International Experts in Global Health Gather at TCD to Develop Health Research in Africa
Posted on: 01 June 2010
The International Doctoral School in Global Health (Indigo), coordinated by the Centre for Global Health at Trinity College Dublin, held its first review and development meeting recently at TCD attended by representatives from leading institutions in the field of global health from Europe, Africa and North America. Launched in 2009, Indigo offers a unique opportunity for students from diverse backgrounds to study at some of the world’s leading universities and to conduct research into African health systems under an international panel of supervisors.
Three areas of research are promoted through Indigo which focuses on strengthening health systems in Africa. These are maximising human resources for health, managing communicable diseases, and promoting equitable and inclusive access to health. The programme is open to health professionals from any part of the world and aims to produce leaders in global health research, policy and practice. While the approach is global, the main focus is currently on sub-Saharan Africa. By working collaboratively with universities in Africa, Indigo seeks to enable them to become regional centres of excellence in interdisciplinary health research, producing research leaders who will develop the evidence base for health systems capable of developing and implementing effective treatment strategies and technologies.
Emphasising the importance of building capacity for health research in sub-Saharan Africa Indigo Director, Professor Mac MacLachlan of the Centre for Global Health and School of Psychology, at TCD said: “African universities recognise the need to expand their capacity in the areas of teaching and research, especially at doctoral level, and are increasingly looking to international partnerships as a way of achieving this. Through the International Doctoral School in Global Health, Trinity College and its partners aim to provide the highest quality training for PhD students while also supporting African universities to become leaders in areas that are critically important to the development of their own societies.”
Front Row (L-R): Amarech Obse, Vincent Jumbe, Camille Boostrom, Richard Mugambe.
2nd Row: Alastair Ager, Peter Baguma, Nazarius Tumwesigwe, Carel Ijsselmuiden, Joseph Mfutso Bengo , Nonie Gaynor.
3rd Row: Malcolm MacLachlan, Damen Haile Mariam, Edward Lahiff, Femi Omololu, Joseph Rhatigan.
The programme partners Trinity College Dublin, the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, Harvard Medical School and the UK Cochrane Centre in Oxford with leading universities in sub-Saharan Africa: Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Ibadan (Nigeria), Makerere (Uganda) and College of Medicine (Malawi). The programme works collaboratively with South Africa’s Human Sciences Research Council’s (HSRC) Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS & Health Research Alliance (SAHARA) group and the Council on Health Research for Development (COHRED), based in Geneva.
Indigo is funded for a three-year period by a grant from Irish Aid under the programme of strategic cooperation with Irish institutions of higher education, in collaboration with the Higher Education Authority.