http://www.hifa2015.org

 How to participate in the PLoS/HIFA2015/HumanitarianCentre Webinar:

1 June 2012

1 June 2012, 16:00h BST (= 15:00 GMT)
Duration: 120 minutes

The Humanitarian Centre is grateful to HIFA2015 and the University of Iowa for their support of the webinar and the following set of instructions, from the HIFA2015 webinars page:

“All are welcome. Participation is free of charge. We shall use the web conferencing program Elluminate Live! Wherever you are in the world, you will be able to listen (and, if you wish, talk to) participants.

All you need is a computer with an internet connection (Elluminate Live! works fine with fast and slow connection speeds), microphone and speakers (many PCs and laptops have inbuilt mike and speakers, but ideally it is best to use a headset). You can participate on your own or in a group. We advise not to use your webcam because we are expecting many participants worldwide.

Please set up your computer NOW so that you are ready to participate

Easy Log-in Procedure

To log-in to the HIFA2015 Virtual Room (the room is always open, every day, 24 hours a day):
1. Click here (or cut and paste the URL – https://globalcampus.uiowa.edu – into a new window on your browser – this will enable you to follow the rest of the instructions below)
2. Add HIFA2015 (capital letters, all one word) in the search box and press the Enter key on your keyboard
3. Click on the hyperlink HIFA2015 to join the webinar.
4. Enter your email address in the Email Address field.
5. Enter your name and country in the Display Name field.
6. Click Log In button (on right of screen)
7. You will be invited to download a file (meeting.JVLP) – download the file
8. A Java icon will appear. Wait a few seconds. Elluminate Live will start. Wait a few seconds.
9. You will be invited to choose your connection speed. Select your speed.
10. You will arrive in the HIFA2015 Virtual Room. Go to Tools / Audio / Audio Setup Wizard to check your audio settings.

If you have any technical problems, please see below (Common technical problems with Elluminate) or see detailed instructions.

Although it is not essential, we would be grateful if you could let us know if you plan to participate, and any comments or issues you would like to raise before the event, by contacting Anne Radl at anne.radl@humanitariancentre.org, or posting through the HIFA2015 forum.  If you have not joined HIFA2015, you can visit http://www.hifa2015.org to join today.

When you enter the HIFA2015 Virtual Room, you will see this:

If you have a microphone and you want to talk, click on ‘Raise Hand’. The facilitator will invite you to speak. To turn on your microphone, click on ‘Talk’. The microphone button will turn yellow and you can then introduce yourself to the conference and make your comment:

We are grateful to the University of Iowa for providing the HIFA2015 Virtual Room for this web conference.

We look forward to welcome you on 1 June!  To those of you who will be in teh Cambridge, UK area on 1 June, we welcome you to join the seminar in person at Hughes, Hall, University of Cambridge.

Common technical problems

1. If you get ‘stuck’ at the Sessions page (https://globalcampus.uiowa.edu/index.html), try the following

- Click on the “manually start the session” link. (Most computers start automatically, but some require to start the session manually. The “manually start the session” link only appears for 5-10 seconds before the system loops back to the Sessions page)

- Make sure there is not a message at the top of the page saying that your files are being blocked from downloading…this is a security alert to forbid “pop ups.” This is usually a yellow bar, and again it lasts only a few seconds, so you need to be ready to click on the message promptly to allow the next screen to load.

- If you are using Mozilla Firefox, be sure to open the file you downloaded. This happens automatically with Internet Explorer, but you will have to double-click on the file you downloaded in Firefox to progress.

2. If you get an error message such as ‘Access denied’:

- make sure your Java software is the most recent version.

- update your internet browser, to make sure you have the most recent version

- clear your browser’s cache. To do this, go to the tools menu­ and probably you will see “delete browsing history.” This will delete any old stored files that might be interfering with your download.

If all else fails, you could try a different computer. Sometimes people have luck logging in from a personal laptop or computer, rather than from a worksite computer. Sometimes the security protocols at worksites are blocking Firewall port 8080 – this port is not critical for security but must be open to use Elluminate.”

Mahagi Devi Chaudhary (62yrs) has her eyes examined by Dr Albrecht Hennig via the EREC Programme at Sagarmatha Choudhary Eye Hospital in Lahan.

Dr. Albrecht Hennig has been working with CBM, the overseas disability charity, since 1981.  He has been changing lives in Pakistan, North India and Nepal for nearly 30 years by performing thousands of cataract operations every year and training local staff.

When he began his work in Nepal, Dr. Hennig was working under the harshest conditions: “There was no electricity or imported goods. Sometimes I was close to quitting,” he recalled. Adapting to the conditions he was working in, Dr. Hennig developed the “fishhook” technique that proved to be easy to learn, low-cost, fast, safe, and to offer rapid recovery for patients.

Dr. Hennig developed a simple, small incision cataract surgery method called the “fishhook technique” which is now being used by hospitals worldwide

Dr. Hennig started his career with CBM in Pakistan. In 1983 he then moved to Nepal where he has since helped to make the Eastern Regional Eye Care Programme (EREC-P) into the third largest eye care programme in the world, in terms of the number of patient treated. Last year the programme saw 405,687 patients and conducted 88,657 surgeries, the majority of which were cataract.

Since 1987, Dr Hennig has acted as Eye Care Advisor to CBM in the development and consolidation of eye work in eastern Nepal as ophthalmologist and Programme Director of EREC-P.

On 27 September 2005, the Social Service Award 2005 in Nepal was received by Dr. Hennig for his efforts in preventing blindness from cataract.  On 29^th March 2010, Dr. Hennig and his wife, Kristina, received the Federal Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for untiring engagement and continuous work in the field of ophthalmology in Nepal.

Dr Hennig had planned to stay overseas for a maximum of 2 years and then take over his father’s private practice in Germany – 30 years on Dr Albrecht Hennig is now retiring as an Eye Health hero, and leaves behind a legacy of success.

From Mouth PR for CBM UK: www.cbmuk.org.uk

The seminar aims are outlined below, and you can download them in a word document here.  If you would like to contribute to this important conversation, please register to attend here.  We’d love to hear your questions and ideas for discussion–please use the comments section below to start the conversation now.  All are welcome, please feel free to share this link with others who may be interested in contributing.

Please contact Anne Radl with any questions and proposals: anne.radl@humanitariancentre.org

Seminar Aims and Outputs

The aim of the seminar is to share ideas and experience in overcoming barriers to joining the access loop of international publishing, to think about new ways to improve the publishing process and to enable greater representation from African researchers in the published literature. Based on preliminary planning, three areas have been identified where focused discussion may generate new approaches to challenges faced:

1) Technology

• What examples are there of technology being used effectively to overcome barriers to access: e.g. technology that addresses low bandwidth, intermittent power supply and connectivity, attention to interface design, use of smart phones and SMS to disseminate information, and issues of language barriers?
• What technological barriers to access remain, and what can we do, to address these?

2) Quality

• How can we reconcile different value judgments of ‘quality’ that affect a) what does and does not get published and b) where it is published?  Do different cultural values exist between “Northern-based” international publishers and African researchers—for example, prioritising “original” research for publication? What are the key differences that need to be identified for successful publication?
• What lessons can be drawn from mentoring programmes for young African researchers–both in terms of what has been effective, and what has been less effective?
• Are there still misconceptions about OA, or issues (for example funding) that affect submissions to OA journals, thus restricting publications from African researchers?  What outreach can be—and is being—done to change this?

3) Strengthening Pathways for Dialogue

• Going forward, can we build an infrastructure for dialogue and collaboration that engenders conversations which are accessible (not closed) and actionable?  Rather than beginning new dialogues, how can we build on existing conversations and bring others in to them—particularly those researchers working in isolation?  Can we use OA sites (such as blogs) to record, progress and follow-up on ideas and actions?
• Can we build measurement of impact into this infrastructure?  What measures would allow us to track increased quantity of publications from Africa, increased influence of publications from Africa, as well as begin to understand broader contextual questions that affect publications: such as the varying incentives to publish in different ways and places according to where you are from and what your career structure is?
• What role do funders have in supporting dialogue?

The ideas and plans generated in this seminar will be captured in a series of blog pieces commissioned from participants.

Background and Audience

This is a ‘hands-on’ seminar to explore real ways in which African research and researchers can have greater representation in journal publications. The seminar will take place in Cambridge, and we will be joined virtually by colleagues in Africa.

So we may pursue ideas for action in the two hours we have together, the seminar is based on three foundational assumptions:

1)     Building local African health research capacity is crucial to improving health, welfare and livelihoods in Africa.

2)     Collaborative networks of researchers, academics, developers and others, both within Africa and beyond, are needed to improve dialogue and infrastructure for this capacity building work.

3)     When we speak about sharing results and ideas through journal publications, Open Access (OA) is implied.  The content of OA journals are not only free to read but are also free to reuse, and thus OA journals vastly enlarge the scope and depth of health research available in African institutions, allow for increased access to African research, and enable collaborative international research and funding[1].

We anticipate that participants will include:

• African health researchers, academics and HE administrators
• individuals and organisations in and outside of Africa whose work will benefit from increased access to African research
• individuals and organisations invested in the development of African institutions and the improvement of African health and livelihoods.

Participants in the seminar may be physically present in the seminar room, or present virtually.  The seminar discussion will be broadcast live over the internet, and a representative will be dedicated to monitoring questions, ideas and concerns that are brought into the seminar over the webby twitter, chat, or skype/elluminate live.  Further information about how to participate virtually will be publicised to potential attendees before the seminar date.

The questions for discussion presume prior knowledge or experience of research capacity building and open access publishing.  This is intended to help participants to advance quickly to an active “problem-solving” conversation, and, hopefully, to come away from the seminar with some concrete plans to increase access to publishing.  However, all are welcome to attend; there is ample room to observe, listen and learn[2]—both in the seminar room and over the web.

Participants are welcome to propose alternative focus areas and questions for discussion—preferably before 11 May 2012, so that we may share their questions with the other participants.

Fifty students from over twenty UK universities took part in the UK’s first Aid 4 Health Simulation in Cambridge on March 9^th & 10^th. The simulation, organized by the Humanitarian Centre, aimed to capture the complex dynamics of the negotiations for aid and wider aid processes. Students played the role of a multitude of actors and institutions including, amongst others, ministries of the Malawian Government, the World Bank, UNICEF, the World Health Organisation and USAID.

Prior to the simulation itself experts who had either worked for, or closely with, the organisations the students were representing briefed the students on their roles. They also received two training sessions from aid effectiveness expert Alastair Fraser, University of Cambridge, and Ranil Dissanyake, Department For International Development.

The negotiations were focused on the issues of the integration of vertical health programs and the lack of skilled health care workers, issues that affect the majority of developing countries in the world today. Over an intense four-hour period the students negotiated over aid packages addressing these issues experiencing the many dilemmas and challenges inherent in aid negotiation.  The aim of the simulation was to both generate interest in this field and to illustrate the kinds of social and technical skills – from managing complexity and strategic planning to system thinking  - that students need for careers in global health and international development.

Steve Gillam, Director of Studies at the Institute of Public Health, and Sara Melville, Fellow of Hughes Hall, chaired the two parallel negotiations as the Prime Ministers of Malawi and steered the negotiations as they unfolded. Both described the simulation as a fantastic experience and Steve Gillam observing students ‘bearing a brilliant, if scarily realistic, resemblance to their real-life counterparts at times!’

The Aid 4 Health simulation ran as part of the Global Health Partnerships event including a keynote speech form Lord Nigel Crisp.

Being held as part of this year’s Cambridge Science Festival the Global Health Hack Day is an exciting ‘open innovation’ event that will see eight teams of bright, enterprising students presenting their solutions to real global health challenges in front of a panel of expert judges. Participants will be introduced to their topics on Saturday March 17th, and will have a full week to work in their mentor-supported teams before the final judging on Saturday March 24th.

The Global Health Hack Day provides a rare opportunity to work with leading organisations including Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Costello Medical Consulting, Medic Mobile and the PHG Foundation to tackle the problems that face some of the world’s most disadvantaged people. To register or find out more visit globalhealthhackday.eventbrite.co.uk.

Created in partnership with the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (CfEL), Idea Transform aims to help those developing innovative ideas turn them into sustainable businesses through a programme that combines events, mentoring and targeted support.

Idea Transform will provide a judge for the Global Health Hack Day and one of the winning teams will be selected to participate for free in the forthcoming Idea Transform event at the Cambridge Judge Business School (20-22 April 2012).

A weekend to change the world, the Idea Transform event will team up people with ideas and those with business, marketing and technical skills to work together intensely over the weekend in order to develop meaningful and innovative projects. Open to all, attendees will benefit from a combination of hands-on, experienced mentors and inspiring keynote speakers to provide the perfect environment to learn, advance their ideas, network with like-minded individuals and enjoy themselves. At the end of the weekend an international judging panel will select those projects that show the most promise and Idea Transform will then work closely with them to provide on going mentoring and support. Tickets can be purchased at www.ideatransform.org

“Idea Transform is dedicated to supporting innovation and entrepreneurship that can make a difference to people’s lives, creating sustainable businesses that enable change,” said Mauro Ciaccio, co-founder, Idea Transform. “Partnering with the Humanitarian Centre and CUTEC is the perfect fit for our goals. By supporting the Global Health Hack Day we aim to uncover innovation within healthcare. We want to encourage teams to move forward by taking part in the Idea Transform weekend, where they can benefit from access to mentors, skills and new perspectives to help them develop projects that can change the world.”

As well as free participation in the Idea Transform weekend, winners will also be eligible to present at the forthcoming evening Idea Transform taster event on 29 March 2012. A free Cambridge event, open to all, this will introduce those interested in taking part in the weekend to some of the projects to be pitched and the people behind them.

“In 2012 our theme is Global Health and the Hack Day provides the opportunity to demonstrate the power technology and ideas have to solve some of the most pressing problems in society,” said Anne Radl, projects manager, the Humanitarian Centre. “Adding the support of Idea Transform to our existing partnership with CUTEC will directly help projects develop and grow, unlocking their potential and benefiting us all.”

“We wanted to build on the success of our pioneering open innovation medical event last year and the Global Health Hack day provides the perfect opportunity to encourage innovation and break down barriers between academia and industry,” said Liz Williams, president of CUTEC. ”Our three way partnership with the Humanitarian Centre and Idea Transform enables students to demonstrate their skills, have fun and potentially create projects that can help solve healthcare problems around the world.”

As part of the partnership CUTEC will also work promote the Idea Transform weekend event to students as well as providing volunteers. To discover more about CUTEC and the exciting array of events it organises, visit www.cutec.org

About Idea Transform

Innovation, ideas and technology now have the ability to make a difference, delivering real, long-term change across the globe. Cambridge-based Idea Transform has been created to empower the meaningful entrepreneurs driving this change through events, mentoring and targeted support. Backed by the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (CfEL) it aims to inspire meaningful projects, from Cambridge and beyond, in areas as diverse as education, health, finance, community and the environment.

For more information please visitwww.ideatransform.org, follow us on twitter (@ideatransform) or email info@ideatransform.org

The Global Health Hack Day is sponsored by Costello Medical Consulting, the PHG Foundation and ideaSpace.

Words by Rose Beale, Photos by Elizabeth Wagemann

(c)Elizabeth Wagemann

Chris Austin MP -Head of Conflict, Humanitarian and Security Department – began by emphasising the deep roots of the UK’s approach to humanitarian relief: built on our ‘collective humanity’. In response to the Portuguese earthquake and tsunami of 1755 parliament voted £100,000 and despatched ships ‘forthwith’. As Vattel – the author of the Law of Nations – wrote: this ‘convinced the Portuguese that an opposition…does not restrain the beneficence of those who understand the claims of humanity.’

Today the implementation of this deep-rooted principle needs careful consideration. All trends suggest that more people – particularly in developing countries – will be affected by humanitarian emergencies in the coming decades. Global economic stresses, protracted conflicts, political uncertainty, population growth, urbanisation, and climate change are the backdrop to increasing humanitarian challenges. The trends for natural disasters alone are alarming. In 2010, these affected 263 million people. This figure is over 100 million more than in 2004 – the year of the Asian tsunami – but over 100 million less than that predicted for 2015.

(c)Elizabeth Wagemann

In light of the scale of these challenges, Mr Austin emphasized embedding resilience as the key focus of the UK’s humanitarian policy. Disaster resilience was defined in terms of sustainability and sensitivity : the ability of countries, communities and households to manage change, by maintaining or transforming living standards in the face of shocks or stresses – such as earthquakes, drought or violent conflict – without compromising their long-term prospects.

(c)Elizabeth Wagemann

DIFD’s new strategic plan BSOS (Building Stability Overseas Strategy) – takes resilience as its crux. The aim is to embed resilience in all country programmes by 2015, beginning with six priority countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal and Bangladesh. BSOS’ Resilience Framework identifies four key areas which need to be accessed: context (resilience of what), disturbance (resilience to what), capacity to deal with disturbance and reaction to disturbance. This strategy is underpinned by a commitment to appropriate use and application of knowledge: including statistical analysis, scientific research and technological solutions. But measures need not be ‘high-tech’. Mr Austin highlighted the effectiveness of introducing ducks in flood-prone areas of Bangladesh : ‘ducks float, chickens drown’. The approach aims to be holistic – recognising the importance of developing international and bilateral relationships – but also focuses on responding to the needs of communities and individuals. The particular vulnerability of women was highlighted: in the 2004Tsunami women accounted for 80% of deaths .

(c)Elizabeth Wagemann

Mr Austin concluded by asking what ‘success’ ultimately meant, drawing on his own experiences in northern Bangladesh. Through attending a wedding in Rangpur, he met Bobita who had received a cow via a local NGO, being just too well off to qualify for British Government aid. This source of economic stability and social prestige had made a large impact on her livelihood. Ultimately the UK’s definition of success in humanitarian policy- whether achieved through the work of DIFD or not- is to see ‘lives changed’.

The Winning Team from the CUTEC & Medimmune 2011 Open Innovation Challenge proudly display their certificates

The Cambridge Science Festival has a unique offering this year for anyone interested in exploring the relationship between science and entrepreneurship.  The Global Health Hack Day is an “open innovation” event being run by the Humanitarian Centre, in partnerhsip with the Cambridge University Technology and Entreprise Club (CUTEC).

The Global Health Hack Day is based on a pioneering open innovation event run by CUTEC and Cambridge-based company Medimmune in 2011.  This year, the Humanitarian Centre & CUTEC have drawn their challenges from the field of Global Health (the Humanitarian Centre’s theme for 2011-12).  On 24 March 2012, eight teams of bright and enterprising students will present approaches to real global health challenges they have worked on over the course of a week, to an audience of Science Festival enthusiats, entrepreneurs, professionals, and other students who want to “break down some barriers between academia and industry”.  The winning team will be awarded a prize by a panel of expert judges.

To register to participate in the Global Health Hack Day on 17 March (for university students and post-doctoral researchers) or to come to the Prize Reception on 24 March, where the student teams will present their work, please visit the eventbrite site at: globalhealthhackday.eventbrite.co.uk.

To find out more about the participating organisations and the challenges they will present: click here.

ADDENBROOKE’S ABROAD: http://www.act4addenbrookes.org.uk

Addenbrooke’s Abroad supports staff and students from Cambridge University Hospitals and the surrounding health community to share their expertise with resource poor communities abroad in the knowledge that engaging in global health also has benefits for patients and healthcare workers here in the UK.  Read more . . 

COSTELLO MEDICAL CONSULTING: www.costellomedical.com

Costello Medical Consulting (http://www.costellomedical.com/) is a young and dynamic medical consultancy working with the pharmaceutical industry on medical writing and market access projects, with the broad aim of helping companies to launch and establish new drugs on the market.  Read more . . .

HEALTH PARTNERS INTERNATIONAL: http://www.healthpartners-int.co.uk/
HPI deals in health system strengthening in developing countries. One of our specialisms is the management of healthcare technology, which means anything from stethoscopes to MRI scanners. If technology is properly managed, its lifetime lengthens considerably, costs are lowered and more lives are saved.  Read more . . .

HOVERAID: www.hoveraid.co.uk
HoverAid is a small charity with one big idea – that hovercraft can be used to overcome the very basic problem of travel to and from remote rural communities in the developing world. There are very few areas of the world where hovercraft are the right vehicle to use. If you can use a truck or boat then do, but If you can’t get there by normal means that’s when a hovercraft might be the solution. Hovercraft can get to places no other vehicle can get to, shallow, twisting rivers that stump boats, cars, bikes, quads and the like are hovercraft highways!  Read more . . .

MEDIC MOBILE: http://medicmobile.org/
Medic Mobile uses communication technologies to improve the health of underserved and disconnected communities. Our efforts enable more people to access health services (such as antenatal care), help people stay in care, and improve the quality of services by supporting and monitoring supply chain management.  Partnering with more than 30 nongovernmental organizations, ministries of health and grassroots clinics in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, we have supported more than 5,000 health workers serving hundreds of thousands of patients.  Read more . . .

PATIENTS KNOW BEST: http://www.patientsknowbest.com/

Patients Know Best (PKB) is founded on the principle that everyone in health care benefits when you put the patient in control of the records. Integration of records is possible across hospitals and communities, reducing cost of care, raising quality of outcomes, and increasing patients’ happiness. Public discourse often paints the patient as a liability, but we see the patient as an asset.  Read more . . .

PHG FOUNDATION: http://www.phgfoundation.org/
The PHG Foundation is committed to bringing biomedical innovations to benefit public health. We have recently developed an innovative and free Health Needs Assessment Toolkit (HNA Toolkit) to help countries make robust evidenced based cases for the development of services to prevent, treat and care for birth defects in their populations.  Read more . . .

The 2011 UN Summit on NCDs highlighted the pressing need to address NCDs globally, particularly in developing countries which are the hardest hit but have the least resources.

The Cambridge Post-UN Summit Conference on 20th January 2012 explored next steps for the UK by gathering experts from academia and civil society with representatives from the private sector, the media, and government departments.

On the 31/01/2012 The Humanitarian Centre held a Parliamentary reception which aimed to raise awareness of noncommunicable diseases and mental health and make recommendations, following the above conference, to address the question:  ‘How can the UK appropriately contribute to the prevention and treatment of noncommunicable diseases and mental health in the developing world?’

The outcomes from the Cambridge Conference were translated into key messages and policy recommendations (see below) and brought to the attention of MPs, Parliamentarians, civil servants, and policy-makers at a reception in the House of Commons.

This conference raised many more ideas that we were able to capture in these policy recommendations – please add any of your opinions/ideas/comments below. We’d love to hear more and continue the discussion.

Click here (or on the image above) to download your copy of the policy recommendations:

Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health in Developing Countries: What role does the UK have to play?

Part 3. Debates and Reflections

By Alexa Zeitz

Photographs by Elizabeth Wagemann

The conference threw up many questions, as is to be expected at this early phase in the NCD movement. Among these was the role of the private sector and conflicts of interest. While the tobacco industry has been roundly rejected from debates about NCDs because of its vested interest in perpetuating one of the behavioural causes of NCDs, the alcohol, food and drug industries still have conflicted positions. Many corporations from these sectors lobbied effectively to influence the Political Declaration of the UN Summit. Inviting a group discussion on this subject, the conference chair Dr. Smith argued that while alcohol corporations were part of the problem (since the chief means of increasing profit is to sell more alcohol), food corporations could be part of the solution (as they could increase profits by providing healthier, improved foods). Other speakers showed themselves more sceptical, pointing to conflicts of interest in food companies participating in documents that ought to recommend reduced salt and fat intake. A straw poll of the audience showed the participants divided on the question whether food corporations could be considered ‘part of the problem of the solution’.

Another debate centred on the point at which to intervene to address NCDs. A common characterization of the risk factors for NCDs shows a pyramid with social determinants, such as poverty, at the bottom followed by behavioural risk factors, including smoking, harmful use of alcohol, physical inactivity and unhealthy diet, topped by biological risk factors, such as raised lipids or hypertension, ultimately resulting in NCDs. Dr. Smith suggested that the ‘medicalized,’ doctor-focused approach of the West emphasizes intervention at the level of biological risk factors. It would be more effective, he argued, to intervene at the level of behavioural risk factors, using tools such as taxation and regulation to limit smoking, excessive drinking or unhealthy eating. Social determinants, while at the base of the pyramid, could be too difficult to address because of their unpredictable links to NCDs, Dr. Smith claimed. Nicola Watt, giving her personal reflections on the UN NCD Summit, argued that addressing NCDs required a serious debate on the question ‘What kind of society do we want to live in?,’ thereby invoking the continued importance of addressing social determinants in combating NCDs.

The healthy debate on the key themes of the conference continued on Twitter, where participants commented live on the events using the #camglobalhealth hashtag. Peter Singer, who had given the keynote address at the opening event of the Humanitarian Centre’s global health year, joined the discussion from Canada, tweeting:

#FF grt #globalhealth conf at #cambridge on #NCDS & #mentalhealth now.  Hashtag #camglobalhealth. Paging @abdallahdaar @pamela_kanellis

For those unfamiliar with twitter speak, Dr. Singer was alerting his more than 2000 followers to the great global health conference on NCDs and Mental Health at Cambridge, inviting his Grand Challenges colleagues Abdallah Daar and Pamella Kanellis to join the discussion. In reaching such a global audience, the Humanitarian Centre’s Post-UN Summit was an important contribution to advancing NCDs and mental health on the global health agenda.

Click Here to read PART 2

Click Here to read PART 1

By Alexa Zeitz

Photographs by Elizabeth Wagemann

The topic of mental health had been largely off the agenda at the UN Summit, the Humanitarian Centre conference recognized the importance of addressing this most neglected chronic disease. Carol Brayne, Director of the Cambridge Institute of Public Health, explained that mental health goes unaddressed because of a big lack of data, low numbers of health workers and, most importantly, stigma and discrimination. Brayne argued forcefully that conceptions of mental health, including measurements and treatments, are very Western, and may often not be appropriate to developing country contexts. Dr. Andrew Mohanraj, who joined the conference via video-link from Indonesia, illustrated the importance of country-appropriate interventions with his experience establishing a mental health system in Aceh, Indonesia after the tsunami. Emergencies can be an opportunity and the influx of funds following emergencies must be used not only to deliver short-term relief and support but also to strengthen health systems for mental health. Mike Davies OBE, Head of Programme Development for CBM-UK, confirmed the need for appropriate mental health interventions in the case study of CBM’s successful community-based rehabilitation programmes.

Without data, global health interventions are often ineffective. The difficulty, yet importance of collecting this data on NCDs in developing countries was made evident in a session in which researchers presented their work on health systems. Ahmed Aboulghate, PhD candidate at the Cambridge Institute of Public Health, is hoping that his research on quality indicators in the Egyptian health care system will allow for better quality control of health care. Dr. Amos Deogratius Mwaka, joining the conference via video-link from Uganda, is examining cultural barriers preventing early diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer in Northern Uganda. Professor Nick Wareham, who presented his research on diabetes and the work of a Cambridge seminar that trains students from developing countries in epidemiological research, argued that holistic public health research needed to be supported.

The implementation of different global health interventions is increasingly occurring under the heading of ‘partnership’. Is this just a fad or a more sustainable means of delivering development assistance for health?  Dr. Jenny Amery OBE, Chief Professional Officer for Health and Education at DFID, gave evidence of successful partnerships with developing countries researching and evaluating programmes as they are applied, revealing that health interventions rarely follow a neat trajectory from controlled experiment to monitored programme. Maya Morris, Head of Global Community Support at AstraZeneca, offered another example of a successful partnership: the AstraZeneca Young Health Program, in which AstraZeneca, Plan and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health have partnered to investigate adolescent health.  Both Dr. Amery and Ms. Morris argued that partnerships, while struggling with inevitable asymmetries of power, were successful means of building sustainable programmes.

Click Here to read PART 3

Click Here to read PART 1