Kerstin Göpfrich and Karl C. Gödel are convinced that their platform can be beneficial for both, the developed and the developing world: “We aim to demonstrate that knowledge and ideas from African countries are very valuable. Just like Europe benefits from exporting knowledge, this should be the case for African nations as well. In our opinion, development cooperation is only complete when we learn from each other.” Over the centuries, African countries and their inhabitants have indeed developed strategies – personal and political – to cope with crisis in the most general sense. Today, we are facing a crisis in Europe. Even though it is of a different dimension, it is time to take the idea of development cooperation literally.

Kerstin and Karl founded AidReversed after having attended a summer school in Zambia. “We asked our Zambian friends again and again what Europe could and should learn from Africa in terms of technology and beyond. Their immediate answers were all very similar and in our eyes disappointing: Nothing. It is no matter of being humble, but Africa is learning from the West. However, when our Zambian friends came to visit us in Germany and experienced our situation, their answers became more diverse, often surprising and promising.

“ The most common answer to the question what Europe can learn from Africa points towards culture – no matter whether it comes from a European or an African person. Hospitality, sharing and caring for one-another in any situation. But there are also other aspects, aspects that are maybe more tangible than culture, aspects that may lead to concrete recommendations: Throughout Africa, the way of using mobile phones is very creative. The mobile phone based money transfer service M-pesa in Kenya is probably one of the most popular examples to illustrate this. Politicians might ask how Rwanda happens to have about 40% females in their cabinet and even 56% in their parliament – without a quota for women’s representation. Economists might want to look more deeply into what makes Africa so resistant to the financial crisis compared to the rest of the world.

The question of what we can learn from Africa is an important one and will certainly become increasingly important in the future. That is why we should ask it now. So, keep your eyes open, pass it on and make sure that your answer is heard. Please visit www.aidreversed.eu to get your idea published!

An anxious Lyn arrived in DRC in 1971 as a newly qualified teacher stepping into an unknown world torn apart by civil war and human disasters, a far cry from her humble origins in rural Kent. In 1974 having endured those first few years in the Congo, her life was to change radically when she met her husband to be, Dr Jo Lusi. Together they embarked upon a lifetime’s quest of training and teaching local people to become doctors and nurses serving the wider community in a country that continued to experience war and political uncertainty.

In 1996 Lyn and Jo Lusi set up a programme situated in Goma, eastern DRC called HEAL Africa. HEAL Africa stands for Health, Education, Action and Leadership and the programme works with individuals and communities to restore health, build hope, and help create a better future for all people of the country. Today HEAL Africa has a Congolese staff of 28 doctors, 54 nurses, 400+ community development advocates and educators, a small administrative team, and hundreds of Congolese volunteers that who together serve a region of more than 8 million people.

On World Humanitarian Day, Miss Nadine Lusi, currently working with Eastern Congo Initiative, an organisation started by Ben Affleck in the DRC, paid homage to her late mother, “My mother’s name is an acronym for ‘Love Your Neighbour’.  Even though times were often very challenging, she remained an example of one of those huge things that we are called to do in this life.”

Mama Lyn, as she was affectionately known to the local people of Goma became a figure greatly trusted and loved through her humane appreciation of the variety of problems of the people that surrounded her.  In 2011, 4 months before her death, Lyn Lusi was awarded the Opus Prize, an annual faith-based humanitarian award for her unsung heroism. The money from that award was placed in a trust to be used for specific projects that Lyn was most passionate about; these projects will carry on her legacy of working with women and communities in eastern DRC.

CBM UK National Director, Dr Bill McAllister says, “Having worked in the same area of DRC for many years I was able to observe the huge impact for good that Jo and Lyn Lusi made in that country. Over the past few decades there have been many wars, rebellions and ethnic cleansings in North East Congo leading to mass evacuations and countless refugees. In spite of it all Jo and Lyn remained at their post in Goma often providing the only medical facilities in that vast and needy area. They made an impressive team and Lyn is already sorely missed – not least by Jo. We in CBM pay tribute to her monumental work”

Lyn Lusi, Born 26 June 1949, died March 17 2012

“The University very much values these links and these awards will help us to build further and deeper institutional relationships in order to help the development of higher education”—Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz

(Dr Robert Tweyongyere, MUII fellow, working in Professor David Dunne’s laboratory, Cambridge, August 2011)

The 36-month award approved by the Carnegie Corporation’s Board of Trustee, alongside the four-year grant made by The Alborada Trust, will significantly enhance the funding already provided by the Isaac Newton Trust, the A.G. Leventis Foundation, and the University of Cambridge for the establishment of the Cambridge-Africa Partnerships for Research Excellence (CAPREx).

CAPREx aims to strengthen Africa’s capacity for sustainable excellence in research through close collaborative work with the region’s most talented individuals.

Building on successful partnerships with the University of Ghana and Uganda’s Makerere University, CAPREx’s goal is to widen the scope of engagement to include the whole of the University of Cambridge and involve a greater number of higher education institutions in Africa.

The University of Cambridge has a long and rich tradition of research in Africa, although most of it had previously depended on discrete collaborations between individuals or specific academic departments.

A more joined-up strategy has recently emerged for holistic engagement with African universities, based on existing initiatives such as THRiVE (Training Health Researchers into Vocational Excellence in East Africa) and MUII (Infection and Immunity Research Training Programme), both sponsored by The Wellcome Trust.

These capacity-building programmes focus on PhD and postdoctoral researchers in health-related disciplines. Young African researchers are matched with leading Cambridge academics who provide mentorship and support.

Fellows spend up to one year of their research programme at their Cambridge mentor’s laboratory. Supervisors or mentors from Cambridge and Africa take part in exchange visits to provide maximum support and mentorship.

Other successful Cambridge initiatives include the Cambridge/Africa Collaborative Research Programme at the Centre of African Studies, supported by the Leverhulme Trust, the Isaac Newton Trust and the A.G. Leventis Foundation.

Focussing on research in the humanities and social sciences, this programme brings up to five African scholars to Cambridge each year for a six-month visiting fellowship, with the aim of enhancing the participants’ research profiles.

Such programmes, which illustrate the depth and breadth of Cambridge’s current engagement and expertise, make the proposed Cambridge-Africa Partnership unique.

The newly awarded funds will help in providing further support and training to African researchers (at doctoral, post-doctoral and early-mid career levels) in an even wider range of subject areas, and across more countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

The ’Cambridge in Africa’ programme is led by Professor David Dunne (Department of Pathology), with input from Professors James Wood and Duncan Maskell (Department of Veterinary Medicine) and Professor Megan Vaughan (Centre of African Studies), and support from Dr Pauline Essah.

It works in partnership with African universities and research institutes in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda, among others.

Professor Dunne, who has collaborated with colleagues from African institutions for over three decades, said: “I am delighted that we have received generous funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and from The Alborada Trust to support our Cambridge in Africa Programme.

“These funds will provide a step change in the level of support available for African academics to engage with Cambridge and build on our successful experience with a number of Wellcome Trust African Institution capacity-building programmes.

“The building of relationships has proved beneficial for both African and Cambridge research. The generous financial support will be used by Cambridge and its African partners to train the best and brightest African researchers, and to help them to develop their research careers.”

University of Cambridge Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz said: “I am delighted at the award of the grants for this major and imaginative programme which brings together academics from Cambridge and Africa.

“The University very much values these links and these awards will help us to build further and deeper institutional relationships in order to help the development of higher education. “

For further information about the Cambridge in Africa Programme, contact Professor James Wood (jlnw2@cam.ac.uk) or Dr Pauline Essah (pae21@cam.ac.uk).

A pioneering resource to help tackle birth defects, particularly in low and middle income countries (LMICs), is now fully available free and online to health and policy professionals and patient groups across the globe.

The PHG Foundation Health Needs Assessment Toolkit for Congenital Disorders (also known as birth defects), is a comprehensive database, information resource and roadmap to creating essential services in this neglected area. For the first time, health professionals in LMICs have access to a systematic approach to help them demonstrate the need in their regions and to make the evidence based case to build effective and equitable services to address that need.

Throughout the first part of 2012, the PHG Foundation has been releasing the Toolkit topic areas updated with feedback from pilot users. In July, they released the final four of the 17 topics areas.

The full topic list is:

• Down’s syndrome
• Neural tube defects
• Orofacial clefts
• Health services
• Preconception care and screening
• Prenatal services
• Newborn screening
• Congenital heart disease
• Congenital hypothyroidism
• Sickle cell disease
• Thalassaemias
• Rhesus haemolytic disease of the newborn
• Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency
• Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
• Teratogens
• Congenital rubella
• Congenital syphilis

Access to the Toolkit is at www.bornhealthy.org/toolkit, where users are asked to register for this free resource.

The PHG Foundation Toolkit Development Team has been working closely with pilot groups in three countries in South America – Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay – to improve the usability of the Toolkit. The latest iteration was demonstrated at the recent Brazilian Congress of Medical Genetics 2012 in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Dr Luis Nacul, who led the early development of the Toolkit, said after the conference, “The space given to the Toolkit at the conference was extraordinary and demonstrates it is very much part of the agenda in Brazil and in some neighbouring countries, with the potential of high impact growing.”

Dr Maria Teresa Sanseverino, from the Servico de Genetica Medica Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre, who was part of the Brazilan pilot and is continuing to use the Toolkit to develop preconception services in Porto Alegre, said at the conference “I do not think people realise the huge impact the Tookit is having in Brazil. Already it is going long way to bring about improvements in services for the care and prevention of birth defects.”

The PHG Foundation is now working to extend adoption of this innovative resource to other countries. The Foundation has recently been awarded UKIERI funding to work with Dr Anita Kar, Director at the Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences at the University of Pune, India. Using the Toolkit, they plan to carry out a health needs assessment for birth defects in an urban population in Maharashtra state.

Dr Kar said “With the Toolkit, data regarding India has been brought together to show the enormous, but largely invisible problem of birth defects. Every year, thousands of children are born in India with birth defects. The Toolkit is helping us get to the heart of how to review existing services and prioritise the implementation of new services in order to improve population health in the region.”

Notes:

The Health Needs Assessment Toolkit for Congenital Disorders is completely free to use and is available to use at www.bornhealthy.org/toolkit.

The Toolkit was developed by the PHG Foundation, an independent, international, non-profit organisation working to achieve the responsible and evidence-based application of biomedical science for health. The Foundation recognises the invaluable support of Costello Medical Consulting in the development of the Toolkit.

Members of the Toolkit Development Team are available for interview. Please contact Rebecca Bazeley rebecca.bazeley@phgfoundation.org or +44 (0)7505092081

Last month, the Humanitarian Centre  successfully organized this webinar called “Getting in the Access Loop” – which explores how health research from Africa can have greater representation in journals, and therefore greater influence and impact – with the support from PLoS and HIFA2015.

Anne Radl, the Projects Manager of the Humanitarian Centre, wrote the first of a series of reflections: Getting in the Access Loop: Time for Research and Action. She points out that one of the key barriers to publishing health research in Africa is time. Besides, the issue of institutional capacity and culture has been standing on the way for many researchers and practioners to access journals and write up for publication.

The second post in the series is from Janice S. Pedersen, a researcher at RAND Europe: Getting in the Access Loop: Mentorship for Publishing African Health Research.  She discusses how mentoring capacity for publication might be improved. “I am new to mentoring, but have already found it to be very rewarding. I wouldn’t have even thought of it if I hadn’t been approached.”

In the third one: Getting in the Access Loop: The Local Journal, The African Researcher and The Article-Level Metric, Allan Mwesiga from the Pan African Medical Journal discusses the role of the local journal in the internet age. As technology and the internet continue to level the playing field internationally,  local journals have to improve their standards in the meantime.

You can keep the conversation going by commenting on the PLoS Blogs, joining the HIFA2015 forum, or get involved in our Cambridge Global Health LinkedIn Group.

(Via PLoS Blogs)

She will be leading a dedicated team at the charity based in Oakington, Cambridge which helps to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities and those at risk of disability. Internationally CBM is working in over 80 of the poorest countries in the world, reaching out to more than 36 million people each year.

Kirsty has been the Chief Executive at MRDF (Methodist Relief & Development Fund) for the last 12 years. Her key achievements during this period have allowed her to build long-term sustainable development programmes with 50 partners in 19 of the poorest countries in the world focusing on livelihoods, health and sanitation, and women’s empowerment.

Kirsty says: “After 12 incredibly happy and inspiring years at MRDF, it’s time to move to new pastures. This role has offered so much challenge and opportunity for growth, but the prospect has now arisen for me to take on an exciting new role as the CEO of CBM UK in my home town, Cambridge, which will both challenge me professionally and allow me to spend more time with my family.”

“It is an exciting time to be joining CBM UK as the organisation looks to raise its profile as well as its global reach.  As part of such an experienced international family, we have the potential to transform the lives of ever increasing numbers of persons living with disabilities, and I am greatly looking forward to starting out on this journey with the commitment and enthusiasm of our staff, supporters and partners.”

The former CEO of CBM, Dr Bill McAllister says his farewell to CBM UK after 17 very successful years. Having founded CBM UK in 1996 Bill has now accepted a new post with CBM International as Director for Faith and Inclusive Development.  His aim is to build stronger ties with churches throughout the developing world.

In saying farewell Bill adds, “Starting a charity from scratch enables you to learn every small detail. To see how this has built up into a charity supporting 50 programmes in 23 developing countries as part of a much larger international effort gives me immense satisfaction. I wish Kirsty every success in taking CBM UK forward.”

Brian Hall, Chairman of CBM UK, says, “Kirsty is due to start her new role in September as part of a successful team which has managed to continue increasing its impact in support of CBM projects worldwide – despite the challenge of fundraising here at home. Kirsty’s proven combination of enthusiasm and acumen will ensure the maintenance of CBM’s position as one of the leading overseas disability charities in the UK. I’m looking forward immensely to the next stage in CBM’s development and progress.”

We enjoyed a very interesting discussion which has generated lots of ideas. These will be fed into a draft strategy document that we are aiming to have for November.

A special thank you to Catherine Squire for facilitating this event and to St Johns Innovation Centre for providing the venue.

The event is being streamed on line to over 22,000 people around the world and it’s great to hear that Geoff will be such an integral part of this.

Education Revolution: Turning ideas into action

TEDxLondon launches “The Education Revolution” exploring “ideas worth spreading” in education

Taking place at The Roundhouse, London on September 17th 2011, the independently organized event – licensed by TED –aims to connect young people, parents, teachers, and people at the heart of education to envision the future of learning.

Inspired by Sir Ken Robinson’s latest TED Talk, “Bring on the Learning Revolution” and working in collaboration with the Roundhouse, this will be a call to action for anyone passionate about education.  Time is ripe for change – the recent riots in the UK indicate unrest among many young people and we need to address what we could all be doing better to see them into a brighter future.

TEDxLondon promises seven hours of high tech inspiration and debate. With an impressive line up of speakers including young people, educationalists, teachers and cultural ambassadors, Sir Ken Robinson will be joining live from LA. Significantly, the TEDxLondon team is introducing pledges as a way of ensuring that ideas are turned into action.  Each speaker will make a pledge and in turn empower the audience to contribute too.

“With this TEDx event, we know that it won’t be enough to simply inspire people – we want to encourage people to take personal responsibility and make change happen,” says Evan Grant, the director of TEDxLondon.

The Roundhouse’s has youth-led education at the core of its ethos, making it an excellent venue for this event. Over the five years since its major refurbishment in 2006, it has emerged as one of the capital’s most vibrant centres for young people and a field-leader in providing creative learning opportunities for 11-25 year-olds. The Roundhouse will serve as the event venue and stream the event live at www.roundhouse.org.uk. Roundhouse Radio – the Roundhouse’s in-house radio station run entirely by emerging radio talent aged under 26 – will interview key speakers and attendees on the day.

“Young people are at the heart of everything we do. They’re on our board and help plan and perform at our events. The Roundhouse Youth Advisory Board have been working with the TEDx London team, sharing their thoughts on education and the kind of questions we should be asking about it, as well as advising on and how best to gather young people’s views,” says Barbara O’Brien, Head of Youth Strategy at the Roundhouse.

Having hosted high profile events in partnership with the Skoll Foundation, The Gates Foundation and The Science Museum, the TEDx audience is made up of politicians, designers, heads of innovation, social entrepreneurs and change makers. The last TEDxLondon event was streamed live to over 22,000 people around the globe. It is still being viewed online today.

“The Education Revolution” will open its doors at 1:30 pm with a 9:45 pm finish on Saturday September 17^th 2011 at: The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm Road, London NW18EH.

For more information please visit www.tedxlondon.com

Mr Swaminathan is the Senior Vice-President of Reliance Communications Ltd, the largest mobile provider in India. In his talk, Mr. Swaminathan outlined the current situation of wireless communication in rural India. 60% of the Indian population lives in rural areas, accounting for 870 million people. However there is only a 33% penetration of telecoms in these areas. Despite significant differences in current telecoms penetration rates between rural and urban areas in India, it is forecast that urban penetration will slow down and that the rural penetration rates will exceed urban ones by 2015. According to Mr Swaminathan, it is an encouraging sign that rural markets are adopting technologies to increase their connectivity. Rural wireless communication technologies are used for a wide variety of purposes, such as personal communication, tele-medicine, entertainment, education, commerce and e-governance. However, Mr Swaminathan stressed that such technologies need to be customised specifically for rural markets if they were to benefit the rural populations.

Furthermore, Mr Swaminathan highlighted some key drivers behind the growth of rural telecoms penetration; which include the increase of mobile operators- stimulating competition and thus driving down prices, multiple products offering affordable tariff packaging, the introduction of segmented products as a way to reduce costs for users, proactive regulation, stakeholder cooperation, expanded rural electrification and telecoms equipment that requires less power and maintenance. Most significantly, by reducing entry costs for rural penetration by 95%, mobile phone usage has become much more affordable for rural populations.

The increase of rural penetration has had significant impacts on the socio-economic development of rural areas. According to Mr Swaminathan, the socio-economic impacts include improved social status and thus a better personal identity, improved family relationships through communication, reduction in costs as a result of better negotiation skills and lessened need to travel, and ultimately higher incomes for rural producers. These benefits rely on various key factors that enable the success of mobile penetration in rural areas. The most important factors include partnerships between all stakeholders, the development of technologies that have a ‘human touch’ and that are user-friendly, the customisation of these technologies to local needs and conditions and the implementation of low cost business models.

Nonetheless, there are also considerable challenges- such as the continued problem of energy supply, lack of necessary infrastructure, high operating costs and less purchasing power in rural areas. Thus it becomes evident that the rural markets require different distribution strategies than their urban counterparts, which in turn requires a good understanding of rural needs and local conditions. For Mr Swaminathan this means that the success of rural networks will depend on the development of low capex, low power and zero maintenance network equipment.

The next speaker, Mr Shiv Kumar Narayan, is from Catalyst Management Services, a leading development consultancy company in Bangalore. His talk was focused on the future of mobile telephony in rural India, specifically looking at the ‘on-the-ground situation’ there. From a supplier’s perspective, rural markets represent big numbers, but low margins that require expensive and long-term investments. On the other hand, the rural consumers associate the mobile phone with luxury products and wonder how they can benefit from this technology instead of becoming poorer. Such views and thinking about the mobile phone are just a few of the barriers to adoption of wireless communication technologies. Other barriers to adoption include a lack of understanding of the technologies, limited purchasing power, practical issues such as carrying and storing the devices, as well as maintenance and repair of these, signal quality, power and literacy. Another big problem is the fact that in general, mobile technologies and applications are developed by urban men, who often do not understand the requirements of rural areas, especially the rural poor and women. In addition, the reality in rural areas is often very confusing, as in one village you can find both highly competent mobile users and at the same time people who have never used a mobile phone.

Thus, in light of the above barriers to adoption, Mr.Shiv Kumar Narayan looked at what is needed to make wireless communication work in rural areas. Firstly, mobile ecosystems need to be created that acknowledge the importance of making mobile networks both accessible and affordable. Secondly, mobile phones and related services need to be developed to be rural specific, making use of voice, icons and special applications- not menus and resets. Thirdly, actions need to be taken that will break the barriers to adoption, e.g. by giving away mobile phones to women, as the benefits will far outweigh the initial costs.

Once these barriers have been overcome, what are the benefits and potentials then? According to Mr Shiv Kumar Narayan, wireless communication devices can improve incomes by at least 5%. They can also reduce social costs and expenditures and increase participation in democratic processes. They tend to break down power structures and thus reduce layers and middle-men and enhance people’s identities. Examples where these devices have been used include projects in ante-natal care, migration tracking and education programmes.

The two talks were concluded by a lively interactive session with participants. Some of the questions from the audience directly questioned the assumptions that mobile phones could lead to development, or that they are a ‘silver bullet’ for addressing poverty. Other questions were centred on the importance of developing specific applications that targeted women, and that addressed literacy barriers. Whether you agreed with the conclusions made by the speakers or not, the evening was extremely informative and thought-provoking, and heated debates could be heard around the room during the reception that followed the talks.

By Elke Matthaei / The Humanitarian Centre

6th July 2011

The Humanitarian Centre urges a swift response to the growing food crisis in East Africa, following the area’s worst drought in 60 years.

Aid agencies estimate that more than 10 million people are facing desperate food shortages in the Horn of Africa which includes Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti and Uganda. Children are particularly vulnerable and large numbers of refugees from Somalia are arriving at refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia with severely malnourished children. More than a quarter of Somalians have left their homes “turning one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises into a human tragedy of unimagineable proportions” according to António Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

For members of the public wishing to respond, the following UK aid agencies are amongst those who have launched emergency appeals and are providing regular reports on the situation:
Oxfam
Save the Children
British Red Cross
World Vision