INDEPTH
NEWS BULLETIN
No. 9, 3
September 2002
In this issue, we keep you abreast of the milestones
of the Network since the Addis Ababa Annual General and Scientific Meeting in
January this year.
First,
a quick reminder!
The
Board appointed Professor Fred Binka as Executive Director and Dr. Osman A.
Sankoh as Manager, Communications and External Relations of the INDEPTH Network.
Both are based in the Secretariat in Accra and have taken up fulltime duties.
INDEPTH held on 3-5 March in London a successful meeting of donors entitled Bridging the Gap – Taking the INDEPTH Network Forward. The Network is thankful to The Wellcome Trust for hosting the meeting. Donor participation was fantastic. INDEPTH presented its new Strategic Plan, the first published monograph, and ongoing and proposed research agenda of the Network. Worthy of note is that the donors collectively discussed future opportunities for the Network and provided guidance for the way ahead.
The
Board of Trustees of the INDEPTH Network held its first meeting in Accra on
22-23 August 2002. This was its second face-to-face meeting since Addis Ababa.
These meetings were interspersed with several telephonic meetings.
In
Accra: Participants were Prof. Steve Tollman (Chair), Dr. Kim Streatfield
(member), Dr. Ricardo Thompson (member), Dr. Alex Ezeh (member), Dr. Bocar
Kouyate (member), Dr. Don de Savigny (member) and Prof. Fred Binka (Executive
Director – Secretary to the Board). Dr. Kim Chuc
(member) was absent with an apology.
Board
and Scientific Advisory Group Members
The
Board was able to finalise its preferences for appointed members to the Board of
Trustees. These three appointments are made in partnership with our primary
investors. Dr. Don de Savigny has now been appointed to the Board; two other
persons have been nominated to
The
Board also reviewed all site nominees for the Scientific Advisory Committee, and
have now nominated 15 persons to be approached for membership in the Committee.
We look forward to informing you of the names once we have received acceptance
from them.
INDEPTH
Network Strategic Plan for 2002
The Board endorsed the Network’s Strategic Plan for 2002.
This includes ongoing projects such as the Network’s monographs (Health
Equity, Model Life Tables and Cause-Specific Mortality) and the following new
proposals for its research and capacity building/strengthening portfolios.
Clinical Trials – Interventions (HIV/AIDS; TB, Malaria). Background data will be collected involving a mix of factors that determines site suitability for clinical trials. The Secretariat will follow trends in the development of the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Platform (EDCTP) to initiate work for the Network.
Environment and Health: Here the aim is for sites to increase their capabilities to monitor environmental change. Funding potential from the German Research Society through a collaboration with the Department of Tropical Hygiene and Public Health at the University of Heidelberg, Germany.
Capacity Building Initiatives: Leadership (or mentorship) programme which would seek a creative link between scientists working at INDEPTH sites and receptive universities.
Launch
of INDEPTH in November in Arusha, Tanzania
The
Board agreed that a Network launch in Arusha, Tanzania, taking advantage of the
sixth Global Forum meeting, was a valuable opportunity. The Global Forum will
provide space for the launch on Thursday November 15, 2002 from 18:00-19:00 hrs.
Programme and venue for the launch will be sent out to site leaders.
Vital
information: INDEPTH Third Annual General and Scientific Meeting!
The board was glad to accept the proposal by Kim Streatfield, and agreed
on the time and place for the next Annual General and Scientific Meeting (3rd
AGM). It will take place on 3-7 February 2003 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The theme
of the conference is: INDEPTH Network and the fight against poverty-related
diseases.
1)
The Board wishes to empower Secretariat leadership to place relationships with working
group leaders, site leaders and other network partners on a
professional footing when undertaking network projects. This needs to be
underpinned by attention to issues of data access and intellectual credit, as
well as explicit confidentiality undertakings;
2)
Secretariat to make sure that leadership of initiatives (whether a single
individual or small management group) is clear, and that mutual expectations are
agreed in advance;
3)
An INDEPTH policy on monographs and related publications will be tabled
at the Dhaka AGM. The Board accepted, in principle, that INDEPTH publish its own
monographs since IDRC has indicated it is closing its publication activities.
The Secretariat should therefore strengthen its publications capacity and judge
which publishing partners most effectively meet INDEPTH needs (including
distribution). The Board endorsed the critical need for INDEPTH to include
thorough peer-review in all editorial processes;
4)
The Board encouraged the Secretariat’s efforts to frame an INDEPTH leadership
(or mentorship) fellows programme that could be aligned with innovative
Network research and development efforts, and should foster supportive
relationships with interested universities; and
5)
The Board accepted the proposed budget for 2002 with a proviso that
expenditures align with confirmed income, and that an appendix containing
additional desired expenditures be compiled, to be undertaken contingent on
further incomes received.
Accra,
Ghana