Another milestone as INDEPTH adds new data to its archives

On 1 July 2015, the INDEPTH Network added new health and demographic data to its publicly available online data archives. The INDEPTH Data Repository now includes data from 20 HDSSs (further 4 to be released later) covering 11 countries while INDEPTHStats now includes data from 31 HDSSs covering 15 countries.

The two unique online data archives continue to build and strengthen capacity for research data management, ... Read more

INDEPTH work in UNICEF's Best Practices report

In its report titled "STRENGTH IN NUMBERS, How longitudinal research can support child development”, UNICEF refers to INDEPTH longitudinal research as Best Practice.

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 Read more

Dr. Michael Makanga designated as next EDCTP Executive Director

On 14 July 2015, the General Assembly of the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) announced the appointment of Dr. Michael Makanga to succeed Professor Charles Mgone as Executive Director.

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 .... Read more

Counted, people see they also matter

Polesgo, on the outskirts of the Burkina Faso capital, is one of areas covered by Ouagadougou Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS). The Ouaga HDSS targets the most vulnerable populations of the city. Special attention is given to areas of unplanned growth.

On 29 July 2015, INDEPTH Managers, Dr. Martin Bangha and David Mbulumi visited areas covered by the HDSS and were met at Polesgo by the Field Supervisor, Moussa Oedraogo, and Statistician Yocouba Compaore. Oedrago told the ... Read more..

We work faster with PDAs - Nanoro field staff

In August, INDEPTH managers, Dr Martin Bangha and David Mbulumi, paid a working visit to the Nanoro Health and Demographic Surveillance Site (HDSS), an INDEPTH Network member in Burkina Faso.

At the meeting field staff talked about advantages of the new system, OpenHDS, in which they collect data using electronic devices and the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) which has replaced the old paper based system. “We have been piloting the system but so far we see that we work faster and the PDA ...Read more

For three days (30 July – August 1), the Nouna Health Research Centre hosted from the country and abroad in one of the largest gatherings of researchers in Burkina Faso.

The meeting was opened by the Burkinabe Minister of Health, Dr Amede Prosper Guiguemde, who was also accompanied by his Research and Innovation counterpart, Prof. Jean Noel Poda.
The two ministers took part in a panel discussion on the disconnection between researchers and policymakers, and mentioned some challenges ... Read more

During the 11-12 August 2015 meeting, key regional partners finalised a five-year strategy for improving mortality registration and statistics in Africa; and details for a workshop on the training of mortality experts planned for September 2015, to initiate capacity development in Africa.

INDEPTH Executive Director, Prof. Osman Sankoh, said at the meeting that INDEPTH member centres have tremendous amount of expertise (demography, public health, epidemiology, health systems, data management, medical doctors,... read more

INDEPTH Network Executive Director, Prof. Osman Sankoh, on 12 August 2015 met His Excellency Dr Mustapha Sidiki Kaloko (left), Africa Union’s Commissioner for Social Affairs at AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Dr Kaloko's Department at the AU is responsible for handling and addressing issues of health, children, drug control, population, migration, labour and employment, sports and culture in the continent. During the meeting, Prof. Sankoh presented the work of the Network of health and demographic ... Read more ...

INDEPTH Capacity Strengthening and Training group holds first meeting

Regional director of health services interacts with Navrongo researchers

Centre organises science communication training for researchers

About 20 researchers and seven trainers from West Africa attended the Summer School in Science Communication organised by the Swiss Centre for Scientific Research (CSRS) in Côte d’Ivoire aimed at increasing the impact of science and technology in West Africa. CSRS runs the Taabo HDSS, an INDEPTH member site.

The Summer School, started on 24 August 2015 in Grand Bassam, Core d’Ivoire, with the Training of Trainers (ToT). Trainers who participated included David Mbulumi (from INDEPTH Network), Prof. Bossirou Bonffoh (CSRS); ... Read more

The INDEPTH Network was well represented at the just ended European congress on tropical medicine and international health (ECTMIH) held in Basel, Switzerland from 6-10 September 2015.

The Executive Director of the INDEPTH Network, Prof Osman Sankoh; INESS Project Principal Investigator and former INDEPTH Executive Director, Prof Fred Binka and INDEPTH’s Capacity Strengthening and Training Manager, Dr Martin Bangha; and several INDEPTH member Centre Read more ...

In September, researchers from INDEPTH member centres met in Accra, Ghana, to deliberate on various issues related to research and analysis.

The INDEPTH Network, with its 52 health and demographic surveillance (HDSS) sites in Africa, Asia and Oceania, has generated data on over 3.8 million people in Low and Middle Income Countries on births, deaths, migrations, causes of death and other health and population events. Opening the three-day workshop organised by the Network’s Data Analysis and Read more ...

The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research (icddr,b), Bangladesh, a member of the INDEPTH Network, hosted a forum dubbed “Innovating for Health: The role of Southern-led science and innovation in meeting the health-related SDGs” on 26 September 2015 in New York.

Leading Southern scientists and supporters of Southern-led innovation had an interactive Read more ...

The INDEPTH Executive Director Prof. Osman Sankoh (left) on 28 September 2015 held discussions with Prof. Don de Savigny from Swiss TPH in Switzerland (right), the anchor of the Innovations Component of the recently announced Bloomberg Foundation grant, a $100 million Data-for-Health initiative that will support the strengthening of civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems in Africa and Asia. INDEPTH Network is a key partner in this.

Through this imitative, it is expected that 1 billion people on at least 20 low-and middle-income countries and cities ... Read more ...

The INDEPTH Executive Director Prof. Osman Sankoh has expressed gratitude to the Gates Foundation for giving grant support to the Network for research studies. Prof. Sankoh said this on 29 September 2015 in his opening remarks to the 4-day meeting of INDEPTH’s iHOPE Project in Accra, Ghana.

The iHOPE Project, which is funded by the Gates Foundation, aims at improving estimation of Out-of-Pocket expenses (OOPs) in a household survey, develop a set of questions to facilitate OOP specific disease measurement, test and develop alternative approaches to Household surveys and provide... Read more ...

Over 50 experts were in Cairo, Egypt, from September 28 for a four- day meeting on Mortality Statistics in Africa jointly convened by the WHO, Africa Symposium on Statistical Development (ASSD) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

In addition to delegates from WHO, ASSD and UNECA, others came from the Global Fund, World Bank, CDC – US, Ministries of Health and Statistical Offices (Sierra Leone and South Africa). There are seven representatives from the INDEPTH Network, with the member centres in brackets: Karim Derra ... Read more ...