INDEPTH NETWORK



An International network of DSS sites involved in demographic and health research in developing countries

June 2008 From the Executive Director Dr.Osman Sankoh
	Dear INDEPTH Family, Sometimes I wish that the days speed up so that I can write to you at the end of the month. This wish was prominent in June as the first Asian Scientist signed a contract to work full-time with us at the Secretariat as a Research Associate in Biostatistics. You will understand therefore that this month�s note is mainly to tell you about my new colleagues who have either recently joined the Secretariat�s team or will soon be doing so. Dr. Wasimul Bari, a Bangladeshi national, will move to Accra in November as a Postdoc to occupy the position of a research associate in the scientific co-ordination section, focusing on helping INDEPTH sites in the analysis of their longitudinal data. He currently teaches biostatistics at the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh. We are very excited to have Wasimul with us in Accra. *Read more on Wasimul...* Mr. Samuel Mikenga, a Ugandan national, will join our team in August as the Communications and External Relations Manager. Samuel will bring to the INDEPTH Secretariat many years of experience in the field of scientific communication. Samuel was Communications Manager of New Partnerships for Africa�s Development (NEPAD) in South Africa, where he was in charge of giving strategic guidance on communications and public relations matters, in addition to acting as Public Information Officer. *Read more on Samuel...* Mr. Adam Osman, a Ghanaian national, is a chartered accountant who has joined our finance team in June. Adam was an Audit Senior with Veritax Associates in Accra, a firm of Chartered Accountants involved in the provision of audit, tax and business advisory services. *Read more on Adam...* Ms Beatrice Abam Mensah, a Ghanaian national, was the first to join us in January 2008 as our new Administrative Secretary. She holds a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Secretaryship and Management Studies from Accra Polytechnic. She has pursued short courses in Computer literacy and French language. *Read more on Beatrice�* Before I end, I don�t want to forget to remind you about a series of INDEPTH workshops my colleagues are organizing. Please click on the links for more details: � Education Workshop in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (8-12 July) http://www.indepth-network.org/events/200806education.htm � Administrators Workshop in Rakai, Uganda (22-26 July) http://www.indepth-network.org/events/200807admworkshop.htm � Short course in biostatistics in Accra, Ghana (28 July - 1 August) http://www.indepth-network.org/events/200807biostats.htm � GIS Workshop in Bangkok, Thailand (11-15 August) http://www.indepth-network.org/events/200808GIS.htm � Strengthening Communications Skills (12-14 August) � Finance Managers Workshop in Agincourt, South Africa (18-20 August) http://www.indepth-network.org/events/200808finance.htm � Longitudinal Data Analysis in Ho, Ghana (21-28 August) http://www.indepth-network.org/events/200808longdata.htm ______________________________________________________________________________ Wasimul Bari - Research Associate (Biostatistics) Dr Wasimul Bari is a Bangladeshi national who will join INDEPTH Network in November 2008 to occupy a postdoc position as Research Associate (Biostatistics). He is currently Assistant Professor, Department of Statistics, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Prior to this appointment, he was Lecturer, Department of Statistics, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh He was also a Teaching Assistant, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Memorial University, St. John�s, NL, Canada. Dr Wasimul Bari was Research Assistant at the Public Health Sciences Division of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) for 1 year. The research projects he worked on included: �How Has the Grameen Bank Affected Fertility in Bangladesh� and �Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) Special Topics Analysis�. He worked together with other demographers and biostatisticians to develop and compute advanced statistical models, including discrete-time hazards regressions. He analysed demographic and epidemiologic data with FORTRAN programme and SAS software. Dr Wasimul Bari�s research interests include: robust regression, longitudinal data analysis, survival analysis, clinical research, stochastic processes, socio-economic research, and demographic data analysis. Dr Wasimul Bari holds PhD and MSc. in Statistics from Memorial University, St. John�s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The title of his PhD Thesis was �Robust Estimation in Familial and Longitudinal Models�. He also holds MSc. in Statistics specializing in Biostatistics from University of Dhaka, Bangladesh; and BSc (Honors) in Statistics from University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. His two MSc. Thesis titles were: �Analyzing Binary Longitudinal Data in Adaptive Clinical Trials�, and �Multi-State Survival Models for Uncensored and Partially Censored Data�. Dr Wasimul Bari was a graduate Fellow in 2003 at School of Graduate Studies, Memorial University, NL, Canada; where he was also awarded Graduate Fellowship and Assistantship for Ph.D. Programme, 2003 � 2007. He also received Merit Award from University of Dhaka, Bangladesh for outstanding results in undergraduate and graduate programmes. Dr Wasimul Bari has published widely in international referable journals such as Journal of Simulation and Computational Statistics, The European Journal of Contraception and Reproductive Health Care, Statistics in Medicine, Australian Journal of Rural Health, Social Science Review, etc. This has been mainly in the area of biostatistics and social economics. Dr Bari is member of Statistical Society of Canada (SSC) and Bangladesh Statistical Association (BSA). SAMUEL K. MIKENGA - Communications and External Relations Manager Samuel Mikenga is a Ugandan national who joined INDEPTH Secretariat in August 2008 as Communications and External Relations Manager. Prior to this, he was Communications Manager of New Partnerships for Africa�s Development (NEPAD) in South Africa, where he was in charge of giving strategic guidance on communications and public relations matters, in addition to acting as Public Information Officer. Mr Mikenga brings to the organization several years of communications/public relations -related work experience with mostly international organizations. Before joining NEPAD, he was working in Nairobi, Kenya, with WWF International as Regional Communications Manager, where he was the Head of WWF International Global Communications Team, Africa Branch. Prior to this, Sam was Communications Coordinator with Africa Reflect Network, an organization implementing multi-disciplinary projects in more than 25 countries across Africa. Samuel also worked as Publications Officer/Managing Editor with African Crop Science Society at Makerere University, Uganda, where he was in charge of publications and promotional materials production and media relations. He was also Publications Officer and Managing Editor of Uganda National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO). While in NARO, he was also in charge of Communications for Farm-Level Applied Research Methods in Eastern and Southern Africa (FARMESA). Sam also worked in London, UK, with the Global Nature Publishing Group as Online Editor-in charge of international scientific publications. Mr Mikenga has carried out several consultancy assignments on communications-related matters, including website content development for Association for Strengthening of Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA), Uganda National NGO Forum; and development of promotional materials for various organizations. Samuel holds MSc Degree and Diploma in Science Communications from Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of London, UK; and BSc Degree in Forestry of Makerere University, Uganda;. He also holds Diploma in Integrated Public Relations from London School of Public Relations, UK and International Diploma in French language-DELF from Institut Francais, London, UK/France. Sam was also awarded a Diploma of Science Communications from Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine in UK.Mr Mikenga also holds certificates in Science Publishing from University of Edinburgh Scotland, UK; pre-press publishing techniques (ICIPE/IDRC, Kenya); and Certificate in scientific journals management (CTA/ILRI, Ethiopia). Sam also has specialized training and vast experience in participatory approaches to communication research, rural development, technology development and transfer, communication materials development, information re-packaging; and website design. Samuel is a member of the International Advisory Board of Africa Press Organization (APO) based in Geneva; and is member of the UK-based Science Communicators Network. Sam works in French and English language. He has some knowledge of Kiswahili language Adam G. A. Osman - Accountant Mr Adam Osman is a Ghanaian national who joined INDEPTH Network in June 2008 as an Accountant. He is a qualified Accountant of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants(ACCA) of U.K. He is also a qualified Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA). Prior to joining INDEPTH Network, Adam worked as an Audit Senior with Veritax Associates, a firm of Chartered Accountants involved in the provision of audit, tax and business advisory services. He led audit teams in statutory audits as well as Project audits while at Veritax Associates. Adam has also worked with the Internal Revenue Service of Ghana were he was involved in tax audit of businesses. Adam holds a Bachelor of Science Degree (Bsc Hons) in Applied Accounting from the Oxford Brooks University in U.K. He has also attended the Institute of Professional Studies in Ghana. Beatrice Abam Mensah - Administrative Secretary Ms Beatrice Abam Mensah is a Ghanaian national who joined INDEPTH Network as Administrative Secretary in January 2008. Prior to her appointment at INDEPTH, she was working with the Ghana Commercial Bank as a National Service Personnel, where she worked as front desk personnel, an ATM custodian and a clearing cheque personnel. Beatrice also worked as a Front Desk personnel at Ninash Company Limited Accra, Ghana; Spirit FM in Kumasi at the call traffics department; and at Silicon Hotel and Conference centres in Kumasi, where she was an officer of first impression in charge of organizing conference centers for meetings and data collection. She holds a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Secretaryship and Management Studies from Accra Polytechnic; and she has pursued short courses in Computer literacy and French language. BETTER HEALTH INFORMATION FOR BETTER HEALTH POLICY ======================================= May 2008 message from the Executive Director April 2008 message from the Executive Director March 2008 message from the Executive Director February 2008 message from the Executive Director January 2008 message from the Executive Director

Dr Wasimul Bari�s research interests include: robust regression, longitudinal data analysis, survival analysis, clinical research, stochastic processes, socio-economic research, and demographic data analysis.

She holds a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Secretaryship and Management Studies from Accra Polytechnic; and she has pursued short courses in Computer literacy and French language.