Connecting Citizens to Science

In this episode, the focus is on Tanzania. Together with co-host Lucy Nyaga, we have conversations with Dr Ahmad Makuwani, Assistant Director, Reproductive Health &amp; Child Health, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Tanzania, Dr Leonard Katalambula, Head of Department of Public Health, University of Dodoma and Dr Rukia Bakar Rajab, Dean, School of Medicine, State University of Zanzibar. We discuss how the programme ‘Quality Improvement (QI) of integrated HIV, TB, and malaria services in Antenatal and Postnatal care (ANC and PNC)’ funded by the Global Fund and Takeda Pharmaceuticals uses a blended learning and master training approach to improve the skills, practice and attitudes of health workers within women and newborn health services. We hear how&nbsp;much community engagement is valued by the Ministry of Health and how the programme will ensure sustainability through&nbsp;partnerships with universities, multilevel health system and communities.&nbsp;Dr. Leonard Katalambula&nbsp;&nbsp;Dr. Leonard Katalambula is PhD holder in public health and head of public health department at the University of Dodoma. He has over 14 years’ experience in teaching research and consultancy related to public health. He is a project lead of the Quality Improvement for Integrated HIV, TB and Malaria Services during Antenatal and Postnatal care in Tanzania, The project is funded by Global Fund and implemented by LSTM, Ministry of Health and the University of Dodoma. Dr Katalambula is also a principal investigator of the project “Meals Education and Garden for School in Adolescents. He has been engaged in several implementation research including Effectiveness of letter and brochure and brochure to a male partner on increasing women’s uptake of cervical cancer screening in Bahi, Dodoma: A randomized controlled trial. Effectiveness of a community-based intervention (Konga model) in addressing the factors contributing to viral load suppression among children living with HIV in Tanzania: A cluster-randomized clinical trial study. Dr Katalambula is a champion of a youth club at the University of Dodoma whose main objective is to promote health among youths especially reproductive health.&nbsp;Dr. Rukia Rajab BakarActing Dean,&nbsp;School of Health and Medical Sciences, School of Health and Medical Sciences, State University of Zanzibar (SUZA)Connects research/implementation with people and communities is very important through working in partnership with policy makers, local leaders and communities. This will definitely improves the quality of maternal and new-born health care and reduce maternal morbidity or mortality in the community. Lucy NyagaCountry Director, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Kenya&nbsp;My name is Lucy Nyaga. I am the Country Director, Liverpool School of Tropical medicine, in Kenya. I have a background in Medical Anthropology and Public Health with extensive experience in promoting implementation of research results into policy and practice with a special focus on MNH.&nbsp; With twenty years’ experience working in health programming, my experience and expertise in MNH has involved managing and implementing programmes that incorporate implementation research to inform effective programming and policy influence. Working with a range of organizations ranging from governments, academic and research institutions, UN agencies, and national &amp; INGO, I have led and contributed to key MNH research that has led to policy influence in Eastern Africa.&nbsp;https://www.lstmed.ac.uk/about/people/lucy-nyaga&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucy-nkirote-2062832b/" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

In this week's episode co-host Lucy Nyaga, together with guests Amina Baraka, a Nursing Officer in charge of Vihiga County Referral hospital and Fatuma Iman, a Reproductive Health Coordinator in Garissa County discuss their involvement in the ‘Quality Improvement (QI) of integrated HIV, TB, and malaria services in Antenatal and Postnatal care (ANC and PNC)’ programme funded by the Global Fund with funding from Takeda Pharmaceuticals. The project is supporting 61 health facilities across 3 counties to provide capacity building, mentorship and to generate evidence to inform decision-making and policymaking to support improvements of maternal, new-born and child quality of care.&nbsp;Lucy NyagaCountry Director, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Kenya&nbsp;My name is Lucy Nyaga. I am the Country Director, Liverpool School of Tropical medicine, in Kenya. I have a background in Medical Anthropology and Public Health with extensive experience in promoting implementation of research results into policy and practice with a special focus on MNH.&nbsp; With twenty years’ experience working in health programming, my experience and expertise in MNH has involved managing and implementing programmes that incorporate implementation research to inform effective programming and policy influence. Working with a range of organizations ranging from governments, academic and research institutions, UN agencies, and national &amp; INGO, I have led and contributed to key MNH research that has led to policy influence in Eastern Africa.&nbsp;https://www.lstmed.ac.uk/about/people/lucy-nyaga&nbsp;https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucy-nkirote-2062832b/&nbsp;TWITTER HANDLES&nbsp;@Lucynnyaga&nbsp;@MOH_Kenya&nbsp;Amina Anyango BarakaNursing manager Vihiga County Referral HospitalIn Vihiga County Referral Hospital we offer a range of reproductive health services to the women and their families. These include antenatal care during pregnancy, intrapartum care, and postnatal care to include contraceptive use.&nbsp;Despite all these interventions, the data available still show that a large number of maternal and neonatal deaths occur during birth and 48 hours after.&nbsp;The major causes of the mortalities being hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and haemorrhage. The audits have showed that in many circumstances either there is delay in seeking the needed care or delay in the health facility to initiate the appropriate interventions.&nbsp;In this regard the provider ability to do correct diagnosis and intervene appropriately is key. Thus we regularly do training needs assessment to ascertain the provider gaps. In the community we hold dialogue days and verbal autopsies to determine the possible causes of ill health and mortalities and factors influence the uptake health services.Fatuma Iman Maalim&nbsp;Mrs. Fatuma Iman Maalim holds a Master of Science Degree in Community Health &amp; Development and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing. She has 35 solid years of experience working with the Ministry of Health - Kenya, 18 Years’ experience working in Maternal Newborn Health programme and 1 year in ANC/PNC programme.&nbsp;Mrs. Fatuma, is the County Reproductive Health Coordinator Garissa. She overseas and coordinates Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health and Gender Mainstreaming services in the entire county. She is a Master trainer, a Manager, a Mentor &amp; a Decision maker. She is also the focal person of the World Bank’s Transforming Health Systems for Universal Care (THS-UC)...

In this week’s episode we hear from Dr. Leonard Katalambula, the project lead of the ‘Quality Improvement for Integrated HIV, TB and Malaria Services during Antenatal and Postnatal care’ in Tanzania andDr Uzochukwu Egere, Senior Research Associate, Emergency Obstetric and Quality of Care Unit at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM). Together with co-host Lucy Nyaga, Country Director at LSTM Kenya, our guests discuss the scope of implementation research under the Global Fund programme, the institutional research collaborations and capacity strengthening opportunities, and the benefits of the programme to communities.&nbsp;Lucy NyagaCountry Director, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Kenya&nbsp;My name is Lucy Nyaga. I am the Country Director, Liverpool School of Tropical medicine, in Kenya. I have a background in Medical Anthropology and Public Health with extensive experience in promoting implementation of research results into policy and practice with a special focus on MNH.&nbsp; With twenty years’ experience working in health programming, my experience and expertise in MNH has involved managing and implementing programmes that incorporate implementation research to inform effective programming and policy influence. Working with a range of organizations ranging from governments, academic and research institutions, UN agencies, and national &amp; INGO, I have led and contributed to key MNH research that has led to policy influence in Eastern Africa.&nbsp;https://www.lstmed.ac.uk/about/people/lucy-nyaga&nbsp;https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucy-nkirote-2062832b/&nbsp;HASHTAGS&nbsp;Primary Hashtag: #KML_MNHQoC&nbsp;Other Hashtags: #MaternalHealth #NewbornHealth #MNH #SDG3&nbsp;#MNHCommunity #AcceleratingTogether #SavingLivesTogether #Antenatal&nbsp;#Postnatal #MNH policy #EffectiveANC&amp;PNC #EquityANC&amp;PNC&nbsp;TWITTER HANDLES&nbsp;@Lucynnyaga&nbsp;@MOH_Kenya&nbsp;Dr Uzochukwu EgereSenior Research Associate (M&amp;E and Data management), Emergency Obstetric and Quality of Care Unit, Liverpool school of Tropical Medicine&nbsp;I am primarily a paediatrician with extensive research experience and interest in Implementation research and health systems strengthening in the areas of Maternal and Child health, Lung health and Tuberculosis. My work focusses on health and health systems challenges relevant to low-and middle-income settings and facilitates interactions between researchers and consumers of research outputs (the community) to ensure timely policy change and uptake of interventions.&nbsp;https://www.lstmed.ac.uk/about/people/dr-uzochukwu-egere&nbsp;Dr. Leonard Katalambula&nbsp;&nbsp;Dr. Leonard Katalambula is PhD holder in public health and head of public health department at the University of Dodoma. He has over 14 years’ experience in teaching research and consultancy related to public health. He is a project lead of the Quality Improvement for Integrated HIV, TB and Malaria Services during Antenatal and Postnatal care in Tanzania, The project is funded by Global Fund and implemented by LSTM, Ministry of Health and the University of Dodoma. Dr Katalambula is also a principal investigator of the project “Meals Education and Garden for School in Adolescents. He has been engaged in several implementation research including 'Effectiveness of letter' and 'brochure' and 'brochure to a...

This week’s episode features Philip Ode, a Programme Officer/Mental Health Focal Point from CBM Global Disability Inclusion, Nigeria and Tarry Asoka, a consultant in health and development. Together with co-host Tosin Adekeye, they discuss the development and delivery of an essential care package for integration of mental health and Neglected Tropical Diseases, including how communities and people affected have been involved.&nbsp; Dr. Oluwatosin AdekeyeAssistant Director of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry Ahmadu Bello University Hospital Zaria KadunaA social scientist with varied experience in both clinical and research aspects of health among communities in Northern Nigeria. As a Clinical Psychologist, his work has been both on mental and behavioral disorders and the effects of chronic disease on the well-being of patients and caregivers. As a Social Scientist, he just concluded a study that documented the well-being of people with stigmatizing skin diseases and established a care and support group within the community. More recently he is working on developing a well-being tool for parents and children with disability.&nbsp;Twitter: @TosinOluw, @SightsaversTarry AsokaConsultant in Health &amp; Development&nbsp;, Independent Consultant&nbsp;Tarry Asoka is a Medical Doctor with advanced training and qualifications in Health, Population and Nutrition, as well as Social Science Research. Besides providing technical assistance in number of health and health related areas, he is passionate about testing and implementing ‘models of care’ - service delivery reforms that re-organise health service around people’s needs and expectations. In particular, Tarry has a keen interest in organisational innovations within the health system that demonstrate competency in managing and delivering care for specific groups (such as persons with chronic health conditions) or whole population characterised by a combination of four essential elements: providing the right service, in the right setting, by the right person, using the right processes.https://www.linkedin.com/in/tarry-asoka-401008175/&nbsp;&nbsp;https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/race-onhow-community-health-being-integrated-primary-care-tarry-asoka/?trackingId=6M%2FpXWSKQi6b6hP1OM7uQw%3D%3D&nbsp;&nbsp;https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/re-imagining-community-health-global-south-tarry-asoka/&nbsp;Asoka, T. (2016a) Imagining a new future for healthcare services in Nigeria. Africa Health (Nigeria Edition). 38 (3): 6 - 8 http://africa-health.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/AH-Nigeria.pdf&nbsp;Asoka, T. (2016b) Feasibility of Managed Clinical Networks in Nigeria: a case of policy transfer to less advanced settings. [Doctoral thesis] Keele: Keele University http://eprints.keele.ac.uk/2368/1/AsokaDBA2016.pdf&nbsp;Philip OdeProgramme Officer/Mental Health Focal Point, CBM Global Disability Inclusion, Nigeria&nbsp;Philip is an experienced social development worker, specialising in projects/programmes management focused on inclusive community development and the public health concerns of marginalized and...

This episode features Emerson Rogers, the NTD case management lead in the Ministry of Health Liberia and Eric Whey, the mental health and psychosocial coordinator for Grand Bassa County Health Team, Liberia. Together they discuss how Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) and mental health services are being integrated at the primary health care level and the importance of advocating for sustained services for tackling mental health more generally. Tosin Adekeye, our co-host for this series discusses the cultural, logistical and community aspects that are being considered and the lessons that could be applied in other similar contexts.&nbsp;Dr. Oluwatosin AdekeyeAssistant Director of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry Ahmadu Bello University Hospital Zaria KadunaA social scientist with varied experience in both clinical and research aspects of health among communities in Northern Nigeria. As a Clinical Psychologist, his work has been both on mental and behavioral disorders and the effects of chronic disease on the well-being of patients and caregivers. As a Social Scientist, he just concluded a study that documented the well-being of people with stigmatizing skin diseases and established a care and support group within the community. More recently he is working on developing a well-being tool for parents and children with disability.&nbsp;Twitter: @TosinOluw, @SightsaversEric T. WeahMental Health and Psychosocial support pillar lead for EBOLA and the COVID 19 RESPONSE, lecturer at the Grand Bassa Community College.&nbsp;The mental health department (MHD) is part of the community health department and works with programs to consider a more holistic biopsychosocial approach. This approach seeks to look at the psychological impact that a condition will have on an individual, the family, the community and society at large. It also provides services for the vulnerable groups such as people living with disability, those in prison and at-risk youth. The mental health department also developed the user group and collaborative approach with faith based organisation, traditional healers and religious leaders to help in improve mental health care. The MHD also works with the Community Health Focal persons to ensure community health workers identify, follow up and refer cases to service delivery point for management.Emerson RogersNational Coordinator for Case Management of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) Management Committee member- REDRESS&nbsp;Ministry of Health, Liberia&nbsp;Mr Emerson Rogers has a key role in the Management Committee of REDRESS providing ongoing guidance and support as the National Coordinator for Case Management NTDs in Liberia.&nbsp;He manages the coordination of all Case Management, project planning, implementation, supervision, research, and timely reporting of progress. Enforcing strategies to ensure adherence to timely interventions for NTDs. Emerson has 14 years’ experience working as a Ministry of Health clinician in Liberia in several hospitals. He served as Clinical Coordinator at the National Ebola Treatment Unit and served as Master Trainer Team Lead for Keep Safe Keep Serving. Emerson served as National Program Director for the Men’s Health Screening Program- MOH between 2015-2017. He worked alongside WHO and CDC UK and was responsible for conducting Real Time PCR testing of the semen of Ebola survivors to determine it contained fragments of the virus and therefore help to get a better understanding of the persistence of the virus in the semen of male survivors.&nbsp;Twitter: @redress_liberia&nbsp;

In this week’s episode we hear from two community health workers about the work they have been doing to improve mental health services for people affected by neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) as part of the REDRESS programme in Liberia. Satta Sonnie Kollie in Lofa County, Liberia is a community health services supervisor and peer researcher; and Harrison Wenjor in Grand Gedeh, Liberia is the focal person for TB and people affected by NTDs. They discuss the importance of using local dialect, and being a trusted member of the community, especially when talking about mental health and providing counselling to people affected by chronic health conditions.Satta Sonnie Kollie&nbsp;Community health services supervisor and coresearcher, Government of Liberia – Lofa County/REDRESS&nbsp;I am Satta Sonnie Kollie from Lofa County, Liberia. I am Community health services supervisor and coresearcher. I am responsible to supervise the Community health assistants under clinic, give health education to our people in the communities, increasing facility delivery and also making our various communities to know the importance of their good health.&nbsp;D. Harrison WenjorFormer Focal Person for TB, Grand Gedeh, Formerly Government of Liberia – Grand Gedeh County/REDRESS&nbsp;D. Harrison Wenjor has spent many decades working in community health in Grand Gedeh. He worked as the focal person for TB and has worked closely with people affected by various neglected tropical diseases. He is passionate about community health and improving access to health, particularly for the most marginalised.&nbsp;https://www.redressliberia.org/&nbsp;Twitter: @REDRESS_Liberia&nbsp;Transcript available here

In this week's episode we hear from Emmanuel Zaizay who is a peer researcher in the REDRESS programme and is affected by Buruli Ulcer, a neglected tropical disease. He shares with us the value of learning new skills, through becoming a co-researcher, which has helped him better connect with his community and contribute to the improvement of medical and psychosocial services for people living with NTDs.&nbsp;Emmanuel ZaizayCo-researcher, REDRESSI am Emmanuel Zaizay from Lofa County, Voinjama District. I work with REDRESS as a coresearcher and I was recruited as a patient affected person as I was diagnosed with Buruli ulcer. I also serve as a data collector, I work in photovoice settings and participatory methods such as bodymapping and focus group discussions. Currently, I am with the coresearcher team in Lofa County.&nbsp;https://www.redressliberia.org/&nbsp;&nbsp;Twitter: @REDRESS_LiberiaFasseneh Zeela ZaizayREDRESS Country Director, Actions Transforming Lives/REDRESSMr Fasseneh Zeela Zaizay serves as the Liberian Country Program Manager for REDRESS, providing overall management for the project in Liberia. Zeela holds B.Sc. in Nursing (Magna Cum Laude), master’s in public health, Diploma of Advanced Studies in Health Care Management, and certificate in monitoring and evaluation. Zeela co-designed Cuttington University’s clinical outreach program and served as its coordinator as well as lectured nursing for 7 years. Before joining REDRESS, he served as the Liberian Country Director of MAP International and Technical Assistant to the Ministry of Health. In those roles, he engaged in strengthening the Liberian health system, supporting the integration of NTDs into the health system, and conducting research on health system strengthening and NTDs. He is a co-creator of the Liberian Strategic Plan for the Integrated Management of NTDS. He is a co-founder of Actions Transforming Lives, a registered Liberian charity and partner on REDRESS also providing financial and technical support to the Ministry of Health NTDs Program, as well as giving less fortunate communities access to safe water and improved livelihoods.&nbsp;https://www.redressliberia.org/about-us/people/actions-transforming-lives/fasseneh-zeela-zaizay/&nbsp;Twitter: @REDRESS_Liberia&nbsp;Twitter: @FZZaizay&nbsp;

In this thoroughly engaging episode, we hear from Dr.Steven Watiti who works for&nbsp; Mildmay Uganda, a leading HIV and AIDS service organisation, about living and aging with HIV and AIDS. Steven shares his story of family life, courage, loss, survival, learning, and advocacy. He speaks about the importance of mental health support and social capital when living with a lifelong health condition and calls for others to respond.&nbsp;&nbsp;Dr Steven WatitiPatient representative on Respond-Africa PartnershipAfter studying Medicine at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, Dr. Watiti, was a medical officer, Rubaga Hospital, Kampala from 1985-1988. He practiced medicine privately from 1988-2004 at Entebbe Road clinic and JOY Medical Centre Ndeeba, Kampala. From 2004, he has been working at Mildmay Uganda, a leading HIV and AIDS service organisation. An HIV activist and ardent advocate for improved and sustainable health for all, Dr. Watiti believes with hindsight that he acquired HIV between 1985 and 1986 while working as a junior medical officer. In 2000, he began ARVs after contracting tuberculosis, cancer (Kaposi’s sarcoma), and meningitis. In 2006, he started his weekly column on HIV in New Vision, Uganda’s leading daily newspaper. His column appears Mondays under the heading: “Towards zero: with Doctor Watiti”. He has published two books on HIV: “HIV and AIDS: 100 Commonly Asked Questions” and “Conquering HIV and AIDS: My personal experience of living with HIV”. Dr Waititi works with the Respond Africa partnership as an expert patient ensuring that patient needs, views and voices are heard and considered and addressed when designing and implementing research projects.&nbsp;Twitter: @WatitiStephen&nbsp;https://inteafrica.org/&nbsp;Dr. Rhona Mijumbi-DeveDr. Rhona Mijumbi-Deve is a senior lecturer of public policy at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) and heads the Policy Unit at the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Clinical Research Programme in Blantyre, Malawi. Rhona trained as a medical doctor and later as a Clinical Epidemiologist and Biostatistician, and health policy analyst. She has spent the past decade doing health systems and policy research. Her special interest is in exploring the nexus of evidence, and policy and decision-making processes, especially in low- and middle-income countries. She especially is interested in understanding this in the contexts of emergencies, health security and health diplomacy.&nbsp;

In this episode, we hear from Dr Rugema Lawrence from the University of Rwanda and Dr Julian Eaton from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and CBM Global Disability and Inclusion. Together they discuss the links between stigma, discrimination, mental wellbeing and chronic health conditions including Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), how these issues are currently being addressed with communities and the importance of ensuring mental health is part of an essential care package.&nbsp;Guest host for this seriesDr. Oluwatosin AdekeyeAssistant Director of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry Ahmadu Bello University Hospital Zaria KadunaA social scientist with varied experience in both clinical and research aspects of health among communities in Northern Nigeria. As a Clinical Psychologist, his work has been both on mental and behavioral disorders and the effects of chronic disease on the well-being of patients and caregivers. As a Social Scientist, he just concluded a study that documented the well-being of people with stigmatizing skin diseases and established a care and support group within the community. More recently he is working on developing a well-being tool for parents and children with disability.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Twitter Links:@TosinOluw@SightsaversDr Julian Eaton&nbsp;Mental Health Director at CBM Global and&nbsp;Assistant Professor at London School of Hygiene and Tropical MedicineJulian Eaton is the Mental Health Director for CBM Global Disability and Inclusion. He works with a team focused on improving access to care and support, and promoting the voice of people with psychosocial disabilities in low and middle income countries. He is an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Global Mental Health at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where he is currently leading a number of research projects looking at strengthening community-based mental health care, reform of public mental health systems in Africa, and Neglected Tropical Diseases. He leads the Mental Health Innovations Network at LSHTM, and is Chair of the Bond International NGO Mental Health Group. Julian trained as a psychiatrist in London where he now works, after living and working in West Africa between 2003 and 2017.&nbsp;CBM Community Mental Health homepage:&nbsp;https://cbm-global.org/what-we-do/community-mental-health&nbsp;Blog on community participation:&nbsp;https://cbm-global.org/blog/patient-and-communities-at-the-centre&nbsp;SUCCEED homepage:&nbsp;https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/research/centres-projects-groups/succeed&nbsp;&nbsp;Twitter:@julian_eaton&nbsp;@CBM_global&nbsp;@MHInnovation.net&nbsp;@GMentalHealth&nbsp;@LSHTM&nbsp;@SUCCEEDAfrikaDr. Lawrence Rugema&nbsp;&nbsp;Lecturer, researcher and Consultant University of Rwanda – School of Public Health&nbsp;&nbsp;Dr Rugema Lawrence is a public health professional at the University of Rwanda. Most of his research work has focused on mental health and reducing stigma related to mental illness.&nbsp; Currently he co-leads implementation research on Podoconiosis in Rwanda under NIHR funded Global Research Unit on Neglected Tropical Diseases in collaborator with the Brighton Sussex Medical School. In this particular research, community health workers are critical to in reducing podoconiosis related stigma. Coordinate rapid community health needs assessment through outreach program to inform policy.&nbsp;&nbsp;

In this week's episode we hear from Detricia Pamba, a patient advocate for people living with diabetes and Prof Kaushik Ramaiya from Shree Hindu Mandal Hospital, Tanzania. Together they paint a vivid picture of what life is like for people living with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in East Africa and what is needed to improve long-term, ‘humanised’ care for patients living with&nbsp;NCDs.Detricia PambaMulti-Media Journalist, Editor and Content Creation Executive, Mwananchi Communications Ltd&nbsp;Detricia Pamba is the Content Creation Executive at Mwananchi Communications Ltd, Editor for Mwananchi Scoop and Features writer for The Citizen. Her journalism experience extends on health, business and money management, women and youth, with a mix of arts and entertainment. She is a Type 1 Diabetes patient since 2011 who advocates for the awareness of diabetes in Tanzania through her writings.&nbsp;www.linkedin.com/detriciapamba&nbsp;www.instagram.com/detriciapamba&nbsp;https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/magazines/health-/living-with-type-1-diabetes-detricia-s-story-3875928&nbsp;https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/magazines/success/what-you-need-to-know-about-online-privacy-3557866&nbsp;@detriciapambaProf Kaushik RamaiyaCEO, Shree Hindu Mandal Hospital, Tanzania&nbsp;Professor Ramaiya has been actively involved in research on diabetes for many years and specialised, among other topics, on glucose tolerance and cardiovascular disease risk factors and mainly focused on Indian communities living in Africa. At present, Professor Ramaiya is working with children who have Type 1 diabetes, gestational diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular complications of antiretroviral drugs in HIV/AIDS and Diabetes/TB interaction. As part of the Respond Africa Partnership,, he is working on CD NCD Integration models (MOCCA Study) and will be overseeing metformin intervention in HIV patients with IGT (META Trial).&nbsp;&nbsp;https://www.lstmed.ac.uk/about/people/dr-kaushik-ramaiya&nbsp;https://inteafrica.org/&nbsp;

In this weeks episode we have a conversation with Professor Sayoki Mfinanga, Director and Chief Research Scientist for NIMR Muhimbili Cenre, Honorary Professor of Global Health at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Dar es Salaam, and Adjunct Professor at Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Arusha. Professor Sayoki shares key learning about:&nbsp;&nbsp;engaging with East African governments to address NCD care&nbsp;expert patients who have suggested new ways of working that have challenged professionals to rethink their knowledge base&nbsp;the importance of strengthening primary health care. &nbsp;&nbsp;Professor Sayoki MfinangaDirector and Chief Research Scientist, National Institute of Medical Research, Muhimbili Cenre Tanzania&nbsp;Professor Mfinanga is the Director and Chief Research Scientist for NIMR Muhimbili Cenre, Honorary Professor of Global Health at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Honorary Lecturer at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Dar es Salaam, and Adjunct Professor at Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Arusha, Tanzania. He is leading several scientific research networks in Africa. He is Deputy Director-of Respond Africa, as well as Deputy Director for Afrique one ASPIRE consortium, and Coordinator of TB node of excellence in East Africa under East Africa Consortium for Clinical Research (EACCR2).&nbsp;https://www.lstmed.ac.uk/about/people/dr-sayoki-mfinanga&nbsp;&nbsp;https://inteafrica.org/&nbsp;

In this week's episode, we will be talking about the economic impact of non-communicable diseases or NCDs on east African communities. Guests include Dr. Steven Waititi, a Patient representative on Respond-Africa Partnership and author of “Conquering HIV and AIDS: My personal experience of living with HIV” and Josephine Birungi, a Senior Research Scientist based at Medical Research Council/Uganda Virus Research Institute (MRC/UVRI) in Entebbe. They discuss:&nbsp;Financial/economic barriers for patients and communities affected by NCDs&nbsp;What having an NCD means for patient finances&nbsp;How integrated care addresses these problems&nbsp;Dr Josephine BirungiSenior Research Scientist, MRC +UVRI&amp; LSHTM Uganda Research Unit&nbsp;Dr Josephine Birungi is a Senior Research Scientist based at Medical Research Council/Uganda Virus Research Institute (MRC/UVRI) in Entebbe. She is currently working on a number of research project within the Respond Africa Partnership, as study lead in Uganda. Projects include&nbsp;INTEAFRICA which is evaluating a novel approach of integrated clinical management of HIV-infection, diabetes, and hypertension in Tanzania and Uganda and INTECOMM which is evaluating community based integrated care for people living with HIV, Diabetes and Hypertension.&nbsp;https://inteafrica.org/&nbsp;@josephinebirun1&nbsp;Dr Steven WatitiPatient representative on Respond-Africa PartnershipAfter studying Medicine at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, Dr. Watiti, was a medical officer, Rubaga Hospital, Kampala from 1985-1988. He practiced medicine privately from 1988-2004 at Entebbe Road clinic and JOY Medical Centre Ndeeba, Kampala. From 2004, he has been working at Mildmay Uganda, a leading HIV and AIDS service organisation. An HIV activist and ardent advocate for improved and sustainable health for all, Dr. Watiti believes with hindsight that he acquired HIV between 1985 and 1986 while working as a junior medical officer. In 2000, he began ARVs after contracting tuberculosis, cancer (Kaposi’s sarcoma), and meningitis. In 2006, he started his weekly column on HIV in New Vision, Uganda’s leading daily newspaper. His column appears Mondays under the heading: “Towards zero: with Doctor Watiti”. He has published two books on HIV: “HIV and AIDS: 100 Commonly Asked Questions” and “Conquering HIV and AIDS: My personal experience of living with HIV”. Dr Waititi works with the Respond Africa partnership as an expert patient ensuring that patient needs, views and voices are heard and considered and addressed when designing and implementing research projects.&nbsp;https://inteafrica.org/&nbsp;@WatitiStephen&nbsp;

In this series we are talking about responding to the challenge of non-communicable disease in East Africa together&nbsp;In recent decades, rates of non-communicable diseases (NCD), such as diabetes and high blood pressure have risen sharply in sub-Saharan Africa and are now linked to approximately 2 million deaths per year. Countries across the continent are rapidly looking to address this new epidemic, but this is difficult with much of the healthcare system still focused on the treatment of communicable disease, such as HIV. This podcast series will explore many aspects of the problems related to NCDs across sub-Saharan Africa, including how African &amp; European researchers from the RESPOND-Africa group, and healthcare providers and governments in East Africa are working with local communities to better understand the issues related to NCDs and how we can best address their care. In particular, we’re interested in how integrating the care of NCDs with other, currently well treated conditions, like HIV can benefit the patients and local healthcare systems by improving care whilst saving them both time and money.&nbsp;In this week’s episode we hear from Dr Flazia Zalwango from&nbsp;the Medical Research Council/ Uganda Virus Research Institute and LSHTM and from Dr Anu Garrib, a consultant in public health medicine working at LSTM in the RESPOND Africa/NIHR Group for the prevention and management of HIV-infection and non-communicable diseases. Our guests discuss:&nbsp;Barriers to engaging community groups across the life cycle, including children, adolescents, and older people to inform prevention, treatment and management of disease conditions like NCDs.&nbsp;&nbsp;How to best engage policy makers in research uptake &nbsp;The problem of NCDs in sub-Saharan Africa and how they are being addressed currently&nbsp;How communities can be involved in addressing the problem of NCDs going forward&nbsp;Why and how can integrated NCD &amp; HIV benefit these communitiesOur guest host for this series is Dr Joseph OkebeSenior Research Associate, LSTM&nbsp;My research looks at how primary healthcare services for people living with chronic health conditions such as diabetes, HIV-infection and hypertension can be improved. We recently completed a study in Tanzania and Uganda where we looked at the impact of having all these services together in the same clinic affect patient’s retention in care and control of their health conditions.&nbsp;&nbsp;https://www.lstmed.ac.uk/about/people/dr-joseph-okebe&nbsp;&nbsp;twitter@ jo_okebe&nbsp;Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-okebe-a049399/&nbsp;&nbsp;Dr Anu GarribPrincipal research associate, RESPOND-Africa partnership, LSTMI am a consultant in public health medicine and have been working at LSTM in the RESPOND Africa/NIHR Group for the prevention and management of HIV-infection and non-communicable diseases in Africa since 2017. &nbsp;My current research focusses on evaluating strategies for the integrated delivery of HIV and non-communicable disease care, as well as clinical studies on the prevention of diabetes. The study on integration of HIV and NCD services was a feasibility study aimed at determining if an integrated delivery of care for these conditions was acceptable to patients and healthcare workers, and involved extensive engagement with these groups to determine how best to structure the service. Although the clinical trial is a very different kind of study, the continued engagement of patients is critical as we try to determine how best to support...

In this episode we hear from Mary, a TB survivor who shares her inspirational journey from initial sickness to embarking on multiple complex treatments, lengthy isolation, recovery and finally to unending dedication to offer support, positivity and hope for others living with TB. Key learning and lessons in this story for researchers, policy makers and global health planners.Mary&nbsp; MpakibiRetention Officer and TB expert champion, Kawempe Home Care&nbsp;My name is Mpakibi Mary, am 28 years and currently staying in Kyebando, Kawempe Kampala Uganda. I am working at Kawempe Home Care (KHC) as a Retention Officer and TB expert champion. KHC is a community Based Organisation caring for people living with HIV/AIDS, TB cancer and other health related illness.&nbsp;I also work as a cab, Community Advisory Board member with Makerere Lung Institute and a member of Uganda Country Advisory Group (UCAG) under the Light TB project bridging the gap between researchers, health facilities and the communities.&nbsp;Some of my contribution are attributed to TB case notification through contact tracing and Community sensitization and screening which contribute to the Total TB cases identified at Kawmpe Home Care and other health facilities as shown in reports attached to the links&nbsp;https://treattb.org/2019/03/08/mary-mpakibi-from-stream-uganda-tells-her-story/&nbsp;&nbsp;https://kawempehomecare.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/KHC-Annual-Report-2019-20-Final-1.pdf&nbsp;https://twitter.com/Lung_Institute?t=xTdKZpZ7fLqnDdA4FtANIQ&amp;s=08&nbsp;https://twitter.com/StopTB?s=08&nbsp;https://twitter.com/search?q=USAID%20ON%20TB&amp;t=Xlb1A5FcSzFUGCoyJza87Q&amp;s=08&nbsp;

On this episode we are delighted to be joined by Dr Brunah Schall, post-doctoral researcher at Fiocruz Minas in Brazil, and Dr Julia Smith, assistant professor at Simon Fraser University in Canada. We hear from our speakers about the gendered dynamics of the Covid-19 pandemic, focusing on research which has been conducted in Brazil and Canada as part of the multi-country Gender and Covid-19 project.&nbsp;&nbsp;We cover topics including:&nbsp;&nbsp;The economic impact of the pandemic on women, who took on a disproportionate amount of unpaid care work and took longer to re-enter the workforce &nbsp;Female health workers’ experiences of racism,&nbsp;misogyny, stigma and violence on the frontline&nbsp;How research from the Gender and Covid-19 project is influencing policy across countriesDr Brunah SchallPostdoc, Fiocruz MinasBrunah is a biologist with a PhD in Sociology from Brazil. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Fiocruz Minas, working on projects on gender and health, especially the international project Gender and Covid-19, funded by the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation. Her research focuses on women from vulnerable settings in urban and rural communities in Brazil, highlighting the effects of the pandemic in their livelihoods, food security and overall health with the purpose of connecting them with policy makers.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;https://www.genderandcovid-19.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/PAC00487_Gender-Covid-19-Brazil-food-insecurity-English.pdf&nbsp;https://www.genderandcovid-19.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/PAC00519_Gender-Covid-19-Health-Workers-Brazil-1.pdf&nbsp;https://www.genderandcovid-19.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/gender-and-race-on-the-frontline.pdf&nbsp;https://www.genderandcovid-19.org/resources/the-pandemic-response-plan-in-brazil-must-include-a-critical-perspective-on-gender-and-race-2/&nbsp;https://www.genderandcovid-19.org/editorial/water-is-life-the-struggle-of-quilombola-women-for-access-to-water-in-the-midst-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-in-brazil/&nbsp;Dr Julia SmithAssistant Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser UniversityDr Julia Smith is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University. She has a PhD in Social and International Studies from the University of Bradford, where she also completed her Masters of Arts as a Rotary World Peace Fellow. Her research interests centre on gender-based policy analysis of health crises, commercial and political determinants of health, feminist theory and community-based research. She is currently a Principal Investigator on the Gender and COVID-19 Research Project, which is conducting gender-based analysis of the response to COVID-19 in multiple countries and is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and...

Featuring guest speakers Dr Bintu Mansaray, Lead Research Consultant at the Institute of Gender and Children’s Health Research in Sierra Leone, and Dr Tara Tancred, a senior research associate at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, in today’s episode we hear about doing participatory research with highly vulnerable populations, focusing on women who have survived trafficking and the importance of centering their voices in research processes.&nbsp;Listen to find out about:&nbsp;How a sense of community and solidarity between survivors can emerge from the participatory research process&nbsp;Engaging with participants to understand safeguarding concerns from their perspective and to collaboratively decide what can be done to make them feel safe&nbsp;The power of participatory methods such as PhotoVoice and community drama for enabling survivors to communicate and share their experiences of trafficking and reintegration&nbsp;Dr Bintu MansarayLead Research Consultant, Institute of Gender and Children’s Health ResearchBintu Mansaray is a medical doctor, and a paediatrics public health specialist. She currently works as a social scientist for the Institute of Gender and Children’s Health Research in Sierra Leone whilst completing her PhD at the University of Bristol on the Multisectoral responses to sexual abuse in Africa. Bintu’s research is focused on children’s health and well-being and sex trafficking in Africa. She has published three children’s public health books on COVID-19, Malaria and Type 1 Diabetes to help Africa’s children learn about these illnesses affecting them. Bintu is particularly interested in building bilateral and mutually beneficial relationships with organisations and research institutions to end child slavery and sex trafficking.&nbsp;&nbsp;Dr Tara Tancred&nbsp;Senior Research Associate, LSTMTara Tancred is a social scientist working for the Centre for Capacity Research at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Much of her research centres on improving the quality and patient-centredness of sexual and reproductive healthcare in low-resource settings. To this end, she has extensive experience supporting different participatory research approaches, driving co-researcher-led and contextually appropriate changes to support implementation of evidence-based practice. She has a particular interest in supporting capacity strengthening for implementation research, especially amongst co-researchers.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;https://www.lstmed.ac.uk/about/people/dr-tara-tancred&nbsp;&nbsp;

In this week’s episode we focus on climate change and its impacts on malaria specifically. Our guests Remy Hoek Spaans from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and Clinton Nkolokhosa from the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme (MLW) will be discussing the effect of floods in Malawi created by extreme weather events and their impact on malaria. Our guests talk about:&nbsp;&nbsp;partnerships with local sugar producers who help to ensure accurate and timely data for factors such as soil permeability, rainfall, temperatures&nbsp;how climate knowledge combined with local knowledge can help predict patterns of disease transmission and keep track of flooding and its impacts&nbsp;the use of open access tools and humanitarian data to inform decision making and stimulate positive change for vulnerable communities and those affected by climate change&nbsp;plans to develop online intuitive tools to share knowledge and co-develop mitigation strategies to disease risk from climate change&nbsp;Remy Hoek Spaans&nbsp;PhD candidate, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine&nbsp;I am currently working on malaria epidemiology in Malawi, with a focus on environmental and climatological drivers. My most recent project, for which field work has just been completed, will look at the impact of flooding on malaria epidemiology.&nbsp; One of the first noticeable effects of climate change will be an increase in extreme weather events. In March 2019, Cyclone Idai had a devastating impact on the population of southern Malawi. I would like to understand how the spatial distribution of malaria cases has changed in response to the floods in an agricultural landscape. I have access to routinely collected daily health records and satellite imagery to investigate this at a fine scale. With an increase in extreme weather events in the future, it is crucial to learn how this will affect malaria transmission, to build resilient health systems.&nbsp;https://rstmh.org/about-us/who-we-are/student-ambassadors/remy-hoek-spaans&nbsp;https://twitter.com/remyhs?lang=en&nbsp;https://rstmh.org/news-blog/blogs/world-malaria-day-early-career-grant-research-into-malaria&nbsp;https://www.linkedin.com/in/remyhoekspaans/?originalSubdomain=nl&nbsp;Mr Clinton Nkolokosa&nbsp;Masters fellow, Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme (MLW)Clinton Nkolokosa is a MSc Fellow within the Vector Biology group at Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome, Blantyre Malawi.&nbsp; Clinton’s current project which is being funded by the Wellcome Trust, is titled Measuring the impact of past, present and future environmental changes on schistosomiasis transmission in southern Malawi. Overall, his work is focuses on advanced spatial analysis in environmental and health, and in the intersection of these research areas. This includes the application of remote sensing in crisis mapping and predictive environmental modelling to uncover snail-schistosome distribution and dry season malaria transmission in a changing climate. His particular focus is using cutting-edge geospatial statistical tools to help improve capacity for prevention, preparedness and response to public health, climate and environmental risks.&nbsp;- <a...

In this episode we are joined by Dr Sara Parker, Reader in Development Studies at Liverpool John Moores University and Professor Madhusudan Subedi from the Patan Academy of Health Sciences and the Tribhuvan University in Nepal, who will be talking to us about their work on women’s reproductive health and dignity in Nepal, with a focus on understanding menstrual stigmas and engaging with communities to challenge practices of menstrual exclusion.&nbsp;We talk about:&nbsp;How&nbsp;menstrual exclusion impacts&nbsp;the health and wellbeing of women and girls&nbsp;&nbsp;Why it is important to work with men,&nbsp;families and the wider community – as well as women and girls - to change norms and beliefs around menstruation&nbsp;The value of interdisciplinary and creative research approaches for understanding realities at the local level and how this can feed into social transformation&nbsp;Dr Sara Parker&nbsp;Reader in Development Studies, Liverpool John Moores University SociologySara Parker is Reader in Development Studies in the Sociology Department at Liverpool John Moores University. She has over 30 years of action research experience in Nepal following on from her PhD on non-formal education and women’s participation. She has led a number of research initiatives in Nepal including Higher Education links between the UK, Nepal and Bangladesh with a focus on gender and education.&nbsp; She is committed to collaborative action research and is currently leading the BA/GCRF funded ‘Dignity Without Danger’ research project exploring menstrual stigma and taboos. This project connects researchers in the UK and Nepal to NGOs and activists in Nepal to deepen understating of the complexities of menstrual discrimination.&nbsp; The research project also has a strong emphasis on working with local communities and utilises creative means to produce policy recommendations and creative visual outputs that can be used as advocacy tools.&nbsp; She is an active member of the Menstrual Health and Hygiene Partnership Alliance in Nepal and is co-editing a book on Menstruation in Nepal to be published by Routledge India.&nbsp;&nbsp;She has recently been elected as the Chair of the British Nepal Academic Council BNAC and is a committee member of the Britain and Nepal NGO network BRANNGO. She also advises on a number of NGO boards including Elevate Nepal. Sara has co-authored papers and articles as well as written a children’s book focusing on fair trade and Nepal.&nbsp;&nbsp;Staff profile LJMU Sara Parker | Liverpool John Moores University (ljmu.ac.uk)&nbsp;&nbsp;DWD Social media @DWDNEpal&nbsp;&nbsp;Instagram DwD Nepal (@dignitywithoutdanger) • Instagram photos and videos&nbsp;Twitter Dignity Without Danger (@DWDNepal) / Twitter&nbsp;Facebook (13) Dignity Without Danger: Menstruation in Nepal | Facebook&nbsp;@LJMUSociology&nbsp;Qualitative Analysis in Action | Liverpool John Moores University (ljmu.ac.uk)&nbsp;Blogs on Menstruation in Nepal&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/projects/sustainable-development-dignity-without-danger-stigma-taboos-menstrual-exclusion-nepal/" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

In this week’s episode we hear from Dr Ana Bonell and Dr. Aliyu Nuhu Ahmed from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine about environmental degradations from climate change that impact health in The Gambia. The expected increase in heat and reduced rainfall in The Gambia is one of the most significant health threats caused by climate change. However, little is known about the gendered dynamics of exposure and response to heat stress; changes in land use and transmission of zoonotic diseases and children’s ideas for the future. Our guests discuss how they are engaging communities in identifying solutions to climate change impacts on health and hear about:&nbsp;changes in agricultural land use due to climate change and how these impact health outcomes in rural communities, including transmission of zoonotic diseases&nbsp;&nbsp;a project with pregnant farmers in The Gambia to understand how they perceive and act upon occupational heat stress&nbsp;&nbsp;a “Climate Change Solutions Festival” with children in 50 schools who gave a unique insight into perceived climate change problems and scalable, affordable and creative solutions that could be implemented in their local area&nbsp;&nbsp;co-production approaches and how they are situated within the wider decolonising health agenda&nbsp;Dr Ana Bonell, Clinical Research Fellow&nbsp;Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia at London School of Hygiene and Tropical MedicineDr. Ana Bonell is a Wellcome funded Clinical Research Fellow working on maternal health and climate change. She has training in epidemiology, tropical medicine and advanced physiology. She is particularly interested in the nexus between climate change, maternal health, occupational heat stress and agriculture. Her research focuses on pregnant subsistence farmers in West Africa and the impact of maternal exposure to high ambient temperature, the physiological response to that stress and the impact that has on fetal health and wellbeing. Additionally she is interested in connecting with, learning with and from the youth on climate problems and solutions to the current crisis. &nbsp;&nbsp;https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.785254/full&nbsp;https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.784915/full&nbsp;https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.03.31.22273092v1&nbsp;https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3965382&nbsp;Dr. Aliyu Nuhu Ahmed, PhD Student&nbsp;Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia at London School of Hygiene and Tropical MedicineRapid changes are occurring in agricultural systems in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Land-use changes, market dynamics, agricultural policy, environmental factors, cultural habits, and technology are all influencing and affecting crop farming techniques and animal husbandry for both commercial and subsistence purposes. However, the effects of these changes on zoonotic disease risk remain largely unknown, particularly in the world's poorest communities, where there is rising recognition that zoonotic illnesses have a significant impact on health and livelihoods. A better understanding of the mechanism by which environmental degradation endangers human health, especially in rural communities, will inform ways to optimise zoonotic disease risk mitigation and promote sustainable land-use that is more environmentally friendly.&nbsp;

In this week’s episode we hear about citizen science approaches for tackling flooding and waterborne hazards in Ethiopia. Our guests Dr Alemseged Tamiru Haile, Senior Researcher from the International Water Management Institute and David Warne, Professor of Environmental Systems Modelling from Newcastle University are part of the GCRF Global Water Security and Sustainable Development Hub. Their work with citizen scientists aims to improve awareness and action on flooding risks and waterborne hazards in Ethiopia through co-creation of knowledge and development of new management systems for water. Our guests will share the value of citizen science approaches from enhancing community understanding of their environment to resolving data gaps for risk assessment, modelling, and better decision-making. They share with us:&nbsp;Definitions and understanding of citizen science approaches and co-creation of knowledge&nbsp;The involvement of citizens in testing water quality and flow, monitoring ecological status in aquaria, analysing and interpreting data and communicating findings to the community.&nbsp;How climate change and resulting changes in rainfall and water flow created hazards for small scale farmers which stimulated the co-design of a new early warning system by scientists, communities and government&nbsp;Dr Alemseged Tamiru HaileSenior Researcher, International Water Management Institute&nbsp;Dr. Alemseged Tamiru Haile is Senior Research of hydrology and hydrological modelling at International Water Management Institute (IWMI). He earned his PhD in Spatial Hydrology at University of Twente, The Netherlands. He is leading and contributing to several research projects that aim to improve water security, fill hydrological data gaps and improve flood risk management. Alemseged enjoys sharing experience with early carrier researchers and students.&nbsp;https://www.watersecurityhub.org/resources/citizen-science-bottom-management-shallow-groundwater&nbsp;&nbsp;https://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/2020/10/can-citizen-science-help-to-fill-hydrology-data-gaps-in-ethiopia/&nbsp;&nbsp;Dr David WernerProfessor Environmental Systems Modelling, Newcastle University&nbsp;Dr. David Werner is Professor of Environmental Systems Modelling at Newcastle University, UK. He earned his PhD in Environmental Sciences at EPFL in Switzerland. He works with colleagues and communities in Africa, South America, and Asia towards ubiquitous genomics in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) to achieve the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation for all. This includes the co-development and testing of a suitcase laboratory for water quality testing. David enjoys doing fieldwork with his colleagues and students, and life-long learning about the wonders of nature and human follies.&nbsp;https://www.ncl.ac.uk/engineering/staff/profile/davidwerner.html&nbsp;https://www.ukri.org/about-us/research-outcomes-and-impact/lab-in-a-suitcase-could-provide-safer-water-for-millions/&nbsp;https://blogs.ncl.ac.uk/davidwerner/&nbsp;

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 states that we need to “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts”. The consideration of energy is a central focus for climate change experts as it is responsible for “nearly three-quarters of global emissions”, with energy consumption being one of the biggest sources of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. &nbsp;SDG7 calls for “affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all” by 2030. Its core target includes: Ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services. In this week's episode we will be focused on learning about renewable energy and the links between sustainable development goals such as health and poverty alleviation. We will hear from guests how they are working with people and communities to adapt to cleaner energy whilst considering the impacts on other SDG goals. Flavia Ajambo from CREEC and Professor Jon Lovett from Leeds University share:&nbsp;How the entertainment industry helps disseminate information around renewable energy in an interesting manner&nbsp;The design of microgrids that supply multiple renewable energy sources to orphanages in Uganda.&nbsp;How new energy technologies and innovations developed in a lab are transferred to communities in a sustainable way&nbsp;The importance of capacity strengthening and knowledge dissemination such as policy briefs, massive online open courses, and movies!Our co-host for this series&nbsp;Dr. Ajay Bhave&nbsp;Core Research Fellow - Water Security and Sustainable Development Hub, Newcastle University&nbsp;I am an interdisciplinary environmental scientist who uses methods from different disciplines to explore how to identify and prioritise actions and plans for adapting to a changing climate. I use scenarios and decision making under uncertainty approaches to co-produce knowledge with wide-ranging stakeholders regarding potential futures and adaptation options. Currently, he collaborates with researchers and stakeholders in Malawi, India, Malaysia, Colombia and Ethiopia to explore the diverse decision contexts, contextual priorities, climate change risks, and adaptation options. After receiving the Jawaharlal Nehru Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, he has worked at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics and Political Science, and the University of Leeds.&nbsp;Profile: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/engineering/staff/profile/ajaybhave.html&nbsp;&nbsp;Publications: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=55584569800&nbsp;&nbsp;Twitter: @ajay_bhave&nbsp;Flavia Ajambo is a Ugandan communication expert that has for 9years worked closely with renewable energy experts to influence the adoption of renewable energy technologies. On identifying the different patterns on how people absorb information and how it influences their adoption of clean energy, Flavia has worked closely with industry sector players to encourage and develop content packaged into movies, long foam content on YouTube, carousels, tv and radio drama series. These have demonstrated how renewable energy can be utilized and it’s benefits and has helped to drive impact towards the adoption and optimum utilization of renewable energy technologies.&nbsp;Professor Jon Lovett is Chair of Global Challenges in the School of Geography at the University of Leeds. He started working with engineers on renewable energy whilst...

In this week’s episode we hear from our co-host Robinson Karuga in his role as a Research, Evaluation and Learning Manager&nbsp;at LVCT. Robinson has been part of a team implementing a participatory action research approach to improve health and wellbeing in two informal settlements in Nairobi. Robinson shares with us:&nbsp;How data collected with community co-researchers using photovoice (see S4E1) was presented to key stakeholders like chiefs, village elders, civil society organisations and community volunteers so they could identify and prioritise key health and wellbeing issues &nbsp;The development of work improvement teams that were responsible for driving actions for change together with key decision makers, government bodies and those who held power such as police&nbsp;The journey from data collection to problem identification, root cause analysis, developing actions and implementing them within the system&nbsp;The role of researchers as facilitators, coaches, and morale support, as well as assessing and navigating power dynamics through reflexivity&nbsp;Robinson Karuga is a Health Systems and Policy Research specialist. His area of specialization is community health systems research, with a focus on community participation in governance and embedding of quality improvement approaches. Karuga is a co-investigator in ARISE (Accountability and Responsiveness in Informal Settlements for Equity), a multi-country research consortium that seeks to generate evidence on how to apply community-based participatory approaches to empower marginalized residents of urban informal settlements to advocate for improvements to factors that affect their health and wellbeing. Within ARISE, Robinson connects citizens with science through the implementation of community-based participatory research such as photo voice and building the capacity of co-researchers in reflexive methods.&nbsp; Robinson KarugaResearch, Evaluation and Learning Manager, LVCT Health&nbsp;As the Research Capacity Strengthening lead in the ARISE Consortium, Karuga is responsible for developing and implementing the Consortium’s capacity strengthening strategy that targets 29 early and mid-career researchers, a Ph.D. cohort of 9 candidates, and community co-researchers in four countries across Africa (Kenya, Sierra Leone) and Asia (India and Bangladesh).Robinson Karuga is currently the Research Evaluations and Learning Manager at LVCT Health, a Kenyan not-for-profit organization that seeks to improve the health and well-being of vulnerable and marginalized populations through research, technical support to governments, and policy advocacy.&nbsp;&nbsp;

In this week’s episode we talk about COVID-19 and how travel and public health restrictions presented challenges to ensuring that urban marginalised voices were heard by researchers and policy makers in India and Bangladesh. Our impressive guests Professor Sabina Faiz Rashid and Senior Research Fellow Dr.Surekha Garimella discuss the importance of having established long-term relationships with people, communities and supporting organisations which enabled research to continue and ensured that the needs of people in urban spaces were reaching decision makers. Our guests share;&nbsp;&nbsp;what happened when Covid-19 hit urban informal communities in India and Bangladesh&nbsp;the personal and professional passion of researchers to work with communities, not only for research purposes but in solidarity for the struggles faced&nbsp;&nbsp;their own career journeys of humility, unlearning, connectedness and shared humanity that shaped their lives and relationships with communities&nbsp;Dr Surekha GarimellaSenior Research Fellow, George Institute for Global Health, IndiaGarimella Surekha has a bachelor’s degree in Nutrition, a Master of Science in Nutrition &amp; Food science, a Master of Philosophy in Applied economics, and a PhD in Public Health, Gender, and Work. Her research interests are in gender, women, work, and political economy; Gendered health systems and accountability; feminist theory and practice and ethics of research practice. She has worked in implementation and research in gender, nutrition, health and wellbeing among women, children, and adolescents in informal urban settlements in Delhi and Tamil Nadu as well as researched on the health and wellbeing experiences of women workers in urban informal settlements in Delhi. Currently she leads the work on health and wellbeing of waste workers under ARISE (Accountability for urban informality) in India.&nbsp;https://www.georgeinstitute.org.in/people/surekha-garimellaSabina Faiz RashidProfessor, BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC UniversitySabina F. Rashid, PhD, is Dean and Professor at the BRAC School of Public Health, BRAC University. A medical anthropologist by training, she has over 25 years of work experience in Bangladesh. Her areas of research and teaching interest and experience are ethnographic and qualitative research, with a focus on urban populations, adolescents, and marginalized groups. She is particularly interested in examining the impact of structural inequalities and inequities and intersectional factors that affect the ability of these populations to realize their health and rights.ORCID ID:&nbsp;https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0916-2631LinkedIn:&nbsp;linkedin.com/in/sabina-faiz-rashid-5229671aaTwitter: twitter.com/bracjpgsphFACEBOOK:&nbsp;https://www.facebook.com/BRACJPGSPHLinkedIn:&nbsp;https://www.linkedin.com/company/bracu-jpgsph

In this week’s episode we will be discussing the intersections between research and activism for social change. With our guests Vinodkumar Rao and Joseph Kimani, we will be seeking to understand how lessons from activist approaches can be applied within research and vice versa. We will also explore how power, participation and social justice fits within the wider research agenda when seeking to engage communities in informal settings. Key points we hear from Kimani and Vinod include:&nbsp;How slum federations in India and Kenya lead data collection with support from NGOs and researchers so they can demand rights and ensure they have a ‘seat ‘at the decision-making table&nbsp;&nbsp;The role that researchers play within activist organisations to support knowledge generation, understand government policies and to decipher academic evidence so that communities can develop solutions or ask for resources from the state.&nbsp;The organic growth of ‘movement’ building – when one community takes action another will follow and have an example to build upon&nbsp;The importance of collecting data about slums, challenging government data, and producing evidence to ‘prove their existence, to prove their requirements and to prove the value that they bring to the city by inhabiting in the city.’&nbsp;How dominance and power within community structures is considered and managed within activism to promote inclusion&nbsp;Joseph KimaniExecutive Director, Shack Dwellers International-Kenya (SDI-K)Joseph is an experienced community organizer, with a Masters in Community Economic Development. He has worked with Civil Society Organizations for the past 18 years in areas including civic and political rights, peacebuilding, economic development, and governance. Currently working as the Executive Director for Shack Dwellers International Kenya (SDI Kenya). SDI Kenya is composed of young professionals who provide technical support to Kenya Slum Dwellers Federation- Muungano wa Wanavijiji. The organization promotes and facilitates Community-based participatory research tools used by Slum federations and community organizations to use their data in the co-production of solutions with city authorities.&nbsp;&nbsp;https://pubs.iied.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/migrate/10884IIED.pdf&nbsp;http://hummedia.manchester.ac.uk/institutes/gdi/publications/workingpapers/scaling-participation-horn-et-al.pdf&nbsp;https://bulletin.ids.ac.uk/index.php/idsbo/article/view/3115&nbsp;https://www.muungano.net/publicationssearch&nbsp;Vinodkumar Rao works within ‘The Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centers’ or SPARC, an NGO based in India working with grassroots networks of slum dwellers across cities. He has close working experience with the National Slum Dwellers Federation (NSDF) and Mahila Milan (‘women together’ in Hindi), two organisations of urban poor who negotiate for access to safe habitat and basic civic services, co-producing solutions with the state institutions. He is currently leading on the interdisciplinary action research project, <a href="https://www.ariseconsortium.org/" rel="noopener...

Series 4 is brought to us by the ‘Accountability and Responsiveness in Informal Settlements for Equity’ abbreviated to ARISE. The ARISE consortium is all about promoting social change for improved health and wellbeing with communities and people living and working within urban informal spaces.&nbsp; Together, across 10 partners in 4 countries – Bangladesh, India, Kenya and Sierra Leone- they are co-developing solutions with communities to health and wellbeing challenges. However, co-production of knowledge for action is challenging due to the many and intersecting inequalities and power relations between researchers, development professionals, activists and communities. We will be exploring how ARISE is working to overcome these, in partnership with people in urban informal settlements or slums, to stimulate change.&nbsp;In this week’s episode we are talking to Inviolata Njoroge from LVCT Kenya and Shrutika Murthy from The George Institute for Global Health (TGI), India. They have shared their experiences of using visual methods and storytelling to bridge the power-laden distances between lived realities of waste pickers, child headed households, the elderly and people with disabilities in urban informal communities and research and policy. We hear about:&nbsp;methods that have been used to connect with the most marginalised and often hidden people in urban informal communities&nbsp;how different intersecting identities and inequities add new layers of vulnerability in urban informal settlements&nbsp;&nbsp;the use of participant shadowing as an activity to capture experience and context of vulnerable people and what needs to be considered before using this as a method to connect with people&nbsp;how the photovoice method has brought out silent voices and stories that are often left unheard&nbsp;&nbsp;The importance of considering researcher and community mental health when using these in-depth exploratory and creative methods with vulnerable populations&nbsp;Guest presenter for this series is Robinson KarugaResearch, Evaluation and Learning Manager, LVCT HealthRobinson Karuga is a Health Systems and Policy Research specialist. His area of specialization is community health systems research, with a focus on community participation in governance and embedding of quality improvement approaches. Karuga is a co-investigator in ARISE (Accountability and Responsiveness in Informal Settlements for Equity), a multi-country research consortium that seeks to generate evidence on how to apply community-based participatory approaches to empower marginalized residents of urban informal settlements to advocate for improvements to factors that affect their health and wellbeing. Within ARISE, Robinson connects citizens with science through the implementation of community-based participatory research such as photo voice and building the capacity of co-researchers in reflexive methods.&nbsp;As the Research Capacity Strengthening lead in the ARISE Consortium, Karuga is responsible for developing and implementing the Consortium’s capacity strengthening strategy that targets 29 early and mid-career researchers, a Ph.D. cohort of 9 candidates, and community co-researchers in four countries across Africa (Kenya, Sierra Leone) and Asia (India and Bangladesh).Robinson Karuga is currently the Research Evaluations and Learning Manager at LVCT Health, a Kenyan not-for-profit organization that seeks to improve the health and well-being of vulnerable and marginalized populations through research, technical support to governments, and policy advocacy.<p...

Phumeza Tisile is a TB survivor, researcher and advocate for TB patients at TB Proof. In this episode Phumeza shares her moving and powerful lived experience of being an Extremely Drug Resistant (XDR) TB survivor. She starts her story describing the challenges of first understanding her symptoms and gaining an accurate diagnosis of TB, how this led to complex treatment of taking 30 tablets a day and an injection, followed by 2 years of hospitalisation and loss of hearing for 5 years. Her research is now focused on the immediate and long-term impacts of being a TB patient and survivor including managing stigmatisation, disability and mental health conditions. Phumeza calls for researchers to be aware of the language they use to describe people with lived experience and challenges scientists and decision makers for more affordable treatment strategies that meet patients where they are- geographically, financially and personally.&nbsp;The Global Coalition of TB Advocates(GCTA) is a global platform of people affected by TB that amplifies community engagement and strengthens the capacity of TB activists at all levels .http://gctacommunity.org/?v=7d31e0da1ab9TB Proof Facebook page&nbsp;https://www.facebook.com/TBproof/

This episode is a two-part feature with Charles Yu who has been a TB researcher for over 30 years and Mohammed Yassin from Global Fund. In this important episode we hear how lessons from TB informed the COVID response and how COVID 19 learning is shaping the future of TB and lung health. In Part 1 our guests share:&nbsp;The importance of public-provider partnerships in responding to lung health conditions&nbsp;How TB experts in the Philippines were drafted in to run the covid-19 responses&nbsp;How the global fund applied learning from TB when responding to Covid-19&nbsp;In part 2 we hear about:&nbsp;How TB survivors filled gaps as community workers during Covid-19&nbsp;How community engagement of the poor and vulnerable was essential to respond to Covid 19&nbsp;The unsung Heroes and stories of people on the frontline who continued to serve the community during COVID-19 when TB facilities were closedDr Charles Y. YuCharles Y. Yu, MD, MSc,&nbsp;FACP,&nbsp;FPCP, FPCCP is an internationally&nbsp;recognized expert on TB particularly on public-private mix DOTS&nbsp;(PPMD) and has personally directly treated thousands of TB patients&nbsp;almost 30years of practice often without financial gain and indirectly influenced the TB&nbsp;practice of hundreds of other physicians through trainings, guidelines and advocacies .&nbsp;He&nbsp;has proven his leadership by being national Chairman of the Philippine Coalition against&nbsp;Tuberculosis (2002-2004) presiding over some&nbsp;of the most important years of its existence,&nbsp;president of the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP), and president of the Philippine&nbsp;College of Chest Physicians (PCCP).&nbsp;He was a member of the Core Group of the WHO&nbsp;DOTS Expansion Committee, PPMD Subgroup, WHO consultant on TB-PPMD and past&nbsp;President of the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development Stakeholders Association,which&nbsp;helped develop new TB drugs that are&nbsp;aimed to be&nbsp;affordable,accessible and is a much&nbsp;sought-after authority by WHO and developmental agencies as well as the Philippine&nbsp;Department of Health.&nbsp;He was member of the International Standards for TB care core group.https://businessmirror.com.ph/2016/08/17/dr-charles-y-yu-the-dlshsi-vice-chancellor-has-found-his-rightful-place-under-the-sun/https://www.dlshsi.edu.ph/news/dr-charles-yu-pcp-exemplar-awardee-distinguished-researcher Dr Mohammed YassinDr Mohammed Yassin (MD, MSc, PhD) is a public health physician and Infectious Diseases Epidemiologist by profession. He works at the Global Fund, Geneva as a Senior TB Advisor where he provides technical leadership on TB/MDR-TB, TB/COVID-19 and advises Global Fund teams and countries to ensure resources are prioritized for key interventions and populations and to maximize impact. He started his career as physician and district medical officer treating TB patients in Ethiopia over 25 years ago, managed the regional programme for communicable diseases. Before joining the Global Fund in 2010, he has worked in Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, UK and designed, implemented, and managed several multi-country projects. He promotes innovation and partnership and has worked with national programmes in several countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and Western Pacific. He collaborates with technical partners globally as member of several global task forces and contributes to policy development and accelerate implementation.&nbsp;&nbsp;

This episode is a two-part feature with Charles Yu who has been a TB researcher for over 30 years and Mohammed Yassin from Global Fund. In this important episode we hear how lessons from TB informed the COVID response and how COVID 19 learning is shaping the future of TB and lung health. In Part 1 our guests share:&nbsp;The importance of public-provider partnerships in responding to lung health conditions&nbsp;How TB experts in the Philippines were drafted in to run the covid-19 responses&nbsp;How the global fund applied learning from TB when responding to Covid-19&nbsp;In part 2 we hear about:&nbsp;How TB survivors filled gaps as community workers during Covid-19&nbsp;How community engagement of the poor and vulnerable was essential to respond to Covid 19&nbsp;The unsung Heroes and stories of people on the frontline who continued to serve the community during COVID-19 when TB facilities were closedDr Charles Y. YuCharles Y. Yu, MD, MSc,&nbsp;FACP,&nbsp;FPCP, FPCCP is an internationally&nbsp;recognized expert on TB particularly on public-private mix DOTS&nbsp;(PPMD) and has personally directly treated thousands of TB patients&nbsp;almost 30years of practice often without financial gain and indirectly influenced the TB&nbsp;practice of hundreds of other physicians through trainings, guidelines and advocacies .&nbsp;He&nbsp;has proven his leadership by being national Chairman of the Philippine Coalition against&nbsp;Tuberculosis (2002-2004) presiding over some&nbsp;of the most important years of its existence,&nbsp;president of the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP), and president of the Philippine&nbsp;College of Chest Physicians (PCCP).&nbsp;He was a member of the Core Group of the WHO&nbsp;DOTS Expansion Committee, PPMD Subgroup, WHO consultant on TB-PPMD and past&nbsp;President of the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development Stakeholders Association,which&nbsp;helped develop new TB drugs that are&nbsp;aimed to be&nbsp;affordable,accessible and is a much&nbsp;sought-after authority by WHO and developmental agencies as well as the Philippine&nbsp;Department of Health.&nbsp;He was member of the International Standards for TB care core group.https://businessmirror.com.ph/2016/08/17/dr-charles-y-yu-the-dlshsi-vice-chancellor-has-found-his-rightful-place-under-the-sun/https://www.dlshsi.edu.ph/news/dr-charles-yu-pcp-exemplar-awardee-distinguished-researcher Dr Mohammed YassinDr Mohammed Yassin (MD, MSc, PhD) is a public health physician and Infectious Diseases Epidemiologist by profession. He works at the Global Fund, Geneva as a Senior TB Advisor where he provides technical leadership on TB/MDR-TB, TB/COVID-19 and advises Global Fund teams and countries to ensure resources are prioritized for key interventions and populations and to maximize impact. He started his career as physician and district medical officer treating TB patients in Ethiopia over 25 years ago, managed the regional programme for communicable diseases. Before joining the Global Fund in 2010, he has worked in Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, UK and designed, implemented, and managed several multi-country projects. He promotes innovation and partnership and has worked with national programmes in several countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and Western Pacific. He collaborates with technical partners globally as member of several global task forces and contributes to policy development and accelerate implementation.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Featuring guest speakers Timeo Mtenga from the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust and Naomi Walker from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, this episode looks as TB treatment challenges and future solutions- we cover topics including:&nbsp;The challenges faced by people living with TB&nbsp;The complexity of TB treatment&nbsp;Guests’ new research on TB treatment, and how this will affect changeDr Naomi WalkerSenior Clinical Lecturer in Experimental Medicine, LSTM&nbsp;Consultant in Infectious Diseases and General Internal Medicine, Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust&nbsp;I am a clinical academic specialising in Tropical Medicine and Infectious diseases. My major research interest is TB immunopathology and the influence of HIV infection on TB disease. I completed my PhD at Imperial College London and at University of Cape Town. Before moving to Liverpool, I was a Clinical Lecturer at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. In addition to UK, I have clinical experience working in South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Sierra Leone and Australia.&nbsp;Timeo MtengaResearch Clinician, Malawi Liverpool Wellcome TrustI am Timeo Mtenga based in Zomba, Malawi. I have mainly studied HIV-TB, particularly in low resource settings. Under the LSHTM project, I am currently conducting two HIV-TB clinical trials (CASTLE and ITB-TBR) with the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust research organisation. In my 5 years of research experience, the STAMP study contributed to policy formulation of HIV-TB management at the national level and internationally informed other partners like WHO. Now I am pursuing a Master's degree in Clinical Trials with the University of London.&nbsp;

Our guests Jacob Creswell from the STOP TB Partnership and Brenda Mungai from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, provide insight into how technology is playing a key role in TB diagnosis, and highlights from the discussion include:&nbsp;The technologies currently available to help diagnose TB&nbsp;The role of artificial intelligence (AI) in TB diagnosis&nbsp;The involvement of communities in the development of AI and the benefits that people are seeing from these developments&nbsp;Dr. Jacob Creswell is Head of Innovations &amp; Grants at the Stop TB Partnership. He coordinates the TB REACH initiative which is focused on improving programmatic aspects of tuberculosis case detection and treatment outcomes. He serves as a global expert on different aspects of improving tuberculosis case detection including private sector engagement and active case finding. Jacob is currently working on the introduction of new diagnostic and screening tools for TB including artificial intelligence and how they can fit into more efficient and effective diagnostic algorithms. Jacob has published more than 80 scientific publication and has over 20 years of experience working at Stop TB, WHO and CDC on TB and HIV.&nbsp; Dr Brenda Nyambura Mungai&nbsp;PhD candidate, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Director of Tuberculosis and Lung Health&nbsp; Centre for Health Solutions-Kenya&nbsp;A medical doctor Bachelor’s degree of Medicine and Surgery (University of Nairobi) with a postgraduate diploma in HIV management (Colleges of Medicine South Africa) and a Masters in Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases (Liverpool, United Kingdom). She has over fifteen years national and international professional experience in clinical care and public health approaches to management of infectious diseases especially in TB/ HIV in developing countries. Currently pursuing a PhD in Global Health at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine focusing on operational modelling, and the role of chest X-ray and computer-aided detection software in tuberculosis screening in low -and lower-middle income countries.&nbsp;&nbsp;

In the first episode of this TB series, we speak to Katherine Horton from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Jeremiah Chikovore from the Human Sciences Research Council in South Africa. We explore the relationship between TB and gender, and discuss:&nbsp;How gender affects access to TB prevention and care, considering social norms, intersectionality and relationships between and within family and communities&nbsp;Why considering gender and other intersecting axis of inequities is important for equitable access to TB prevention and care&nbsp;How the gender inequalities in TB intersect with society’s perception of vulnerability and masculinity&nbsp;Co-host bio for Series 3Dr. Rhona Mijumbi-Deve is a senior lecturer of public policy at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) and heads the Policy Unit at the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Clinical Research Programme in Blantyre, Malawi. Rhona trained as a medical doctor and later as a Clinical Epidemiologist and Biostatistician, and health policy analyst. She has spent the past decade doing health systems and policy research. Her special interest is in exploring the nexus of evidence, and policy and decision-making processes, especially in low- and middle-income countries. She especially is interested in understanding this in the contexts of emergencies, health security and health diplomacy.&nbsp;Dr Katherine Horton&nbsp;Assistant Professor, London School of Hygiene &amp; Tropical Medicine, UK&nbsp;Katherine Horton is an Assistant Professor with the TB Modelling Group at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). She is an epidemiologist and mathematical modeller who has been studying gender differences in TB burden and care since 2014. Dr Horton is the LSHTM Programme Team Leader and cross-consortium Modelling Working Group Coordinator for the LIGHT Consortium, which aims to provide new evidence on the effectiveness of different gender sensitive pathways and approaches to health for those with TB in urban, HIV-prevalent settings.&nbsp;&nbsp;https://protect-eu.mimecast.com/s/w_TaCNYgBSNYO02Hm9dXg?domain=journals.plos.orghttps://protect-eu.mimecast.com/s/mJF_COPjDUAD7p6fvV643?domain=youtube.comDr Jeremiah Chikovore&nbsp;Senior Research Specialist, Human Sciences Research Council, South Africa and SSHIFTB&nbsp;Jeremiah Chikovore is sociologist based at the Human Sciences Research Council, in Durban, South Africa. Over the last odd two decades, he has been involved in research to understand men’s location in the realm of public health, from sexual and reproductive health issues including contraceptive use, abortion, gendered violence, and adolescent wellbeing, to TB and HIV. With a grounding in qualitative and interpretive methodologies, and applying complexity-framed analytical approaches, Jeremiah has attempted to explore the intersectional gender construction and sustenance of health-related behaviours. He is a former Wellcome Trust Fellow, whose work on barriers to men’s engagement in care-seeking for TB-related symptoms in Malawi employed a seminal angle in tuberculosis research. Jeremiah is engaged as expert panellist and resource person for global agencies and...

On today’s episode we are joined by Joan Muela from PASS-Suisse/Rovira i Virgili University and Yoriko Masunaga from the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp/University of Amsterdam who share their experiences of engaging with communities to improve malaria trial implementation. Have a listen to learn about:&nbsp;The Community Lab of Ideas for Health (CLIH), a participatory approach for developing community-based solutions to trial implementation strategy challenges&nbsp;How ethnographic research forms an important entry point of interaction between communities and research teams&nbsp;Working with communities in the Gambia and the how the long-standing influence of the MRC Unit The Gambia impacts research dynamicsJoan Muela Ribera, PhD and MScLecturer and senior researcher, PASS-Suisse and MARC at Rovira i Virgili UniversityMy field of research is medical anthropology applied to Global Health projects. I did fieldwork in a variety of African, Asian and American countries, mostly in the field of infectious diseases. My area of expertise is participatory implementation research and systemic evaluation. I strongly believe that people in the communities where we work are the ultimate actors and decision-makers. Our role as Social Science experts is to provide useful and solid information for decision-making, as well as a frame and a systematic approach to co-create and co-implement the project.https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Joan-Muela-Ribera&nbsp;https://www.antropologia.urv.cat/en/about/people/adjunct-faculty/&nbsp;Yoriko Masunaga, MPHPre-doc, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp / University of AmsterdamI am a PhD candidate (in medical anthropology) focusing on community participatory implementation research in malaria elimination interventions. With years of working experience in both research and implementation, I am convinced that communities play pivotal role in integrating research and implementation and in tackling global health issues in holistic and transdisciplinary manner, as a co-designer and co-implementer of research and implementation.&nbsp;https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Yoriko-Masunaga&nbsp;

Featuring guest speakers Lee Ching Ng from the Environmental Health Institute in Singapore and Lina Finda from Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania, this episode explores how communities perceive and respond to control approaches which involve modified mosquitoes. We discuss:&nbsp;Parallels and contrasts between Project Wolbachia in Singapore, a successful dengue control program, and exploratory research into perceptions of GM technologies in Tanzania for controlling malaria&nbsp;&nbsp;The importance of engaging with community concerns and being responsive to them, and of making information around these approaches inclusive, clear, and accessible&nbsp;&nbsp;Combining modified mosquito approaches with existing vector control tools (e.g., LLINs, IRS, source reduction) and how this has the potential to create public confusion&nbsp;Dr Ng Lee ChingGroup Director, Environmental Health Institute&nbsp;National Environment Agency&nbsp;Assoc Prof Ng Lee Ching is the Group Director of Environmental Health Institute (EHI), a national environmental health facility at the National Environment Agency in Singapore. She has spent more than 20 years building scientific capabilities for Singapore’s environmental public health, conducting research to understand disease risk and transmission, and developing tools and strategies for mitigation of risks.&nbsp;&nbsp;She has co-authored around 200 scientific papers and book chapters, in the area of vector borne diseases, COVID-19, food borne diseases, anti-microbial resistance, indoor air quality etc.&nbsp;&nbsp;She serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore. She is a regular temporary advisor to the WHO and the IAEA, and serves as the Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research of Arbovirus and their Associated Vectors, in Singapore.&nbsp;https://www.nea.gov.sg/corporate-functions/resources/research/environmental-health-institute &nbsp;https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34831751/ &nbsp;https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.06.16.21257922v1 &nbsp;https://www.nea.gov.sg/corporate-functions/resources/research/ehi-journal-publicationsDr. Lina FindaResearch Scientist, Ifakara Health InstituteI am a research scientist at Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania, and a postodoctoral fellow at University of California – San Diego. At Ifakara I have been working on a number of projects to investigate the magnitude and drivers of malaria transmission, to understand the interactions between malaria vectors and humans and to develop alternative tools for malaria control.&nbsp;&nbsp;I received my BSc in Biochemistry from Western Washington University (WA, USA) in 2010, in 2014 received a Masters of Public Health with dual concentrations in Maternal and Child Health and Health Education and Promotion, from Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine (LA, USA, and in September 2021 I completed my PhD from University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. My PhD research, based in Tanzania, focused on developing and testing effective stakeholder engagement models for novel technologies for malaria control. I am currently doing a postdoctoral fellowship at...

Our guests Charles Mbogo from KEMRI and Hmooda Toto Kafy from the Federal Ministry of Health, Khartoum discuss integrated vector management (IVM) and the role that communities play in this approach to vector control. Highlights from the discussion include:&nbsp;Insights into how IVM strategies have been implemented to in Sudan and Kenya to control a variety of diseases including malaria, dengue and lymphatic filariasis&nbsp;The role of intersectoral collaboration between sectors including health, agriculture, environment, education, and community groups&nbsp;How sustainability can be achieved when community empowerment and capacity building are prioritized, and adequate technical and logistical support is provided&nbsp;Dr. Hmooda Toto Kafy, MSc, PhD&nbsp;Vector Control consultant/ Advisor, Federal Ministry of Health, Khartoum - SudanMedical entomologist and Vector control specialist with a BSc in Public and Environmental Health from University of Khartoum 1999, MSc in Biology and Control of Disease Vectors from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine United Kingdom 2008 and a PhD in Medical Entomology from university Sains Malaysia 2019 by research titled: Impact of Insecticide Resistance in Anopheles arabiensis on effectiveness of malaria vector control in Sudan. since 2020, 2013 – 2019 headed integrated vector management department, FMoH, 2009 - 2015&nbsp; Project officer of trial titled (Impact of Insecticide Resistance in&nbsp;&nbsp; Anopheles arabiensis on effectiveness of malaria vector control in Sudan supported by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation).&nbsp; 2009 – 2012 Head of Integrated Vector Management Unit and Deputy Manager of&nbsp; National Malaria Control Programme FMoH, 2004 – 2007 head of Integrated Vector Management Unit- NMCP FMOH, 2001 – 2003 head of Vector Control Unit – NMCP FMOH and 1999 – 2001 Field supervisors, Malaria Control Programme, SMoH –Khartoum state. Since 20th May 2020 Hmooda is a Technical Support Senior Specialist; Country &amp; Regional Support Partner Committee (CRSPC)-RBM Partnership to End Malaria, Home based with significant travel duties. Hmooda during 2000 – 2017 participated in many consultation works with WHO – EMRO and WHO – HQ such as development of vector control guidelines. Hmooda Toto Kafy published 18 papers in the subject of medical entomology and vector control in peer review journals.&nbsp;Prof Charles MbogoChief Research Scientist, Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)I am a Chief Research Scientist and a public health entomologist at the Kenya Medical Research Institute. I have an interest in developing and strengthening research capacity and scientific leadership in Africa and have supervised over 20 research fellows and doctoral students.&nbsp; I am currently the President of Pan African Mosquito Control Association (PAMCA) where I am involved in supporting the development of a new platform for the capacity building of African entomologists. My research interests include the ecology and behaviour, and transmission dynamics of mosquitoes and other disease vectors, and development of new vector control tools. I have worked on the large-scale evaluation of insecticide-treated bednets, insecticide resistance, and integrated vector management (IVM) strategies especially community-based vector control approaches.&nbsp;www.kemri-wellcome.org&nbsp;www.kemri.org&nbsp;www.pamca.org&nbsp;

In this episode we talk to April Monroe and Danielle Piccinini Black from the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs about social and behavioral considerations for vector control and the human-centred design approach. We cover topics including:&nbsp;What human-centred design is, with an example of how the approach has been applied to improve long-lasting insecticidal net design in Ghana&nbsp;&nbsp;The importance of empathy and flexibility in conducting research that puts affected communities first&nbsp;How strong, equitable relationships with communities can help to mitigate ethical challenges that often accompany traditional research approachesApril Monroe, PhD | Johns Hopkins Center for Communication ProgramsApril Monroe has over a decade of experience in global health, focusing on malaria research, program implementation, and policy. Her work aims to increase the impact of malaria interventions by learning from and engaging with people most affected by the disease. This includes understanding challenges to and motivations for malaria prevention and treatment practices and how gaps in protection arise. It also includes engaging stakeholders at all levels to help ensure new malaria control approaches respond to peoples’ needs and lifestyles and are rooted within systems that support long-term success. April earned a PhD in Epidemiology and Public Health from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, an MSPH degree from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with a focus in Social and Behavioral Interventions, and a certificate in Innovation and Human Centered Design from the Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School.&nbsp;&nbsp;Social Media&nbsp;LinkedIn&nbsp;Twitter: @AprilCMonroe&nbsp;Related Blog Posts/Media&nbsp;Rethinking Mosquito Net Use in Ghana&nbsp;CCP to Help Evaluate New Spatial Repellent for Mosquitoes&nbsp;Elimination of Malaria in Zanzibar Remains Elusive Despite Progress&nbsp;To Halt Malaria, More Research Focused on Human Behavior Needed&nbsp;Beyond Bed Nets: Mosquitoes Don’t Just Bite at Bedtime&nbsp;Related Peer-Reviewed Publications&nbsp;Improving malaria control by understanding human behaviour&nbsp;Unlocking the human factor to increase effectiveness and sustainability of malaria vector control&nbsp;Methods and indicators for measuring patterns of human exposure to malaria vectors&nbsp;Understanding the gap between access and use: a qualitative study on barriers and facilitators to insecticide-treated net use in...

In this episode we speak with Wafa Alam and Imran Hossain Mithu from BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University about conducting remote community GIS mapping of informal settlements in Bangladesh. We hear about how:&nbsp;Young people living in informal settlements joined as co-researchers to map their community for the first time&nbsp;How WhatsApp was used to strengthen capacity for mapping and build new skills&nbsp;The process of participatory mapping was adapted during COVID-19 restrictionsWafa Alam, Assistant Coordinator&nbsp;BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University&nbsp;Wafa Alam is currently working as an Assistant Coordinator at BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University. She is currently involved in ARISE project which focuses on the health and wellbeing of marginalized communities living in urban informal settlements. Under ARISE, she works closely with community researchers and is actively engaged in various community-based participatory research (CBPR) methods. She has also worked in a research that focused on social inclusion through skills development of vulnerable population groups like persons with disabilities and transgender. Her research interests are urban health and governance, and health systems research.&nbsp;&nbsp;She completed her Master of Public Health from BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University. She has an undergraduate degree in Bachelor of Science (Biotechnology) from Monash University.&nbsp;https://bracjpgsph.org/staff-members.php&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;https://www.ariseconsortium.org/about-us/team/&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;https://bracjpgsph.org/assets/pdf/Advocacy/communication%20tools/brochures/Journey_to_A_Better_Life_Stories_of_BRAC_Skills_Development_Programme_Graduates.pdf&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;https://covid-bracjpgsph.org/front/covid/assets/files/research/brief/Urban_%20Poor%20Lived%20Experiences%20in%20SLums%20ARISE_April%2019_final%20brief%202020-min.pdf&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl4ghkwrs5Q&amp;t=2s&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr8Czk3BvkY&amp;t=40s&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3608577&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(20)30162-5/fulltext&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(20)30158-3/fulltext&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://gh.bmj.com/content/5/5/e002253.abstract" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

In this episode we talk to Dr. Tosin Adekeye and Wede Tate about the method ‘Photovoice’ that was used with people affected by severe stigmatising skin diseases in Nigeria and Liberia. We hear about how Photovoice can:&nbsp;Enable people to capture their everyday experiences of living with their condition&nbsp;&nbsp;Connect people with decision makers through dissemination of photos and narratives&nbsp;Strengthen agency and voice of those affected by skin diseases to communicate peer led solutions to improve their health and wellbeing&nbsp;Wede Leoni Seekey-Tate, University of Liberia (UL-PIRE) / REDRESS, Human Resource Management, Research Fellow&nbsp;Wede Leoni Seekey Tate is the Research Fellow for Human Resource Management (HRM) on the REDERESS project. In her current role, she provides support in the design of effective integrated strategies for the sustainable, acceptable, and affordable case detection, referral, and treatment of Severe Stigmatizing Skin Diseases (SSSDs). She also contributes to the development of recommendations for the scale up of quality effective interventions within the existing health system infrastructure; and guides analysis of impact of human resource management practices on case detection, referral, and treatment of SSSDs with a specific focus on performance management perspectives. She has worked with the University of Liberia - Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (UL-PIRE) on an HIV research project. She has supported the Liberian Ministry of Health through WHO, to finalize Liberia’s Neglected Tropical Diseases Master Plan including strategy, budget, and one-year operational plan.&nbsp; She obtained a Master of Public Health from Cuttington University in Liberia and diploma in Health Care Management in Tropical Countries from the Swiss Tropical Institute of Public Health.&nbsp;www.redressliberia.org&nbsp;&nbsp;https://www.redressliberia.org/our-approach/community-engagement-and-involvement/&nbsp;Dr Oluwatosin Adekeye, Department of Psychiatry, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Kaduna State&nbsp;Oluwatosin Adekeye is a social science researcher who has worked with a number of organisations especially in the area of community participation and empowerment. His initial work was a research funded by the TDR on Community Directed Interventions. This provided the basis for subsequent social science and public health work with various communities in northern Nigeria. His interests recently is research relating to health and wellbeing and how various segments of the community are able to report their lived experiences, such that it can foster engagement and translate into programmatic change.&nbsp;&nbsp;

In this episode we talk to Noela Gwani and Luret Lar about two participatory methods were used as part of the COUNTDOWN project in Nigeria to explore community structures and spaces; transect walks and social mapping. We discuss how these methods can be used to:&nbsp;Facilitate community entry and raise awareness of projects&nbsp;Bring together diverse groups of community members to discuss their problems&nbsp;Identify structures that could be used in programme implementationDr Luret Lar, Department of Community Medicine, College of Health Sciences&nbsp;University of Jos and Jos University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria.&nbsp;I am a medical doctor, consultant public health physician and a masters holder in international public health from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. I am currently a lecturer in the Department of Community Medicine, University of Jos; with interest in international public health. For the past six years, I was the research manager for the couNTDown project, a multi-country and multidisciplinary implementation research. We employed participatory methods to collaboratively design solutions to neglected tropical diseases programme challenges. I have been involved in local, regional and global research and networking focussed on community participation and health system’s strengthening.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;https://www.lstmed.ac.uk/alumni-and-friends/alumni-profiles/dr-luret-lar&nbsp;https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Luret-A-Lar&nbsp;https://countdown.lstmed.ac.uk/about-countdownhttps://countdown.lstmed.ac.uk/about-countdown&nbsp;https://www.sightsavers.org/blogs/2018/06/how-participatory-research-helps-tackle-neglected-tropical-diseases/;&nbsp;https://countdown.lstmed.ac.uk/sites/default/files/centre/Countdown%20Learning%20Pack%20Kaduna%20State.pdf&nbsp;https://countdown.lstmed.ac.uk/sites/default/files/centre/Countdown%20Learning%20Pack%20Ogun%20State.pdf&nbsp;https://countdown.lstmed.ac.uk/sites/default/files/centre/Countdown%20PGP_0.pdf&nbsp;Noela Gwani, COUNTDOWN Nigeria&nbsp;A social scientist with experience of participatory, inclusive and qualitative research, I worked on the COUNTDOWN project as a Team Lead and collaborated with Ministries of Health to better engage communities and stakeholders in improving equitable Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) program delivery. I have been involved in the production and dissemination of research outputs such as practical tools to support participatory action planning, as well

In this episode we talk to Shahreen Chowdhury and Motto Nganda about their toolkit for participatory health research methods “Supporting Equitable Partnerships in Global Health”. This toolkit presents a whole host of methods which can be used and adapted to connect with communities.&nbsp;https://countdown.lstmed.ac.uk/sites/default/files/centre/Participatory%20Health%20Research%20Methods%20toolkit.pdfDr Akinola Oluwole Dr Akinola Oluwole is an experienced researcher with a special interest in socio-epidemiology of tropical infectious diseases. His multidisciplinary expertise includes spatial disease mapping, monitoring and evaluation of intervention and control programmes and implementation/Health systems research for public health and disease control. He has over Fifteen years’ experience working on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). Recently, Dr Akinola was the programme lead for two Co-production research projects within the COUNTDOWN consortia, one to develop a care package for Female Genital Schistosomiasis and a second to improve the equity of mass drug administration in Nigeria. Both projects utilized innovative Participatory Health Research methods to generate evidence-based information on how to effectively tackle implementation challenges for NTD programme in Nigeria. Dr Akinola has strengthened the capacity of health systems actors, NTD implementers and researchers through training, mentorship and the development of practical guidelines and policy. He is passionate about influencing policy change in Nigeria and Internationally to reduce inequities created by NTDS within the poorest communities.&nbsp;https://countdown.lstmed.ac.uk/about-countdown&nbsp;Dr Motto Nganda, Research Assistant, LSTMDr Motto Nganda is a public health professional and medical doctor with over six years’ experience in the management and implementation of public health disease programmes, including Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), Malaria, Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS; as well as clinical practice in primary health care in Cameroon. Motto also has experience in implementation research, community engagement in health and health systems strengthening in the fields of household air pollution and Neglected Tropical Diseases in low and middle-income countries including Cameroon, Nigeria, and Liberia. Recently, Motto joined the COUNTDOWN consortium at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, a 7-year multidisciplinary research consortium dedicated to investigating and scaling up cost effective and sustainable solutions to control and eliminate neglected tropical medicines in Low- and Middle-income countries. Motto has applied participatory health research approaches and methods to strengthen the capacity of health systems actors and local communities to develop, implement, evaluate, and embed interventions to diagnose, treat and manage women and girls suspected of female genital schistosomiasis at primary healthcare level; and to decentralise planning, management, and implementation of mass drug administration of medicines in Liberia. Motto has increasing interest in strengthening fragile health systems and supporting community health, to contribute to the WHO’s universal health coverage roadmap.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;https://www.lstmed.ac.uk/about/people/dr-motto-nganda&nbsp;<a href="https://countdown.lstmed.ac.uk/about-countdown" rel="noopener noreferrer"...