The South African Field Epidemiology Training Programme (SAFETP) is requesting applications for the incoming 2017 class from qualified health professionals with an interest in public health and commitment to public service. The programme is a combination of didactic and practical training in which the resident is grounded in the academic basics of public health and is assigned to field sites where s/he learns by doing while being mentored by supervisors in projects that address key public health priorities. This residency programme is a two year, full time training, from which residents graduate with a Masters in Public Health (MPH) from the University of Pretoria. The 2017 cohort will begin in January 2017 and end in December 2018. The training focuses on investigations of public health outbreaks (an acute health event or other epidemiological activity) and using epidemiology and biostatistics to conduct descriptive and analytical studies. Bursaries/stipends may be available for select South African applicants fulfilling predefined criteria. For applicants applying from other African countries - the eligibility requirements still apply and the international applicant must have the required visa and permissions to study in South Africa. The applicants must ensure that all the costs related to participation in SAFETP are fully covered for the 2 years of training – salaries/stipends, university registration and tuition fees, accommodation, travel and accommodation to investigate outbreaks. Further information available on the website.
Jobs and Announcements
The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) calls for applications from research laboratories and doctoral schools in African universities for the first phase of its initiative to support research in the social sciences and humanities. The objective of this initiative is to restore and/or enhance the seminar culture within research laboratories, doctoral schools in African universities, while encouraging the use of multi and interdisciplinary approaches. After a rigorous selection exercise by an international independent selection committee, selected research laboratories and doctoral schools will receive a grant of 10,000 dollars from CODESRIA, which is expected to be used for: the purchase of books and journals for the benefit of the entire academic community; a scientific seminar exposing PhD students to relevant literature, current debates, and theoretical approaches in relation to a given topic; a methodology seminar, and a scientific writing workshop. Further information can be found at the website.
The Health Systems Cluster in Sierra Leone is recruiting a P3 Technical Officer to work on District Strengthening. This is an extremely exciting position and opportunity to become part of our small, but dynamic health systems strengthening cluster within the WHO Sierra Leone office. The deadline for applications is 10 November, and more information is available in the website. The WHO Country Office is also supporting Sierra Leone’s College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences (COMAHS) by helping to recruit a number of short-term faculty as found in other folders on the other current vacancies on the website.
The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) is pleased to announce its programme for the publication of textbooks for use in African universities. The programme is aimed at making available to teachers and students textbooks that are adapted to the African context and the research and learning environment on the continent. African researchers are invited to submit their textbook manuscripts to the Council. This programme is for senior scholars with a proven track record of academic achievement and a demonstrable knowledge of the domain in which they wish to produce a textbook. In selecting proposals, the Council will lay emphasis on the value which is likely to be added by the manuscript. Proposals can be submitted by single authors or by a team of contributors. Each textbook can be organised around a discipline, a body of disciplines, or a specific theme. The textbooks will cover the African continent, a sub-region or a specific country.
The University of Cape Town (UCT) and University of the Western Cape (UWC) Schools of Public Health are calling for interested candidates to apply for two Postdoctoral Research Fellowships to start in January 2013. The successful candidates will be required to register at UCT or UWC and will join the CHESAI team, where they will be expected to contribute to its work and to facilitate communication and joint learning between UCT and UWC. This collaboration is based on the understanding that Health Policy and Systems Research (HPSR) is an emerging field within the broader terrain of health research, with conceptual and methodological foundations that require substantial development. The overall aim for CHESAI is, therefore, to contribute to expanding and strengthening the health policy and systems knowledge base in Africa through building an intellectual hub for HPSR in Cape Town, South Africa, creating spaces for engagements between researchers and practitioners, supporting African HSPR capacity development and sharing/disseminating HPSR conceptual and methodological innovation.
The University of Cape Town (UCT) and University of the Western Cape (UWC) Schools of Public Health are calling for interested candidates to apply for two Postdoctoral Research Fellowships to start in January 2013. The successful candidates will be required to register at UCT or UWC and will join the CHESAI team, where they will be expected to contribute to its work and to facilitate communication and joint learning between UCT and UWC. This collaboration is based on the understanding that Health Policy and Systems Research (HPSR) is an emerging field within the broader terrain of health research, with conceptual and methodological foundations that require substantial development. The overall aim for CHESAI is, therefore, to contribute to expanding and strengthening the health policy and systems knowledge base in Africa through building an intellectual hub for HPSR in Cape Town, South Africa, creating spaces for engagements between researchers and practitioners, supporting African HSPR capacity development and sharing/disseminating HPSR conceptual and methodological innovation.
The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Non-Governmental Public Action Programme is calling for applications for practitioner fellowships. These fellowships are aimed at members or representatives of practitioners groups (including developmental NGOs, global coalitions, voluntary sector groups, cooperatives, human rights groups, etc.) that are not directly funded by specific research projects in the programme. The fellow will be based with one of the NGPA project teams (each of which is attached to a different UK university department or research centre/institute) or with the programme director at the London School of Economics for up to three months.
The Africa Focus on Intervention Research for Mental Health (AFFIRM) is a research and capacity development Hub established in six countries: South Africa, Ghana, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Ethiopia. It aims to investigate strategies for narrowing the treatment gap for mental disorders in sub-Saharan Africa, to build individual and institutional capacity for intervention research in sub-Saharan Africa, to establish a network of collaboration between researchers, NGOs and government agencies, and to collaborate with other regional hubs. In order to meet its aim of building capacity for intervention research, AFFIRM is offering five fellowships to candidates from Hub countries (excluding South Africa) to complete the MPhil in Public Mental Health in the Centre for Public Mental Health in 2013. Only one fellowship will be awarded per country. To be eligible, candidates must come from one of the Hub countries, successfully gain entry to the MPhil in Public Mental Health and undertake a research project that is aligned with the goal of AFFIRM, which is to use task shifting interventions to narrow the treatment gap in sub-Saharan Africa.
The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), in partnership with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), is pleased to announce the seventh call for applications for the African Doctoral Dissertation Research Fellowships (ADDRF). The ADDRF Fellowship Program seeks to facilitate more rigorous engagement of doctoral students in research, strengthen their research skills, and provide them an opportunity for timely completion of their doctoral training. The Program targets doctoral students with strong commitment to a career in training and/or research. The ADDRF will award about 20 fellowships in 2014 to doctoral students who are within two years of completing their thesis at an African university. In this phase of funding and in consideration of IDRC’s health programming priorities, candidates whose dissertation topics address health policy or health systems issues will be given special consideration. The Program has also reserved a small number of fellowships specifically for doctoral students conducting research on health inequities in urban areas or the reproductive health of marginalized urban communities.
The Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO), the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) and the International Development Economic Associates (IDEAS), are pleased to announce, within the framework of the third three-year phase of the Africa/Asia/Latin America Scholarly Collaborative Program, the call for applications for participation in the Eighth South-South Institute on “Inequality and Social Justice: Perspectives from the Global South”. The Institute will be held in Durban, South Africa, from September 11 to 18, 2015, on the back of the third World Social Science Forum (WSSF III, jointly hosted by CODESRIA, the Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa and the ISSC). The Theme of the WSSF III is: Transforming Global Relations for a Just World. Younger scholars resident in countries of the South and who are pursuing active academic careers are eligible to apply for a place in the Institute. The Tri-continental arrangement requires applicants resident in Africa to submit their applications to CODESRIA, those resident in Asia to IDEAS and those resident in Latin America to CLACSO.