The African Academy of Sciences (AAS) and the INDEPTH Network are exploring possibilities for future collaboration. The AAS which enjoys the support and recognition of the African Union as well as several governments and major international partners, was established to help build capacity in science that is relevant to the needs of Africa. ...Read more

INDEPTH Network Executive Director, Prof. Osman Sankoh, on 20 April 2016 presented CHESS during a session on SDGs Metrics at the Geneva Health Forum in Switzerland. The session brought together key players in the field of measuring indicators of progress in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). INDEPTH's new generation of population surveillance operations—the Comprehensive Health and ... Read more

Each year on April 25, the world marks World Malaria Day to highlight global efforts to control malaria and mobilise action to combat the disease. The INDEPTH Network joined the world in observing the day. This year’s celebration was on the theme “End malaria for good”. The theme reflects the vision of a malaria-free world set out in the "Global technical strategy for malaria 2016-2030". According to the ... Read more

Research evidence is just one of evidences that policymakers consider when making decisions. This was said by Dr. DelaKusi-Appouh from Population Council, when she made a presentation on research utilisation at the five-day Adolescent Fertility Analysis Workshop in Accra during the period under review. Dr. Kusi-Appouh was stressing on the need for researchers to engage stakeholders throughout their research ... Read more

A three-day inception meeting of INDEPTH’s Comprehensive Health and Epidemiological Surveillance System (CHESS) was held in Ho, in the Volta Region of Ghana. CHESS is a new generation of population surveillance operations. It aims to improve the timely delivery of high-quality data for disease-specific and pathogen-specific morbidity, together with data for overall and cause-specific mortality. Read more

A three-day workshop aimed at piloting the research instruments and implementation of the INDEPTH ABACUS project ended on 27 May 2016. It was hosted by the Dodowa Health Research Centre, a few kilometres from Ghana’s capital, Accra. "You were all simply great. The interaction I witnessed clearly showed the right people came for the training. I hope that the centres won't be changing their staff," ... Read more

Scientists from Tanzania and Ghana shared experiences as they discussed opportunities and approaches for Integrating Mortality Surveillance Systems. This happened during a workshop held in Accra from 24-26 May 2016 under the INDEPTH and Bloomberg Data for Health Initiative. Twelve participants from Switzerland, Tanzania and Ghana took part in the workshop. The workshop focused on facilitating formal ...Read more

The INDEPTH Data Management Programme (IDMP) - iSHARE2 Training Workshop 5 took place in Dubai, UAE from 9 – 22 May 2016. In all 31 participants including seven Centre Leaders took part in the training programme. The workshop was to prepare iSHARE2 member sites to use Centre-in-a-Box (CiB) research data management appliance to extract, quality assure, document, share and analyse the INDEPTH ... Read more

The Executive Director of the INDEPTH Network, Prof Osman Sankoh, participated in two important activities in Germany from 30 May to 2 June 2016. The first one was the NUTRI-SCOPE proposal development meeting at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. He later proceeded to the Institute for Clinical Biometry and Epidemiology at University Hospital ... Read more

Through its working group on Environment and Health, INDEPTH is promoting the concept of ‘one world one health’ reflecting on the fact that humans, animals and the environment are inextricably linked, each needs equal attention to ensure optimal health for all. This was said by Dr. Ali Sie, the Leader of INDEPTH Network Environment and Health Group in a statement on behalf of the Network ... Read more

INDEPTH Network and the University of Southampton Global Health Research Institute (GHRI) will sign an MoU on a collaboration in research projects and capacity strengthening through joint proposal development. The new development comes after a symposium held at the Southampton University where the Executive Director of the INDEPTH Network, ... Read more

The Maternal and Newborn Working Group (MNWG) of the INDEPTH Network met from June 15-16, 2016 in Kampala, Uganda, to discuss the measurement agenda for the UN Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP). The meeting was aimed at discussing and developing methods for improving how to measure correctly rates of mortality and other outcomes including pregnancy rates, maternal, neonatal ... Read more

Chatham House, UK, in collaboration with the INDEPTH Secretariat brought together leading health experts from Africa to Accra from 16-17 June 2016 to discuss a data sharing initiative: "Strengthening Data Sharing for Public Health." More than 20 participants shared experiences and suggested practical ways to deal with barriers to data sharing. The Chatham House, through its Centre on ... Read more

A team of researchers at the Kintampo Health Research Centre reveals that the total cost of treating fever/malaria episode is relatively high in their study area considering the poverty levels in Ghana. According to the researchers, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has positively influenced health-seeking behaviours and reduced the financial burden of seeking care for the insured .... Read more

Extreme high temperatures can be fatal. While mercury is rising towards record temperatures across several parts of the state, this first study in rural India finds a direct association between temperatures above 39 degree Celsius and non-infectious disease mortality. Pune-based researchers, VijendraIngole and Dr Sanjay Juvekar, conducted the study to investigate both heat and cold effects on total ... Read more

The Taabo HDSS on 22 and 26 April organised a feedback seminar in Taabo and Abidjan for the communities and authorities in the Taabo District. The event which brought together about 60 participants comprising departmental and regional health officials; administrative authorities; village and community leaders focused on population monitoring and research findings. It was aimed ... Read more

Kilite Awilaelo Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) Research Centreis taking steps to expand its study area (population size) and the kinds of data it collects from the study area. The centre plans to expand its study area to incorporate the whole town of Wukiro, some sub cities of Mekelle town and the desert areas of the Western zone of Tigrai, which are vulnerable to diseases that are... Read more

A workshop on using and analysing Chililab and adolescent health survey data has been held at the Hanoi School of Public Health. Topics discussed during the workshopincluded the introduction of the Chililab databases and the adolescent health survey datasets. Apart from discussing the research topics that could be extracted from these two datasets, ... Read more

Fascinating presentations and animated discussions about new methods for testing, and possible interventions for improving executive function in children through physical activity were the order of the day when expert researchers from the MRC/Wits Agincourt Unit, the local Department of Education, University of Cape Town (UCT), University of Wollongong in Australia, University of Oxford ... Read more

Parents’ perception about the conduct of clinical trials in the study districts is generally positive. However, misconceptions made about the use of blood samples in this study must... Read more

People living in the south-eastern coastal areas of Bangladesh have been found to have multiple misconceptions about salt, a recent icddr,b study has shown. Although high levels of salt intake are known to be bad for health, the research revealed a range of misconceptions and cultural practices that lead people to consume excess amounts of salt – including a common belief that salt is actually good for health. Read more

Evidence-based policy is the latest fashionable imperative in the development world, particularly in the health sector. It requires health policies to be based on data to inform policies that are predicated on real knowledge of what works – and what doesn’t. But to develop the evidence base, researchers need a reliable, robust and consistent source of good-quality data. And in Kenya, much ... Read more

Each year, about 1 million children around the world die from SAM (severe acute malnutrition). Deaths in children with SAM mostly occur because malnutrition increases children’s susceptibility to life-threatening infections. Community-based treatment programmes for SAM have massively expanded and if children can be identified and treated early then ... Read more

In Papua New Guinea, the need for a better quality and quantity of data is crucial for sustainable development. In recent years, there has been increased global demand by governments Read more