The 10^th CARTA Public Lecture

JAS3 for Cohort 10b

As an extraordinary measure to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the fellows' progress and there being no cohort behind them to catch up with, UI is holding a Joint Advanced Seminar Three (JAS 3) for a second group of cohort 10 fellows who had missed the seminar in 2022. The residential training kicked off on May 14 and will run up to June 3, 2023, in Ibadan, Nigeria.



JAS 3 seeks to equip fellows on data presentation, doctoral dissertation, scientific writing, and communication skills to facilitate results dissemination and policy engagement.

Pioneering Pharmacy Excellence in Malawi: Journey to Associate Professorship

Felix Khuluza (cohort 5 graduate, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences) was recently promoted to Associate Professor of Pharmacy, in the Pharmacy Department. In this personal account, he reflects on his academic and professional journey and his quest for quality and safe medicine in Malawi and beyond. Read on

James Kang'ethe (cohort 10 fellow, University of Nairobi) delivered oral and poster presentations from his PhD research work at the International Conference on HIV Treatment, Pathogenesis, and Prevention Research in Resource-Limited Settings (INTEREST 2023) held in Maputo, Mozambique, from May 9 - 12, 2023. His oral presentation was titled ‘High-risk Human Papillomavirus Infections and Cervical Cytology Results Among Women Living with HIV in Kenya’, while the poster was on ‘Co-infection of High-risk Human Papillomavirus and Human T-lymphotropic Virus-1 Among Women Living with HIV on Antiretroviral Therapy at a Tertiary Hospital in Kenya’. Both abstracts were co-accepted for presentation at the upcoming International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference 2023.

Aline Uwase (cohort 10 fellow, University of Rwanda) attended an internship at Duke University School of Nursing located in North Carolina, USA. The purpose of the internship was to design an intervention model, which is the output of her PhD. During the six weeks, April 1 - May 13, 2023, she was mentored by Prof. Michael Relf, a Research Professor at Duke Global Health Institute, and Prof. Eleanor Stevenson, Associate Research Professor at Duke School of Nursing, Global Health. Through weekly meetings and ad-hoc consultations, she was exposed to different concepts such as theories in research, implementation research, multilevel research and mental health. All these concepts guided the design of the intervention model from the findings of her PhD research project. At the end of the internship, she was able to produce a draft of an intervention model and was awarded a certificate of completion.

Alice Muhayimana (cohort 10 fellow, University of Rwanda) delivered an oral presentation on ‘Respectful maternity care received during childbirth at health facilities in Eastern Province of Rwanda: An appreciative inquiry’, during the International Day of Midwives (IDM) in Kigali, Rwanda. The event, themed ‘Together again: From evidence to reality’ was held on May 5, 2023 and was organized in collaboration with different stakeholders: Rwanda Association of Midwives, University of Rwanda, UNFPA, Clinton health access initiative, Rwanda Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Partners in Health, Vital Strategies, Enabel, Intrahealth, Rwanda Health Initiative, Rwanda Biomedical Center, and the National Council of Nurses and Midwives.

Adesola Olumide (cohort 3 graduate, University of Ibadan) was in Nairobi, Kenya between May 9 - 12, 2023 for the second Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing meeting and the Adolescent Health Stakeholders Forum (May 12). The objective of the meeting was to review progress in developing the Commission’s main report, discuss findings, and develop a path for the remaining work and the report as a whole. Both events were hosted by the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) at its Ulwazi Place training facility. Adesola participated in her capacity as a commissioner of the Lancet Standing Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing.

Godwin Anywar (cohort 6 graduate, Makerere University) was invited to speak at the prestigious Volkswagen (VW) Summer School held at the Future Africa Campus, University of Pretoria, in South Africa. He presented on ‘Ethnopharmacological data collection from knowledge holders’. The summer school took place between May 15 - 19, 2023, under the theme ‘Ethnopharmacological relevance: From bench to shelf, including intellectual property and bioprospecting acts’.

On May 26, 2023, he facilitated a session on ‘Formalising the herbal medicine industry in the bio-economy in Africa’ in the Africa Bioeconomy coalition Africa-Bioeconomy webinar series. Godwin has also been appointed to be a member of the African Phytomedicine Scientific Society (APSS) scientific committee in Pretoria. 

On May 19, 2023, four graduates - Respicius Shumbusho Damian (cohort 4, University of Dar es Salaam), Anne Khisa (cohort 3, APHRC), Anitha Philbert (cohort 3, University of Dar es Salaam), and Dieudonné Uwizeye (cohort 1, University of Rwanda) facilitated a validation workshop in Tanzania for the study 'Examining participation and quality of experiences of women in science technology engineering and mathematics: postgraduate training programs and careers in East Africa'. The study is implemented by APHRC and the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), with funding from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

Samuel Mwaniki (cohort 8 fellow, University of Nairobi) was among 20 fellows from 17 different African countries who graduated from the second cohort of the prestigious Kofi Annan Global Health Leadership Fellowship on May 12, 2023, at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The fellowship is a one-year advanced leadership program implemented by Africa CDC and the Kofi Annan Foundation. It aims to support and nurture talented mid-level to senior public health professionals from Africa, in acquiring skills and capacity to manage and lead impactful public health programs in Africa.

Reflecting on the one-year journey, Samuel remarks, “I would like to thank CARTA for making me aware of this opportunity through the monthly newsletters. I believe that the skills I have acquired over time from the various capacity-building initiatives implemented by CARTA were really helpful in guiding my application, subsequent interviews, and selection from approximately 3000 applicants. The fellowship reinforced my commitment to addressing public health problems using a rights-based approach. Going forward, I will continue doing this in my own small way, and hopefully make a meaningful contribution to achieving the new public health order for Africa.”

APHRC Holds 20^th Anniversary Grand Finale

APHRC culminated its 20-year anniversary with a grand finale celebration held on May 23 and 24, 2023, at the Center’s campus in Nairobi. The commemoration kicked off with a day-long symposium on ‘Evidence to policy impact’ that discussed challenges hindering effective public policy engagement, decision-making, and interventions to tackle health development challenges in African countries. CARTA featured in the symposium in a number of ways, some of which include a panel session on ‘Building the Capacity of African Scientists’ where Sharon Fonn, CARTA co-Director was a panelist and Flora Karimi, Program Manager was the moderator. The program also showcased aspects of the program through poster presentations, specifically the institutionalization process and the CARTA Evidence Website.  

On May 24, APHRC held a high-level live televised panel discussion on ‘African solutions to health and development challenges' with speakers: Catherine Kyobutungi - Executive Director at APHRC, Tom Kariuki - Chief Executive Officer of Science for Africa Foundation, Fiona Moejes - Chief Executive Officer of Mawazo Institute, Alex Ezeh - Professor at Dornsife School of Public Health, and Carole Kariuki - Chief Executive Officer of KEPSA. The 2-day event brought together APHRC’s funders, partners, alumni, staff, and government representatives from across the world to celebrate and reflect on the Center’s journey and successes.

APAS Workshop at the Obafemi Awolowo University

Between May 16 - 18, 2023, the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Nigeria held an Academic, Professional, and Administrative Staff (APAS) Training of Trainers (ToT) for its faculty members from different schools/departments. The ToT sought to enable trainees to effectively facilitate APAS workshops in OAU’s campuses/schools and is an outcome of CARTA’s rigorous mainstreaming efforts that have been in momentum since last year.

One of CARTA's innovative interventions, the APAS workshop aims to strengthen the capacities and enthusiasm of staff to implement and support quality PhD training programs at their institutions.

CARTA Partner Universities Among 2000 in Global 2023 Ranking 

In the recently released 2023 edition of global academic ranking of universities by the Center for World University Ranking (CWUR), several CARTA African and non-African partner universities have been ranked among the top 2000 universities in the world. These include Makerere University, Uganda; University of Ibadan, Nigeria; University of Nairobi, Kenya; University of Malawi (now Kamuzu University of Health Sciences); University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa; University of Bergen, Norway; Umeå University, Sweden; University of Warwick, UK; University of Gothenburg, Sweden; and Brown University; USA. To rank the academic institutions, CWUR assesses the quality of education, employability, quality of faculty, and research without relying on surveys and university data submissions. Explore the rankings here

Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenges

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has launched a new Grand Challenges (GC) request for proposals, ‘Catalyzing Equitable Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use’. This request for proposals seeks innovative and safe approaches to the use of Large Language Models (ChatGPT-4, or other credible sources with equivalent capability). The foundation hopes to build an evidence base on this issue – informed by the communities we serve – to ensure this technology ultimately improves the lives of the world's most vulnerable people. This initial call is an opportunity to identify, nurture, and catalyze the creativity, energy, and skills that researchers, implementers, governments, and technical partners have demonstrated in solving specific challenges in their countries and regions through Large Language Models. Details

Deadline: June 5, 2023

Funding: Applied Global Health

This year, the Medical Research Council (MRC) has split the global health funding call into two: research and partnership to address global health challenges and inequities. Proposals of all sizes, including large research projects and small to medium-scale applications, will be accepted. Interested applicants should note the applied global health funding opportunity is now split into separate ‘research’ and ‘partnership’ outline application processes. Applicants are advised to read both the ‘applied global health research’ funding opportunity and this applied global health partnership’ funding opportunity, before deciding which 1 is the best fit for their application. Access Research call or partnership call

Deadline: July 27, 2023

Funding: ARUA-U21 ECR Collaborative Awards

The African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) and U21 have launched a new funding opportunity, to mark the beginning of a wider network-to-network partnership. The ARUA-U21 ECR Collaborative Awards will support Early Career Researcher-led projects between ARUA and U21 network member universities, using ARUA's Centres of Excellence as specialist research hubs. This one-off funding round, offering up to $15,000 per project, will support ECR projects that can also involve doctoral students, and industry partners/NGOs. The following research areas, aligned with ARUA's Centres of Excellence and the known research strengths of the U21 network, will be the focus: food security climate and development, and water. Details

Deadline: July 31, 2023

Fellowship: International Bioethics Research Training Program

The overall goal of this initiative is to support the mentored training of a sustainable critical mass of bioethics scholars in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) research-intensive institutions with the capabilities to conduct original empirical or conceptual ethics research that addresses challenging issues in health research and research policy in these countries as well as provide research ethics leadership to their institutions, governments, and international research organizations. FIC will support LMIC-U.S. collaborative institutional bioethics doctoral and postdoctoral research training programs that incorporate mentored research, advanced theoretical didactic courses, and ethics career skills training components to prepare multiple individuals for positions of ethics scholarship and leadership in health research institutions in LMICs. Details

Deadline: June 6, 2023

Call for Nomination: International Awards in Life and Environmental Sciences - 2024

Application is open for the International Awards in Life and Environmental Sciences – 2024 Call for nomination. Created in 1998, the International Awards L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science honors five eminent women scientists from 5 regions of the world every year. Alternating every other year, these exceptional researchers are rewarded for their important contributions to the progress of science, either in Life sciences or in the fields of Physical sciences, Mathematics, and Computer science. An award of €100,000 is given to each of the five laureates selected by a jury of internationally renowned experts. The five laureates will be selected by an international jury for their tremendous contribution to scientific advancement and will receive their Awards in June 2024 in Paris. Details

Deadline: June 28, 2023

Call for Papers: Interactions between Humans and Wildlife Interdisciplinary Workshop

Human life and wildlife converge steadily, resulting, among others, in new pathogen spillovers. The drivers for increasing human-animal interactions and its resultant pathogen spillovers are climate change, hunting, trading animals, and keeping animals as livestock or pets. Land use changes lead to an increasing encroachment of agriculture, including crop cultivation, in forests, savannas, and other biodiverse natural habitats. The DAAD Global Centres G-WAC and The African Climate and Environment Center – Future African Savannas (AFAS) call for papers for a joint workshop that will be held from October 23 - 27, 2023 in Bonn, Germany. The call targets early-career researchers (advanced Master's students, PhD students, Postdocs) with research that can/may contribute to the topic/ particular aspects of the topic. Details

Deadline: June 4, 2023

Access a wide range of opportunities related to global health research from the Fogarty International Center here:

https://www.fic.nih.gov/Funding/News/Pages/global-health-funding-news-2023-04-17.aspx

Ask the Editors: Practical Guidance for Designing and Reporting Qualitative Research

The Academic Medicine Podcast has a new episode featuring the journal’s editors–Bridget O’Brien, PhD, Jonathan Amiel, MD​, Megan Brown, MBBS(H), PhD, and Laura Hirshfield, PhD–join host Toni Gallo where they share practical guidance for designing and reporting qualitative research. They make recommendations for getting started, choosing a methodology, and effectively using published guidelines. Then they dispel common myths around writing up and publishing qualitative research. While the advice in this episode comes from the editors of Academic Medicine, much of it also applies to designing and reporting qualitative research for other journals and publications. Read

FP/Earth Project's Library of Selected Articles

The Family Planning and Environmental Sustainability Assessment project - FP/Earth Project conducts an annual literature search on the synergy between reproductive autonomy and environmental sustainability. The project screens scientific databases for peer-reviewed and trustworthy literature that addresses and is relevant to the study of the interconnections between reproductive health and rights, population size, and environmental sustainability. This list of selected research is organized around seven themes: key articles, gender, population pressure, human reproduction, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), articles critical of linking SRHR, population dynamics and environmental outcomes, and other articles. Explore the article library here

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