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An International Network of field sites with continuous Demographic |
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INDEPTH NEWS BULLETIN Vol. 2004, No.5
In this issue, you will read:
1. 4th INDEPTH AGM ends successfully in Hanoi, Vietman The 4th INDEPTH Annual General and Scientific Meeting (AGM) ended successfully on 7 May 2004 at the Melia Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam. The theme was "Using demographic surveillance systems to better understanding population dynamics and their health in developing countries." A total of 118 participants attended this meeting. Among them were: funded representatives from 33 INDEPTH member sites in 17 countries in Africa, Asia and Oceania; members on the INDEPTH Board of Trustees and the INDEPTH Scientific Advisory Committee; and donor partners from Sida/SAREC, Rockefeller Foundation and Wellcome Trust. 15 young scientists were funded by INDEPTH to attend the meeting and present posters on their current work. 33 self-funded participants also attended, demonstrating a growing interest in the INDEPTH AGM. Guest speakers were Dr. Simon Szreter from Manchester University, Dr. Mary Ann Lansang from INCLEN and Prof. Jessor from University of Colorado at Boulder.
The AGM was officially opened by Prof. Le Ngoc Trong, Vice Minister for Health, Ministry of Health, Vietnam. The keynote address was delivered by Prof. Pham Huy Dung, Vice Director of the Institute of Health Strategy and Policy, Hanoi. Prof. Steve Tollman, Chair of the INDEPTH Board of Trustees introduced the INDEPTH network. Prof. Nguyen Thi Kim Chuc and Dr Tran Huu Bich made brief introductions to the INDEPTH member sites in Vietnam – Filabavi DSS and Chililab DSS sites respectively. Prof. Nguyen Lan Viet, Dean of the Hanoi Medical University chaired the opening ceremony and delivered the welcome address.
The rich scientific programme was structured into a series of plenary and breakout sessions. The plenary sessions focussed on an ASIA-specific discourse, INDEPTH products, Health Equity, Adult Health, Grand Challenge 13, Clinical Trials, Environment and Health, Technical DSS Innovations, Migration and Urbanisation, and New Challenges. A total of 42 papers were delivered in the plenary sessions, and 11 working group sessions were held. The INDEPTH Adult Health and Aging group held a one-day workshop on 2 May before the start of the AGM.
Prof. Steve Tollman (Agincourt DSS, South Africa), Dr. Alex Ezeh (Nairobi DSS, Kenya) and Dr. Kim Streatfield (Matlab DSS, Bangladesh) were re-elected to the INDEPTH Board of Trustees.
The Executive Director, Prof. Fred Binka delivered his annual report 2003 to the General Assembly. He started with the milestones in the previous year – the launch of the INDEPTH Strategic Plan and the first INDEPTH monograph, and securing funding from several donor partners. He said that 2003 was viewed as the year to deliver the products. He then reported on the scientific and capacity-building activities of the Network in 2003. The thrust of the Network’s scientific work in 2003 concerned efforts to produce new volumes in the INDEPTH monograph series, strides to collate and analyse cause of death data from member sites, moving from the significant findings by the INDEPTH Health Equity Study regarding the existence of inequalities and inequity in health in smaller areas, to designing pro-poor interventions, and developing a basis for integrating DSS data with census data.
The Executive Director said that pivotal among the Network’s capacity strengthening initiatives was the establishment of the INDEPTH Scientific Development and Leadership Programme which culminated in the setting up of an INDEPTH-tailored M.Sc. course in Field Epidemiology at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. The course will commence in January 2005. INDEPTH aims to use this programme to train a genre of developing-country scientists from member sites and elsewhere through practical on-the-job training so that the scientists would have the requisite capacity to engage external collaborators, compete effectively for international resources, and take leadership roles at their workplaces.
Prof. Binka also reported on the financial status of the network, referring to audited accounts by KPMG in Ghana. Total receipts in 2003 summed up to $1,558,522 and total payments summed up to $1,312,618. Donors to INDEPTH were the Rockefeller Foundation, Sida/SAREC, the World Bank and the Wellcome Trust. Among the receipts was an amount of $10,000 donated to the Network for the establishment of the INDEPTH Prize for Extraordinary Research in Demographic Surveillance.
Field visits were made to Filabavi DSS and Chililab DSS.
On behalf of the Secretariat, the Board and the entire Network, the Executive Director would like to thank the Scientific and Organising Committees, including many medical students at the Hanoi Medical University who worked relentlessly to ensure a successful AGM in Hanoi.
The next AGM (the Network’s 5th) will be organised by the Africa Centre in South Africa on behalf of the INDEPTH Network. Our site leader, Prof. Kobus Herbst has already started the planning process. We will provide updates in future issues of this News Bulletin.
2. INDEPTH DSS Starter Kit launched on the INDEPTH website The INDEPTH DSS Starter Kit has now been launched on the INDEPTH website. INDEPTH is proud of this product whose development was funded by the Rockefeller Foundation Africa Region.
For a direct link, please go to www.indepth-network.net/starterkit/index.html
The kit opens with: “There is no manual or university curriculum for how to conduct demographic surveillance. However there is much experience in running long-term longitudinal DSS sites which resides mainly in the staff of such sites. The increasing recognition of the value of DSS for contributing to research and development agendas has resulted in a steady increase in number of DSS sites in recent years. Many new sites suffer unnecessary startup difficulties and delays because of lack of timely access to expertise and technical know-how associated with the practical aspects of starting and running a DSS site. This INDEPTH DSS Starter Kit is intended for use by all those settings that have decided to implement DSS from scratch, and have already secured their startup funding, but still need practical guidance and a set of technical resources for getting started. For more information on the INDEPTH Network, demographic surveillance, and network membership, visit www.indepth-network.net”
3. INDEPTH welcomes two new members to the fold The Executive Director has in June 2004 welcomed two DSS sites as the latest additions to the INDEPTH fold, making a total of 36 sites in 19 countries in Africa, Asia, Oceania and Latin America.
Kintampo DSS, GhanaKintampo DSS in rural Ghana makes the second INDEPTH site in Ghana. It is located in the middle of Ghana, is one of the 13 districts in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana, normally referred to as Kintampo District. The base institution is the Ministry of Health/Ghana Health Service. The primary purposes of the site include the provision of a flexible data bank that can set the template for selecting and initiating relevant research activities, and risk sets and outcome measures for research projects. The priority research areas are micronutrients, malaria, mental health, non-communicable diseases, and other communicable diseases. There is a population of 145,000 under longitudinal evaluation. The surveillance was introduced in 2000 for females (15 – 49) and all children born from January 2000. Full DSS was introduced in 2003. Dr. Seth Owusu-Agyei is the site leader, and the alternate contact is Dr. Samuel Newton. Many DSS colleagues have known him during his days at the Navrongo DSS.
Leon DSS, NicaraguaLeon DSS in Nicaragua becomes the first INDEPTH member site in Latin America. It is located in the Municipality of Leon. The Center for Demographic and Health Research (CIDS) at Leon University is the base institution for the site. The primary purpose of the Leon DSS is for research, training and planning health services. Its priority research areas are reproductive and child health, domestic violence, environmental health, and mental health. 55 000 out of a total Leon population of 230 000 are under continuous demographic surveillance. The site was introduced in 2003 and Dr. Rodolfo Peńa is the site leader, and the alternate contact is Dr. Andres Herrera.
4. INDEPTH visits its member sites in Africa and Asia INDEPTH visits Filabavi DSS and Chililab DSS in Vietnam The Executive Director Prof. Fred Binka and a team from several DSS sites in Africa and Asia visited Filabavi DSS in Vietnam during the AGM in May. The site leader, Prof. Nguyen T.K. Chuc drove with the team from the AGM venue in Hanoi to Filabavi. On the same day, Osman Sankoh and Kwabena Owusu-Boateng from the INDEPTH Secretariat visited Chililab DSS in Vietnam together with another group of representatives from several DSS sites. Dr. Bich and colleagues drove the team to Chililab where several district authorities were on site to welcome the visitors.
INDEPTH in Niakhar, SenegalOn 17-18 May Osman Sankoh visited Niakhar DSS in rural Senegal, about 150 km from the capital city of Dakar. Mr. Adama Mara was kind enough to drive Osman to Niahkar. The guest from the INDEPTH Secretariat was welcomed in Niakhar by the station manager, Mr. Emile Ndiaye and the field supervisor, Mr. Samba Diatte. During the visit, Osman had the opportunity to see field worker Mr. Ousmane Faye, conduct household interviews in one of the villages. On his way back from Niakhar, Osman was introduced to the staff at IRD in Dakar, the institution that operates the Niahkar DSS.
INDEPTH in Bandim, Guinea-BissauINDEPTH made it a point of duty to be present at the 25 years anniversary celebrations of demographic surveillance in Bandim, Guinea-Bissau. Osman Sankoh was warmly welcomed by the site leader Prof. Peter Aaby, and several of a familiar Bandim staff including Dr. Amabelia Rodrigues. The Bandim team was delighted that INDEPTH could attend to reciprocate the support Bandim has given to the Network. Osman’s talk at the conference – INDEPTH Network: A new perspective on research collaboration – enlightened participants on the value the network adds to its member sites. The excellent presentations gave a general overview of past, ongoing and planned research activities at the Bandim semi-urban site. At the close of the conference, the site leader drove Osman round Bandim, showing him typical aspects of the demographic surveillance area. The INDEPTH guest was also able to see several Bandim staff at work, especially in data entry.
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