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1. Call for 2016 publications
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This is a kind reminder to our earlier call for centres to send to us 2016 publications. As you are aware every year we collate peer-reviewed publications from all centres and we make the list available to a multiplicity of audiences. We do this to increase the visibility of the work of the Network, Centres and individual scientists. Additionally, the list demonstrates to stakeholders and funders that our work is not only relevant locally or nationally, but also internationally.
We are extremely grateful to 10 centres that have sent their publications so far. We have until 28 February 2017 to compile the final list. Please send directly to: david.mbulumi@indepth-network.org.
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Hans (left) and Osman at a meeting in Washington.
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Hans Rosling - a medical doctor, academic, and former professor at Stockholm's Karolinska Institute. On the international stage Rosling is best known for his ability to make numbers and facts entertaining, with his talks and lectures registering millions of views on Youtube and turning him into a sought-after public speaker in recent years. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a year ago and died this week in Uppsala, Sweden.
Hans has been a supporter of the Network and followed our work over the years. He visited INDEPTH in Accra in December 2015 and made a presentation, in INDEPTH shirt. During the presentation, he commended INDEPTH for its work saying "you are doing a good job" and "INDEPTH is bigger than you think". He said, "INDEPTH is the start of civil registration in Africa" adding that one cannot understand the lives of people if they do not count them. These encouraging words are like he had come to say goodbye to us." Read our tribute to Hans Rosling (RIP) here.
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3. Why we need scientists on social media, now more than ever
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Surveys show that public confidence in the scientific community has remained stable since the early 1970s, and that they are more trusted than public officials and religious leaders. For that reason it is meaningful for scientists to be part of the conversation even if they have far fewer followers than celebrities peddling pseudo-science. Scientists communicating online is an important part of pushing back against misinformation. Read more
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1. IRB:
Anopheline larval habitats in flooded areas of Dakar
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Flooded areas provide good mosquito breeding environments.
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Knowledge of mosquito ecology is a prerequisite for efficient implementation of vector control strategies. This one-year study, published in the paper "Distribution and characterisation of anopheline larval habitats in flooded areas of the Dakar suburbs (Senegal)", was carried out during the 2013 rainy season and the 2014 dry season throughout the flooded areas of the suburbs of Dakar with the aim to characterise and map anopheline larval habitats. In both seasons, all water bodies that were encountered within the study departments were geo-located and their features (type of water body, size, turbidity and distance to human dwellings) recorded.
The presence of anopheline and/or culicine larvae and predators was assessed. A significant positive association was found between the rainy season and the presence of anopheline larval sites, which consisted of ponds, puddles, ravines, drain channels, streams and canals. Data gathered in this study will guide larval control programmes in urban settings prone to flooding. Read more:
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2. Agincourt HDSS:
Data scientists win award
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Louise Corti (Director UK Data Service), Sulaimon Afolabi,
Daniel Ohene-Kwofie, Mamello Nchake and Sibanisezwe Khumalo.
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Data scientists at Agincourt HDSS in South Africa, Sulaimon Afolabi, Danie Ohene-Kwofie and Mamello Nchake (National University of Lesotho), and Sibanisezwe Khumalo (Fort Hare University) comprise a team named SYNERGY that received an award for the best team that could implement a project incorporating the big data technology stack: Hadoop, Hive, SparkR, R, ggplot2 and Leaflet at the maiden edition of the Encounters with Big Data workshop: An introduction to using big data in the social sciences organised by the UK Data Service in conjunction with Data First in Cape Town.Read more
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Policy Engagement and Communications
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