| Dear Centre Leaders,
Greetings from the INDEPTH Secretariat. We hope you have had a good week.
We have the following items for your attention:
1. INDEPTH work in Unicef's Best Practices report
Unicef refers to INDEPTH longitudinal research as Best Practice in its report entitled "STRENGTH IN NUMBERS, How longitudinal research can support child development."
The report says Vitamin A supplements, insecticide-treated bed nets, cholera vaccinations - the effectiveness of these tools – now part of standard health practice – was first demonstrated through longitudinal tracking at health and demographic surveillance system (HDSS) sites in the global South. These HDSS research centres have formed the INDEPTH Network to leverage their valuable information and build their scientific capacity. The network, which started 15 years ago, now encompasses 45 local research centres operating 52 HDSS field sites.
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2. Dr. Michael Makanga designated as next EDCTP Executive Director
The General Assembly of the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) has selected Dr. Michael Makanga to succeed Professor Charles Mgone as Executive Director.
Dr. Michael Makanga welcomes Commissioner Carlos Moedas at Khayelitsha (Cape Town, South Africa),
where EDCTP-funded research is conducted
Prof. Mgone, who has been Executive Director for eight years, had decided to step down at the end of 2015 in order to pursue other interests. Dr. Makanga will take up his role from 1 January 2016.
Dr. Michael Makanga is a clinician-scientist born and raised in Uganda with (after medical qualification) 24 years of professional experience of working on health and poverty related diseases in sub-Saharan Africa.
This includes 20 years of work experience on medical product development and clinical regulatory activities. He holds a Medical Degree from Makerere University, Uganda, and has been in various clinical and research positions before and after undertaking an MSc at the University of Liverpool, and then a PhD at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom.
He subsequently was the Head of the Clinical Trials Facility and Outpatient Clinic in the Kenya Medical Research Institute - Wellcome Trust Collaborative Centre, Kilifi, Kenya, which is part of the tropical collaboration programme of Liverpool and Oxford universities.
In 2004, Dr. Makanga joined EDCTP where he held various management positions. He was appointed as Director of South-South Cooperation and Head of EDCTP Africa Office in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2008.
During his 11 years at EDCTP, Dr. Makanga has built up significant experience in quality assurance, project management and evaluation, health and research management as well as diplomacy and engagement with health and regulatory authorities in sub-Saharan Africa and Europe.
INDEPTH wishes Dr. Makanga well in his new appointment.
3. Deaths among health care workers from Ebola could lead to sharp rise in maternal mortality – World Bank report
 The loss of health workers due to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa may result in an additional 4,022 deaths of women each year across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone as a result of complications in pregnancy and childbirth.
According to the new World Bank report Healthcare Worker Mortality and the Legacy of the Ebola Epidemic published in The Lancet Global Health today, the recent outbreak of Ebola in West Africa could leave a legacy significantly beyond the deaths and disability caused directly by the disease itself.
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