16 December, 2005
Lots of information to pass along in this update...
Journalists, Didier Bapiti, from Cameroon, and Ebrima Jaw Manneh, from the Gambia, both emailed saying they liked the new layout of the listserv, but, Ebrima went on to say, “I will be even more than grateful if your can occasionally give me update on events and conferences on health that may be of interest”.
… that’s not as easy as it sounds. I spent the next hour rummaging though many websites where I thought I could easily get some conference and event information to pass along.
Surprisingly, I only ended up with a few – and many of these are in Canada and the US . Nevertheless, I have included these along with some other health related events in some other parts of the world. If you know of any other events of interest, please let me know.
I have also included a couple of emails from listserv members who attended the MIM conference in Yaounde last month: Sraj Sulemani, from Malawi , who considers himself lucky to have been invited to attend, also asks if there are any updates on the development of a malaria vaccine.
Sraj: I had recently spoken with Betuel Sigauque, a researcher at the Manhica Health Research Centre, while on a field visit with our course participants in Mozambique . The centre is the site of the first major trials of what has been described as “a groundbreaking malaria vaccine”.
Betuel told me that they were indeed getting good feedback from the initial test results. However, he was also quick to stifle any illusions of a “malaria cure”, as he stressed that they are still a “long way off”.
He says that even if vaccine proves to be successful, it will be at least 5 years before it will available to people who need it.
The other email is from Nana Vanessa from Cameroon who wants to know if she can send her health stories to the listserv and website in French. Well, as there are quite a few French speakers on the listserv, I don’t think that this would be a problem.
If you send in your story in French then keep them short and ask someone to edit. My French is terrible. Faty Maty, another journalist from the Cameroon also says his English is as good as my French so he would like to send his emails to us in French. Let’s try this and see what happens… I can always get someone to translate.
Colin Lloyd, Moderator, South Africa
1. Welcome new listserv members:
The Secretary-General of the London based, Commonwealth Broadcasting Association (CBA), Elizabeth Smith, has joined the listserv this week, along with the CBA’s new Training Manager, Jas Dhariwal.
The CBA has been with us from the beginning -- if you want to know why and how, visit this web page: about.html
If you are an employee of a national radio or television station in the Commonwealth, then your station is probably a member of the CBA, and that means you can apply for CBA bursaries, fellowships, funds, training, awards, and other things too.
You can find out more about all these opportunities by going to the CBA website: www.cba.org.uk . If you don’t know if your station is a member, then send them an email and ask: cba@cba.org.uk
Johannesburg based, Anja Senth, is the Editorial Director of Soul Beat Africa, an Africa-specific e-publication and website on communication for development and change covering news and issues.
Their aim is to be a space for communicators across Africa to share experiences, materials, strategic thinking and events, and to engage in discussion and debate. This site is meant for practitioners, media makers, academics, researchers, and others who are using or are interested in communication for change in Africa.
I can’t say enough about South Beat, and their two collaborative partners, Soul City , and the Communication Initiative, to do them any justice – you just have to visit their websites and experience all they have to offer. If you haven’t already visited, you must!
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2. Member contributions/ messages
Sraj Sulemani, Radio Producer, Limbe, Malawi
Well, the rains have started over here and with the rains come the problem of mosquitoes and Malaria.
What’s happening in the Malaria world? Are there any new developments in research? What are the possibilities of further training in the field of Malaria reporting or Health reporting? Please, keep me posted as soon as something interesting comes up.
I was very lucky to have been considered for a trip by Malaria Alert Centre (in The Gambia) to attend the Multi-lateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM) Pan African conference in Yaoundé – Cameroon , from the 10th – 18th November 2005.
I had a wonderful experience as I was able to interact with a cross section of people like African Ministers, Medical professionals in the field of Malaria research, Directors or representatives of pharmaceutical companies and my fellow colleagues in the media.
As a follow up to my trip to Yaoundé, I had a meeting with Dr. Grace Malenga, the Director of Malaria Alert Centre, last Friday, 9th December, 2005, to map out a strategy for future Malaria programs.
She proposed organizing a one day orientation workshop, in the next few weeks, where Media practitioners will be invited to come and discuss the way forward on Malaria programming.
NANA Vanessa, print journalist, Douala, Cameroon
Dear all… I'm happy to write to you as I was one of those who attended the MIM conference. I have just returned from a holiday and it is a pleasure to come back to all these nice messages you send.
I have sent a message to Mr Louis deGama, from the Gates Foundation, concerning articles I wrote after the MIM conference: one in relation to a malaria vaccine, and another concerning an interview with Dr Druilhe, coordinator for GSK.
I would like to send these articles to the listserve, but, I'm French speaker and, although I have a background in English, I work for a French newspaper. I also noticed that all the articles online are in English. What do you suggest?
For now: “Greetings” to all new members for our listserv.
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Health news:
click on headline for more details (source: AllAfrica News, BBC Health)
» Kenya: Kenyans Wary of Pact On Drugs
» Uganda: Uganda Enters HIV/Aids Drug Deal With India
» Nigeria: 'Nigeria Not Excluded From Aids Funds'
» Mozambique: Aids Prevention for the Police Force
» Tanzania: Tanzania Firm to Start Manufacturing Aids Drugs
» Uganda: Aids Drama Features On Fm Stations
» West Africa: Malaria Parasite Develops Resistance to Artemisinin
» Uganda: Ogoola Queries Shady Company Over Funds
» Rwanda: HIV /Aids Volunteers Gain Skills
» Uganda: 'Pay Orphans Affected By Ebola'
» Progress made on bird flu vaccine - French drug company Sanofi Pasteur says it has made progress in developing a prototype vaccine against a human version of bird flu.
» Adult stem cells 'fusion hope' - Scientists believe adult stem cells may be more flexible than first thought, which could help in fighting disease.
» Expert warning over UK flu plans - The public may not have access to enough drugs quickly enough in a flu pandemic, an expert warns.
» Pakistan: Radio programmes to be launched to promote health, hygiene in quake hit areas. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has teamed up with Pakistan's Ministry of Environment to launch a series of radio programmes to promote health and hygiene awareness among quake survivors. | |
4. Events
20 Spatial and Temporal Clustering of Diseases and Risk Assessment in Public Health Riyadh Saudi Arabia
25 Prevention and Management of Chronic Conditions : International Perspectives Bangkok Thailand
08 Health Policy Tools and Techniques--Minicourse of NHPC washington DC
24 27th Annual Minority Health Conference Chapel Hill NC
27 The 2006 National Conference on African-Americans and AIDS Philadelphia Pennsylvania
27 Upwind Downwind: Cities, Air and Health Hamilton Canada 24 4th Annual Atlanta Lung Cancer Symposium Atlanta Georgia
30 17th International Conference on the Reduction of Drug Related Harm Vancouver Canada
May 2006 25 Urbanism, Environment & Health, Fenner Conference 2006 Canberra Australia 28 10th BC Annual Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Conference Cranbrook, BC Canada 29 Ethics and Africa Cape Town South Africa
15 10th International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorder Madrid Spain 23 Sixth International Symposium on Coccidiodomycosis Stanford California
30 3rd Annual International Mental Health at the IOP London United Kingdom
28 1st World Congress of Public Health Nutrition Barcelona Spain October 2006
11 18th Annual Conference of the Australasian Society for HIV Medicine Melbourne Australia
More news + information on the Health and Media websitewww.healthandmedia.org
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Hello again, and thank you for all the emails.