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In this episode of Connecting Citizens to Science, we conclude our three-part miniseries on improving maternal and newborn healthcare. Host Dr. Kim Ozano and her guests explore how to sustain quality improvements in health systems and progress toward maternal and newborn Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Dr. Rael Mutai, Regional Technical Advisor for Maternal and Newborn Health at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine Kenya, and Dr. Nicholas Furtado, Senior Medical Advisor at Global Fund, share their insights on the successes and challenges of embedding sustainable practices in maternal and newborn healthcare systems across Kenya, Tanzania, and Nigeria. (see 'useful links' for the other episodes from the series).
Chapter List:
00:00:00 – Introduction to Sustainability and SDG Goals
00:01:52 – Progress Towards Maternal and Newborn Health indicators
00:04:50 – Global Landscape: The Impact of the Pandemic
00:06:37 – Addressing Inequities within Countries
00:09:26 – Healthcare Workers and Sustainable Outcomes
00:12:22 – Intersectionality and Broader Determinants of Maternal Health
00:17:38 – Advice and Call to Action for Sustainable Solutions
In this episode:
Dr. Rael Mutai - Regional Technical Advisor (MNH), Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine Tropical Kenya
Rael is a public health specialist with over 21 years’ of experience in health and development. She is passionate about health systems strengthening, Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights and Quality Maternal and Newborn Health. Rael has been involved with the quality improvement programme in the last 3 years, as the Regional Technical Adviser for Kenya and Tanzania. The Programme uses global evidence customised to country context for improved maternal and newborn outcomes. The programme has addressed gaps in ANC-PNC service delivery through capacity building of healthcare workers and integrated approaches to care.
Dr. Nicolas Furtado - Senior Medical Advisor, Global Fund
Nicolas is a Senior Medical Advisor with the Health System Strengthening Technical Advice and Partnerships team at the Global Fund. He is deeply engaged in efforts to strengthen primary healthcare systems globally, particularly focusing on improving maternal and newborn health outcomes and now focusing on improving access to medical oxygen and respiratory care. Throughout his work, Nicolas has been instrumental in addressing key challenges such as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare inequities, and the need for sustainable, locally adapted solutions. He advocates for simple, effective, and culturally appropriate interventions to ensure quality care at the point of service delivery.
Useful links:
Strengthening the Health Workforce for Maternal and Newborn Care - Connecting Citizens to Science - In the second episode of our three-part miniseries, " Transforming Maternal and Newborn Health", we focus on how capacity strengthening in healthcare can transform maternal and newborn care outcomes. The discussion highlights the critical role of health workers, from nurses to doctors, and the importance of building skills, teamwork, and communication to improve early diagnosis and reduce complications. Experts share insights on training approaches, challenges faced, and the transformative impact of mentorship and continuous professional development in Kenya, Tanzania, and beyond. This episode offers valuable lessons for health systems strengthening and sets the stage for our next conversation on sustainability.Quality Innovations in Maternal and Newborn Health - Connecting Citizens to Science - In this first episode of our three-part miniseries, "Transforming Maternal and Newborn Health," we dive into a groundbreaking... -
Join us as we focus on how capacity strengthening in healthcare can transform maternal and newborn care outcomes, in the second episode of our three-part miniseries, "Transforming Maternal and Newborn Health". The discussion highlights the critical role of health workers, from nurses to doctors, and the importance of building skills, teamwork, and communication to improve early diagnosis and reduce complications.
Experts share insights on training approaches, challenges faced, and the transformative impact of mentorship and continuous professional development in Kenya, Tanzania, and beyond. This episode offers valuable lessons for health systems strengthening and sets the stage for our next conversation on sustainability.
Chapter List:
00:00:00 – Introduction to Capacity Strengthening
00:01:11 – Role of Health Workers in Maternal and Newborn Care
00:02:19 – Challenges in Achieving High-Quality Care
00:04:52 – Impact of Continuous Professional Development
00:05:51 – Real-Life Improvements in Diagnosis and Care
00:09:28 – Competency-Based Training Approaches
00:12:20 – Shifting Attitudes and Respectful Maternity Care
00:14:01 – Research Integration and Policy Influence
00:16:13 – Key Advice for Capacity Strengthening
00:20:06 – Conclusion and What’s Next
In this episode:
Dr. Rael Mutai, Regional Technical Advisor (MNH), Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine Tropical
Rael is a public health specialist with over 21 years’ of experience in health and development. She is passionate about health systems strengthening, Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights and Quality Maternal and Newborn Health. Rael has been involved with the programme in the last 3 years, as the Regional Technical Adviser for Kenya and Tanzania. The Programme uses global evidence customised to country context for improved maternal and newborn outcomes. The programme has addressed gaps in ANC-PNC service delivery through capacity building of healthcare workers and integrated approaches to care.
Dr. Leonard Katalambula – Lecturer, University of Dodoma
Dr. Katalambula is the Head of the Department of Public Health at the University of Dodoma (UDOM), where he has worked for over 15 years. He also serves as Board Chairperson for Action Against Hunger (Tanzania) and is a technical committee member of TWG 6, focusing on reproductive, maternal, child, and adolescent health. An experienced researcher with publications in implementation science and public health, Dr. Katalambula leads projects on Quality Improvement of Integrated HIV, TB, and Malaria Services during antenatal and postnatal care, as well as the MEGA project. For the past 15 years, he has worked closely with communities, addressing challenges through research and community services.
Sylvia Kimtai – Midwife, Uasin Gishu County
Sylvia is currently attached to the county reproductive health office coordinating the elimination of maternal-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B and also quality improvement. She has been involved in ANC/PNC and quality improvement training supporting Kenya and Tanzania in both face-to-face and blended learning
Sylvia mentors nurses, midwives, and clinical officers on quality improvement in ANC/PNC in Uasin Gishu County, also supporting sub-county reproductive health coordinators in the mentorship of service providers on ANC/PNC. Passionate about quality improvement, she has a WhatsApp platform where facility quality improvement chairpersons share best practices and challenges.
Useful links:
A Collaborative Approach to Improving Maternal and Newborn Health in Tanzania or Saving LivesImproving antenatal and... -
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In this first episode of our three-part miniseries, "Transforming Maternal and Newborn Health," we dive into a groundbreaking quality improvement programme that has made significant strides in integrating HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria services into antenatal and postnatal care across Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania.
We explore emerging evidence on how health systems can adapt and respond to changing landscapes, including the impact of COVID-19, to deliver better outcomes for mothers and newborns. Featuring insights from leading experts, we discuss the challenges, successes, and innovative approaches that have strengthened the capacity of health workers and improved access to essential care. This episode sets the stage for the next discussions on capacity building and sustainability, making it a must-listen for anyone interested in global health and health systems strengthening.
Chapters:
00:00:00 – Introduction and Series Overview
00:01:30 – Responding to COVID-19 and Building Resilience
00:03:20 – Maternal Health Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa
00:04:45 – Strengthening Health Workforce Capacity
00:06:20 – Key Findings and Lessons Learned
00:08:04 – Addressing Gender-Based Violence and Mental Health
00:09:17 – Practical Impact and Stories from Nigeria
00:11:54 – Next Steps and Future Recommendations
00:14:19 – Adapting to COVID-19 Challenges
00:17:15 – Final Advice and Conclusions
In this episode:
Dr. Rael Mutai, Regional Technical Advisor (MNH), Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine Tropical
Rael is a public health specialist with over 21 years’ experience in health and development. She is passionate about health systems strengthening, Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights and Quality Maternal and Newborn Health. Rael has been involved with the programme in the last 3 years, as the Regional Technical Adviser for Kenya and Tanzania. The Programme uses global evidence customized to country context for improved maternal and newborn outcomes. The programme has addressed gaps in ANC-PNC service delivery through capacity building of healthcare workers and integrated approaches to care.
Prof. Charles Ameh - Programme Lead, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Charles led the implementation of the GF ANC/PNC quality improvement programme in the last 3 years. This involves identifying problems and co-creating solutions with stakeholders in Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria. Key interventions designed and tested during this programme are relevant to several communities: maternity care providers, researchers, MNH programme managers, health professional associations and regulatory bodies, training institutions, women of reproductive age and their families in LMICs.
Dr. Oladipo Aremu, Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist, Adeoyo Maternity Teaching Hospital , Oyo State, Nigeria
Dr Oladipo Aremu has been involved in research work relating to post-partum haemorrhage, maternal and child health for the last three years. His contribution to the post-partum haemorrhage research has helped to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality. During the period of the research, the cost of the drug administered on patients resulted in remarkable cost savings when compared to cost of blood transfusion. Previous research activities involved in also contributed to improvement in respectful maternity care and upgrading the health worker-patient relationship.
Useful links:
Empowering Health Workers: Nigeria's Positive Shift in Maternal & Newborn Care fuels Policy ChangeThis is a film from the WOMAN Trials at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, as part of the Healthier Together series presented by the WHO... -
In this episode, we examine the critical role of health systems financing, especially in fragile and conflict-affected settings. Our expert guests discuss how different governance challenges, external actors, and political landscapes shape health financing. We explore strategies to make efficient use of resources and ensure essential services for vulnerable populations. (See ‘useful links’ for links to the other 5 episodes from the series).
Chapters:
00:00 – Introduction to the Podcast and Today’s Topic
01:00 – What is Health Systems Financing?
02:56 – Challenges of Health Financing in Crisis Situations
05:17 – The Role of External Actors in Health Financing
07:34 – The Complexity of Parallel Health Systems
09:30 – Financing for Long-Term Recovery
13:22 – Health Financing Innovations and Examples from the Field
17:26 – Advice for Improving Health Financing in Crisis Settings
20:34 – Final Thoughts and Next Episode Teaser
In this episode:
Dr. Maria Bertone – Reader, Institute for Global Health and Development, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh
A health systems specialist with extensive experience in health financing, governance, and service delivery in fragile and conflict-affected settings.
Dr. Awad Mataria - Director, UHC/Health Systems, WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean
Since his early life – born in a refugee camp and spending childhood under occupation – and throughout his professional career, Dr. Mataria developed a special interest in working in fragile and conflict-affected settings. He is an expert in health economics, focusing on conflict-affected settings and global health system reforms.
Dr. Ibrahim Bou Orm – Lecturer, Institute for Global Health and Development, Queen Margaret University Edinburgh
A leading expert in health systems and financing, with deep knowledge in governance and health system recovery in conflict-affected regions, particularly in the Middle East.
Useful Links
Non-state and informal actors in fragile settings - Connecting Citizens to Science - In this episode, we explore the critical role of non-state actors and informal providers in health systems within fragile settings. Our guests share insights on their legitimacy, roles during emergencies, and the challenges they face. This is the fourth episode in the six-part miniseries "Stories of Resilience: Local Lives and Health Systems," brought to you by ReBUILD for Resilience.Migration, displacement and health systems - Connecting Citizens to Science - In this fifth episode of our six-part miniseries, we examine the intersection of migration, displacement, and health systems in fragile settings. With over 1 billion people on the move globally, including 84 million forcibly displaced, this episode addresses the challenges and opportunities that migration presents to health systems. Our co-host, Dr. Joanna Raven, joins us alongside Professor Fouad Fouad and Dr. Santino Severoni, to share their experiences and insights on how health systems can respond to the needs of migrants and refugees through integration, cultural changes, and evidence-based practices.The Health Workforce in Times of Crisis - Connecting Citizens to Science - This episode is the third part of the six-part mini-series "Stories of Resilience: Local Lives and Health Systems," brought to you by ReBUILD for Resilience. In this episode, we discuss the challenges faced by the health workforce in fragile settings such as conflict zones and areas hit by political and economic crises. Our guests share their first-hand experiences and insights on how health systems and workers strive to provide care under extreme... -
In this fifth episode of our six-part miniseries (see notes for 'useful links' to other episodes), we examine the intersection of migration, displacement, and health systems in fragile settings. With over 1 billion people on the move globally, including 84 million forcibly displaced, this episode addresses the challenges and opportunities that migration presents to health systems.
Our co-host, Dr. Joanna Raven, joins us alongside Professor Fouad Fouad and Dr. Santino Severoni, to share their experiences and insights on how health systems can respond to the needs of migrants and refugees through integration, cultural changes, and evidence-based practices.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to the discussion on migration, displacement, and health systems resilience in fragile settings
01:00 Meet the Experts: Professor Fouad Mohammad Fouad and Dr. Santino Severoni
02:56 Global Migration and Displacement: Setting the Scene
07:56 Challenges Faced by Health Systems
09:13 Integration and Parallel Health Systems
13:11 WHO's Role and Strategic Approaches
17:11 Examples of Good Practices from Different Countries
21:48 Final Thoughts and Advice for Future Work
24:12 Conclusion and Next Episode Teaser
In this episode:
Dr Joanna Raven - Reader in health systems, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Jo has worked in global health for more than 25 years, focusing on strengthening health systems. Jo is a researcher with a passion for co-designing and implementing health system research with local stakeholders including community members, health workers, health managers and decision makers. As a health worker herself, Jo’s work focuses on supporting the health workforce to deliver people-centred care that is of good quality and leaves no one behind.
Dr. Fouad Fouad - Professor of Global Health and Social Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Fouad has extensive research on migration and health, focusing on multidisciplinary approaches to forced displacement, health systems in humanitarian settings, and the political economy of health in protracted crises. Fouad is also the IDRC Chair of the Forced Displacement Program in the Middle East and the Co-Director of the Refugee Health Program at the Global Health Institute. His role as a member of several technical working groups, including the WHO Global Consultation on the Health of Migrants and Refugees and the Global Research Agenda on Health and Migration, underscores his expertise and influence in the field. Fouad served as a commissioner in the UCL-Lancet Commission on Migration and Health (2018) and is currently a commissioner in the Lancet Commission on Health, Conflict, and Forced Migration.
Dr. Santino Severoni - Director of the WHO Department of Health and Migration, World Health Organization
Dr. Severoni is the Director of the Department of Health and Migration at WHO headquarters in Geneva. With over 24 years of experience, he has held senior roles at the WHO Regional Office for Europe and worked globally in health sector reforms, system strengthening, and complex emergency management. His career includes serving as WHO Representative in Albania and Tajikistan. Since 2011, he has focused on public health aspects of migration, leading efforts to implement global migration and refugee compacts and coordinating WHO’s first World Report on the Health of Refugees and Migrants.
Useful links
WHO global action plan on promoting the health of refugees and migrants, 2019–2030Promoting the health of refugees and migrants: experiences from around the world - Compendium referenced by Dr. Santino -
In this episode, we explore the critical role of non-state actors and informal providers in health systems within fragile settings. Our guests share insights on the legitimacy, roles and challenges of informal and non-state actors. This is the fourth episode in the six-part miniseries "Stories of Resilience: Local Lives and Health Systems," brought to you by ReBUILD for Resilience (see ‘useful links’ for links to the other episodes from the series).
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Connecting Citizens to Science
00:14 Overview of ReBUILD for Resilience
00:31 Non-State Actors and Informal Providers in Health Systems
01:12 Introducing the Guests
02:31 Understanding Non-State and Informal Actors
03:19 Current Situations in Myanmar and Sierra Leone
04:59 Roles and Impact of Informal Providers
07:59 Challenges and Coordination in Crisis Situations
14:02 Advice for Improving Health Systems in Fragile Settings
18:04 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
In this episode:
Dr. Karin Diaconu - Reader, Research Lead, Institute for Global Health and Development
Karin is a health policy and systems researcher interested in how to achieve better health outcomes for disadvantaged groups and persons living in fragile, conflict affected and vulnerable settings. She has been involved with the ReBUILD for Resilience programme since it began and is interested in understanding how communities and health systems can better work together to support health, particularly in situations where communities have often been disempowered due to longstanding crises.
Dr. Kyu Kyu Than - Research Director, Burnet Institute Myanmar
Kyu Kyu is a health system researcher from Myanmar who is passionate about advocating for gender-equitable and inclusive healthcare access for the most vulnerable population. She is currently a Research Director at Burnet Institute Myanmar and is also one of the Principal Investigator for the ReBUILD consortium. Her expertise and leadership in public health have earned her recognition both nationally and internationally, making her a pivotal figure in shaping health policies and initiatives in Myanmar. She is a researcher who is well known for her dedication and courage towards health policy shift for the health care workers in the least developed communities.
Ayesha Idriss - Principal Investigator, ReBUILD for Resilience - Sierra Leone, Institute for Development (IfD)
Ayesha is a seasoned pharmacist, dedicated educator, and accomplished multidisciplinary researcher. As the research lead at the Institute for Development (IfD) for the ReBUILD for Resilience programme, Ayesha focuses on strengthening health systems in fragile and conflict-affected states. Her research addresses critical health challenges in Sierra Leone, including non-communicable disease interventions, Community Health Workers (CHW) motivation and health policy implementation. Pursuing a PhD in Global Health at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, her doctoral research enhances healthcare delivery in diverse communities, including the informal health sector, emphasising culturally sensitive approaches. Ayesha’s work bridges research and practice, fostering positive change in healthcare systems and promoting equity in access to healthcare services.
Useful Links;
The Health Workforce in Times of Crisis - Connecting Citizens to Science - This episode is the third part of the six-part mini-series "Stories of Resilience: Local Lives and Health Systems," brought to you by ReBUILD for Resilience. In this episode, we discuss the challenges faced by the health workforce in fragile settings such as conflict zones and areas hit by political and economic crises. Our guests share their first-hand experiences and insights on... -
In this episode, we discuss the challenges faced by the health workforce in fragile settings such as conflict zones and areas hit by political and economic crises. Our guests share their first-hand experiences and insights on how health systems and workers strive to provide care under extreme conditions. This episode is part of the six-part mini-series "Stories of Resilience: Local Lives and Health Systems," brought to you by ReBUILD for Resilience (see 'useful links' for links to the other episodes from this series).
During this episode, there are repeated references to war and conflict with first-hand experiences of illness and trauma which you may find distressing.
Chapters
00:00 Welcome to Connecting Citizens to Science
00:42 Introduction to the Health Workforce in Fragile Settings
01:20 Insights from Dr. Nasher Al-Aghbari in Yemen
01:46 Global Challenges with Dr. Jim Campbell
02:32 Welcoming Remarks by Dr. Kim Ozano
02:53 Dr. Wesam Mansour on Health Workers in Gaza
04:08 Dr. Nasher’s Experiences in Yemen
07:39 The Role of WHO with Dr. Jim Campbell
10:53 System vs. Individual Resilience
12:46 International Support and Building Resilience
15:18 Emergency Response vs. Long-Term Efforts
17:21 Health Worker Migration Issues
21:55 Key Advice for Strengthening Resilience
24:48 Concluding Remarks and Call to Action
In this episode:
Dr Wesam Mansour, Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, UK.
Wesam is a physician, a Paediatric and Neonatology Specialist and a Fellow at the International Society for Quality in Healthcare (ISQua), with a Ph.D. in Health Policy and Management. At Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Wesam is a research associate at the Department of International Public Health. For the ReBUILD programme, she coordinates the work with ReBUILD’s country partners, particularly those in Lebanon.
Dr Nasher Al-Aghbari - Head of Paediatric Department, Al-Thawra General Modern Teaching Hospital, Sana'a, Yemen.
Nasher Al-Aghbari is a paediatric consultant in the Paediatric Department at Al-Thawra General Teaching Modern Hospital in Sana’a, Yemen. He is the Head of the Paediatric Emergency Department. He is also a member of the Teaching Panel in the Arab Board Membership. He has undertaken research for the past 15 years. As part of his Masters degree and PhD at LSTM, Dr. Al-Aghbari worked on blood diseases in children in Africa and Yemen and pulmonary childhood tuberculosis in Yemen.
Mr Jim Campbell - Director of the Health Workforce Department, World Health Organization, Geneva.
Jim Campbell is the Director of the Health Workforce Department at the World Health Organisation. He oversees the development and implementation of global public goods, evidence and tools to inform investments in the education, employment and retention of the health and care workforce in pursuit of global health security, universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Useful links:
Gender, health systems resilience and equity - Connecting Citizens to Science - In the second episode of a six-part mini-series by ReBUILD for Resilience, we explore the intersection of gender and health systems in fragile settings. Hosted by Kim and co-hosted by Abriti Arjyal from HERD International, the episode features insights from Dr. Rouham Yamout from the American University of Beirut and Dr. Val Percival from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA) at Carleton University. The discussion covers the impact of gender dynamics on health systems during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and armed conflicts, emphasising community-led, participatory approaches to promote gender equality and resilience... -
Gender and Health Systems in Fragile Settings
In the second episode of a six-part mini-series by ReBUILD for Resilience, we explore the intersection of gender and health systems in fragile settings (see 'useful links' for links to the other episodes from this series). Hosted by Kim and co-hosted by Abriti Arjyal from HERD International, the episode features insights from Dr. Rouham Yamout from the American University of Beirut and Dr. Val Percival from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA) at Carleton University. The discussion covers the impact of gender dynamics on health systems during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and armed conflicts, emphasising community-led, participatory approaches to promote gender equality and resilience in health systems.
Chapters
00:00 Welcome to Connecting Citizens to Science
00:29 Exploring Gender and Health Systems Resilience
01:17 Introducing Our Experts and Their Perspectives
02:30 The Impact of Gender on Health Systems and Resilience
03:22 Global Insights on Gender, Health, and Resilience
10:05 Participatory Approaches to Addressing Gender Norms
18:21 Concluding Thoughts and Advice on Gender in Health Systems
21:05 Farewell and Invitation to Explore More In this episode
In this episode:
Abriti Arjyal -Research Manager, HERD International
Abriti is leading on HERD International’s qualitative and participatory approaches in ReBUILD for Resilience. She has a focus on gender and intersectionality. She has experience in public health, health systems, service delivery research, social science and gender and equity. She has led formative and operational field studies, evaluation studies, and literature reviews, developing expertise in design, implementation and analysis of qualitative research, rapid ethnography and various community and participatory based approaches. Most of Abriti’s work has focused on gender and resilience, including maternal and child health, antibiotic resistance, disaster risk reduction and resilience, nutrition, diabetes and violence against women.
Dr. Rouham Yamout – Project Coordinator, American University of Beirut
Rouham works at the American University of Beirut. She was a medical doctor for 20 years before moving into public health where she now focuses on health system research and strengthening access to quality healthcare. She has extensive research experience with projects involving internally displaced people’s mental health, the ethics of research in war time and waterpipe smoking among adolescents. Rouham has worked for International Red Cross where she was a trainer in the clinical management of rape and sexual assault, Lebanese University as an instructor in research design for nursing students and in UN organisations looking at immunisation, nutrition and refugees’ health.
Dr. Valerie Percival - Associate Professor, Norman Paterson School of International Affairs
Val’s research focuses on the impact of violent conflict on the health of civilians, backlash against gender equality, as well as gender norms and health care delivery. She is a Commissioner for The Lancet Commission on Peaceful Societies through Health and Gender Equality and led the research and writing of the Commission Report published in September 2023. In partnership with the Aga Khan Foundation of Canada, she is the Principal Investigator for GenLab – a Community of Practice in Mozambique - that works to understand how gender norms influence access to and delivery of healthcare services. She held at fellowship at the Wilson Center in Washington DC. She has worked with the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, the International Crisis Group directing their Kosovo office, the UNHCR, and PRIO.
Useful links:
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Exploring Health Systems Resilience with Experts.
This podcast episode, hosted by Dr. Kim Ozano and co-hosted by Professor Sophie Witter, engages in an insightful discussion on health systems resilience, particularly in fragile settings affected by violence, conflict, pandemics, and other shocks. This conversation is part of a mini-series titled 'Stories of Resilience - Local Lives and Health Systems', powered by the ReBUILD for Resilience research consortium (see 'useful links' for links to the other episodes from this series).
The episode features insights from Dr. Sushil Baral of HERD International and Dr. Seye Abimbola from the University of Sydney, who share their experiences and reflections on building resilience in health systems. The discussion navigates the complexities of resilience as a concept, emphasising the importance of community engagement, co-creation, and adopting a learning approach to health systems strengthening. The panel explores the balance between self-reliance and demanding accountability from government systems, addressing the power dynamics and the necessity of a fair distribution of responsibilities across levels of governance.
In this episode:
Dr. Sophie Witter - Professor of International Health Financing and Health Systems, Institute of Global Health and Development, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh
Sophie has worked in health and development for the past 35 years, starting with development roles at Save the Children and moving on to academia. Much of her work has focused on reducing financial barriers to accessing health care – how can people get the essential care they need without having to make terrible sacrifices? – but she has also worked on many other important health system topics, such as incentivising health care workers and health system strengthening more generally. All of her research is oriented towards implementation – how to make systems work better for people, especially those who are most disadvantaged.
Dr Sushil Baral - Managing Director, HERD International
Dr. Baral, hailing from a remote hill district in Nepal, brings over two decades of experience in health systems, public health policy, and implementation research, with a particular focus on South Asia. His contributions have significantly impacted national and global health systems, policies, and public health agendas. He emphasises evidence-based practices tailored to local contexts, reflecting a dedication to global health research excellence. Dr. Baral's academic journey highlights innovative problem-solving and substantial contributions to health systems, policies, and disaster response in fragile and shock-prone settings in LMICs.
Dr Seye Abimbola - Associate Professor of Health Systems, University of Sydney, Australia
Seye Abimbola is a health systems researcher from Nigeria, where he has worked at the National Primary Health Care Development Agency on initiatives to strengthen the Primary Health Care system across the country so that it can deliver integrated health services to communities. Seye has also been involved in research on how decentralisation affects health system performance and how community health committees influence and support health services in their own communities. Seye is currently based at the University of Sydney in Australia, where his teaching and research focus on knowledge practices in global health, health system governance, and the adoption and scale-up of health system innovations.
Useful links:
The Health Workforce in Times of Crisis - Connecting Citizens to Science - This episode is part three of the six-part mini-series "Stories of Resilience: Local Lives and Health Systems," brought to you by ReBUILD for Resilience. In this episode, we discuss the challenges faced by the health -
Welcome to another episode of the Connecting Citizens to Science podcast, where we explore the dynamic role of public involvement in advancing health research. In this episode, hosted by Dr. Kim Ozano, we delve into the impactful world of Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) with insights from the PPI Summer School at the University of Limerick.
Episode Guests:
Dr. Jon Salsberg - Senior Lecturer in Primary Healthcare Research, University of Limerick
A dedicated public health researcher, Dr. Salsberg has an academic background in health promotion and development anthropology. His research primarily explores the dynamics of research partnerships and the transition of research leadership from academic institutions to community stakeholders.
Over his career, Dr. Salsberg has been involved in collaborative research with a diverse array of stakeholders, including patients, health practitioners, community organisations, policymakers, and health service decision-makers. His extensive work with indigenous communities includes his significant involvement in the Kahnawake Schools Diabetes Prevention Project, which is detailed here (http://www.ksdpp.org/) .
In this episode, Jon discusses the evolution and impact of the PPI IGNITE Network.
Lora Ruth Wogu - Founder and CEO of Sickle Cell and Thalassemia Ireland
Lora Ruth Wogu is an Allied Health Professional and a passionate advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in healthcare, focusing on quality patient care for migrants and individuals with disabilities. As the founder and CEO of Sickle Cell and Thalassemia Ireland, she champions initiatives to educate and improve care for those affected by these conditions. Lora also leads the Migrant Health Alliance, aiming to enhance research participation and address barriers faced by migrant communities in healthcare settings. Her work is driven by a commitment to ensuring compassionate, competent, and inclusive healthcare for all, making her a respected voice in health advocacy and policy discussions.
Lora shares her experiences with engaging migrant communities in health research.
Alison Johnson - keynote speaker PPI Summer School 2023
Alison is a passionate advocate for patient, public, and carer involvement in healthcare, focusing on serious medical conditions. Her work in PPI began as a research participant, evolving into roles as a collaborator, where she champions the inclusion of patient and carer voices in health research. A lifelong learner, Alison's voluntary efforts extend to mentoring researchers and advising on best practices for effective patient engagement.
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Thank you for tuning in, and we look forward to having you join us in the halls of the PPI Summer School this June!
Want to get involved?
If you would like your own project or programme to feature in an episode, get in touch with producers of Connecting Citizens to Science, the SCL Agency.
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In this episode, we discuss meaningful participation and inclusion when working with marginalised communities. We draw on research approaches from the Reducing the Burden of Severe Stigmatising Skin Diseases (REDRESS) research programme that aims to reduce illness, stigma, social exclusion, and poverty caused by severe stigmatising skin diseases (SSSDs) in Liberia. Since 2019 REDRESS has been co-developing new knowledge together with researchers, patients and programme implementers that directly respond to priority health needs detailed in the country’s ‘Investment Plan for Building a Resilient Health System’.
Hannah Berrian who is a Research Fellow for the Patient Engagement and Person-Centred Approaches thematic area for REDRESS and Shahreen Chowdhury, a researcher and PhD student at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine join us in a discussion about participation and inclusion and how these impact the partnerships and power dynamics that exist when trying to improve the health and wellbeing of marginalised people.
Episode guests:
Miss Hannah Berrian - Research Fellow, UL-PIRE Africa Center
Hannah Berrian obtained a Master’s degree in Public Health (MPH) from Cuttington Graduate School of Professional Studies in Liberia. She served as Liberia’s Mental Health Research Capacity Building Coordinator for Youth FORWARD, the U.S.-National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) funded project from a collaboration between the Boston College of Social Work in Massachusetts, U.S., College of Medicine of the Allied Health Sciences (CoMAS) of the University of Sierra Leone, and UL-PIRE Africa Center at the University of Liberia, respectively.
She has several years of professional experience in project management, qualitative and quantitative research, programme implementation, qualitative data analysis, and building capacity for mental health research, among others. Hannah is a Research Fellow for the Patient Engagement and Person-Centred Approaches thematic area on Health Systems Strengthening for Reducing the Burden of Severe Stigmatizing Skin Diseases (REDRESS) consortium.
Ms Shahreen Chowdhury - Research Assistant, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Shahreen Chowdhury is a social scientist, with a background in public health and geography. She currently works as a research assistant and PhD student at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. She obtained her Masters in Public Health in International Development at the University of Sheffield and has varied local and international NGO experience in diverse settings on community health programmes.
Shahreen is particularly interested in the links between equity, mental health and disability inclusion, and community based participatory research. Her PhD explores mainstreaming the rights of people with psychosocial disabilities in Bangladesh, Liberia and Lebanon. In her current work, Shahreen is passionate about using creative participatory methods to amplify the voices and experiences of vulnerable groups affected by chronic illness and disability. Shahreen has extensive experience in working with co-researchers using photovoice, storytelling and art based participatory methods. Shahreen works in Neglected Tropical Disease programmes in West Africa and South Asia with a focus on co-production, designing, implementing and evaluating case detection and community based psychosocial support systems.
Useful links:
DOWNLOAD A TOOLKIT FOR PARTICIPATORY HEALTH RESEARCH METHODS - Download and access a toolkit of PHR paradigms, methodologies and methods that can be selected and applied by researchers aiming to maximise inclusion, participation, and the achievement of more equitable research partnerships. -
In this two-part mini-series we are focusing on health systems strengthening- what it is, how to do it and what action is needed to ensure that the approach is embedded in discussions at key global events and discussion platforms.
This episode follows on from the first episode from the Centre for Health Systems Strengthening at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (episode 60) which focused on the health diplomacy and how researchers can advocate for health systems strengthening approaches and community voices in health diplomacy spaces.
Today we hear from two advocates who have been acting within health diplomacy spaces and as researchers. We hear from Emmanuel Zaizay, who is affected by the Neglected Tropical Disease Buruli Ulcer, about his experience of growing skills and capacity to communicate the needs of people affected by stigmatising neglected tropical diseases.
We also hear from Maurine Murenga, a TB advocate who has represented the TB community in high level UN meetings. She is open and honest about both the strengths and opportunities of being an advocate, but also what this means to her on a personal level. Her open reflections are really critical to how researchers function when engaging with communities.
Episode guests:
Dr Kerry Millington - Research Uptake Manager, Liverpool of Tropical Medicine
Kerry has been working in global health for over 20 years with a keen focus on ending the tuberculosis epidemic. A key part of her work is developing trusted relationships with range of stakeholders to work in partnership, in collaboration and in a coordinated way ensuring the academic and health professional voice credibly informs decisions that impact on health. This can range from co-creating research ideas to influencing policy and political commitments. A key stakeholder to engage with is the voice of TB survivors and advocates to accelerate action for those in most need of innovations in TB care and prevention to transform lives.
Maurine Murenga - Coordinator of TB Women Global
Maurine Murenga is a passionate advocate for the health, development and human rights of women and children. Maurine’s passion for advocacy is driven by her lived experience, and the inequality and vulnerability that young women and adolescent girls experience in her community.
Maurine is currently the coordinator of TB Women Global, Board Member of Unitaid, Friend of the Fight US and EGPAF Kenya. She is a former board member of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria and is also a member of WHO's Global Accelerator for Pediatric Formulations Advisory and Union Working Group Gender Equity in TB. In Kenya – Maurine is a member of the Global Fund Country Coordinating Mechanism and Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV Committee of Experts.
Emmanuel Zaizay – Co-researcher and advocate, REDRESS, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Emmanuel Zaizay is from Lofa County, Voinjama District. He works with REDRESS as a coresearcher and was recruited as a patient affected person having been diagnosed with Buruli ulcer. He also serves as a data collector, working in photovoice settings and participatory methods such as bodymapping and focus group discussions.
Useful links:
S8E3 - Being a co-researcher with lived experience of an NTD - Emmanuel Zaizay, who is a peer researcher in the REDRESS programme and is affected by Buruli Ulcer, a neglected tropical disease, features in this earlier epsiode. He shares with us the value of learning new skills, through becoming a co-researcher, which has helped him better connect with his community and contribute to the improvement of medical and... -
Hello Listeners! In this episode we are joined by the Centre for Health Systems Strengthening at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, also known as CHESS. In this first episode of a two-part mini-series focusing on health systems strengthening, we talk about health diplomacy and why it is needed.
We hear from Dr. Joanna Raven and Dr. Kerry Millington, who have both been working in global health for over 20 years and are passionate about embedding both health systems strengthening approaches and community knowledge into political commitments and policy reforms.
Bringing a perspective from the fields of maternal and child health, lung health and tuberculosis, Dr Uzochukwu Egere co-hosts this episode where we discuss health diplomacy as a new field for academics and healthcare professionals. One that is about making connections, sharing intel and learning how the United Nations and other High-Level Meetings work, so we can effectively share evidence quickly in often extremely short windows of opportunity, so policy makers can listen and act.
Dr Uzochukwu Egere - Senior Research Associate, Emergency Obstetric and Quality of Care Unit, Department of International Public Health (Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine)
Uzo is a paediatrician and public health researcher with extensive experience in multidisciplinary global health research. His research interest is in implementation research and health systems strengthening to tackle inequities in the fields of Maternal and Child health, Lung health and Tuberculosis. Uzo’s work focuses on health and health systems challenges relevant to low-and middle-income settings and facilitates interactions between researchers and consumers of research outputs (the community) to ensure timely policy change, uptake of interventions, and universal health coverage.
Dr Joanna Raven - Reader in health systems, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Jo has worked in global health for more than 25 years, focusing on strengthening health systems. Jo is a researcher with a passion for co-designing and implementing health system research with local stakeholders including community members, health workers, health managers and decision makers. As a health worker herself, Jo’s work focuses on supporting the health workforce to deliver people-centred care that is of good quality and leaves no one behind.
Dr Kerry Millington – Research Uptake Manager, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Kerry has been working in global health for over 20 years with a keen focus on ending the tuberculosis epidemic. A key part of her work is developing trusted relationships with range of stakeholders to work in partnership, in collaboration and in a coordinated way ensuring the academic and health professional voice credibly informs decisions that impact on health. This can range from co-creating research ideas to influencing policy and political commitments. A key stakeholder to engage with is the voice of TB survivors and advocates to accelerate action for those in most need of innovations in TB care and prevention to transform lives.
Research programme links:
ReBUILD for Resilience - Research on health systems in fragile contexts
PERFORM2scale – Scaling up PERFORM
ReDRESS - Strengthening people-centred health systems for people affected by severe stigmatising skin diseases in Liberia
LIGHT - Aims to support policy and practice in transforming gendered pathways to health for people with TB in urban...
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In this episode we will be hearing about a seven year research programme known as COUNTDOWN. COUNTDOWN consisted of multidisciplinary research teams across 4 countries- Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Cameroon and used co-production research approaches to improve the equity and efficiency of health systems interventions to control and eliminate seven Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Research was implemented at each of the health system levels from policy to community and is all documented in the Journal ‘International Health’ as a supplement entitled Stronger together: evidence for collaborative action on neglected tropical diseases. The supplement tells the story of how the programme engaged with people who have lived experience, health workers, and policy makers and really emphasises the importance of togetherness.
Our guests today are Dr Luret Lar who was the programme manager employed by Sightsavers Nigeria, a collaborator on the COUNTDOWN programme, Dr Karsor Kollie who is the Program Director for Neglected Tropical Diseases at the Ministry of Health Liberia and Laura Dean from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine who was the Social Science lead for COUNTDOWN.
Dr Laura Dean – Lecturer, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Laura has worked for the last 15 years in the use of participatory health research methodologies to support community and health systems development across sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia. Through participatory action research projects, she supports capacity strengthening within communities and health systems so that stakeholders can identify challenges and co-produce solutions. The majority of her work has focused on increasing inclusion and participation of people with lived experience of mental health conditions and chronic infectious diseases of poverty, for example neglected tropical diseases.
Dr. Luret Lar - Medical Doctor, Public Health Physician, Lecturer, University of Jos, Nigeria
Luret was involved in implementation research for seven years in collaboration with Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine when she was working for Sightsavers. Her interest and passion about preventive medicine and including the voices of the voiceless have influenced her research career over the years. Luret was interested in inclusivity at all levels of implementation in the neglected tropical diseases programme. This connected her with people affected by neglected tropical diseases and implementers at the community facility, state, and federal levels. She worked closely with these implementers to co-produce solutions to implementation challenges that everyone collectively identified.
Karsor Kollie – Programme Director, Ministry of Health, Liberia
Since 2011, Mr Kollie has established and headed the Liberian Integrated NTDs Prevention and Control Programme and is based within the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. He developed the NTD country master plan which forms the operational national guide for the next 5 years.
Under his leadership the Liberian programme is making excellent progress in MDA control of Lymphatic Filariasis, Onchocerciasis, Schistosomiasis, Soil-transmitted Helminthiasis (STH) where treatment coverage has not gone below 75%, respectively. Alongside this, he is making significant progress in the development and application of new monitoring and evaluation criteria tailoring activities effectively with difficult on-the-ground terrain.
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Follow Connecting Citizens to Science on your usual podcast platform or YouTube to hear more about the methods and approaches that researchers apply to connect with communities and co-produce solutions to global health challenges.
The podcast covers wide ranging topics such as NTD’s, NCD’s, antenatal and postnatal care, mental wellbeing and climate change, all linked to...
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In this episode we are talking about the FEPOW Research Group. FEPOW stands for Far East Prisoners of War, and it focuses on capturing the history of civilian captives during the second World War and the impact that this has had on subsequent generations.
The group brings together veterans, their families, writers, and academics to create a friendly space to capture stories that we can learn from and apply to research now.
Approximately 240,000 Allied servicemen had become prisoners of war of the Japanese by early 1942. Over 50,000 British were captured during the fighting in Hong Kong, Malaya, at the fall of Singapore and across the former Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). The 415-kilometre Thailand-Burma railway was built by Far East prisoners of war (FEPOW) who were part of a huge slave labour force drafted from across the region. The railway provided the Japanese with a vital supply route for their fighting forces in Burma. It was forged through raw jungle, across mountain passes and was completed in a little over 15 months in October 1943. Of the 30,000 British FEPOW sent to camps in Thailand and Burma over 6,600 died.
For this episode, we welcome a new co-host, Geoff Gill from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, where he has been involved with research and clinical care of former Far East prisoners of war.
He has led the medical history inquiries into Far East imprisonment, resulting in two recent books, Captive Memories, and Burma Railway Medicine. We also have two great guests, Brian Spittle and James Reynolds.
Geoff explains to us “I think one of the things I've learnt over the years, is that there are many different ways of telling a story and there's no one right way there, there are many different ways.” and in direct reference to the stories shared directly from the FEPOWs and their archives “It's a story worth learning from, and I think we have receptive generations to tell it to.”
This episode features:
Prof. Geoff Gill – Professor of International Medicine, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Geoff Gill is Professor of International Medicine at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) and the University of Liverpool, and a retired NHS Consultant Physician. At LSTM he has been involved in the medical care of ex-Far East Prisoners of War (POWs), as well as extensive clinical research into their ongoing health problems – notably persisting malaria and amoebic dysentery, chronic worm infestations, hepatitis B infection, long-term effects of vitamin deficiency, and the extensive psychological aftermath. He has published extensively on these and other POW-related health issues. More recent research has involved the medical history of the Far East POW experience, in particular on the Thai-Burma Railway. This resulted in a PhD degree in 2009, and the book Burma Railway Medicine (with Meg Parkes) published in 2017. The LSTM Far East POW Project has been in operation in different forms since late 1945, and is the longest collaboration in the School’s history.
Brian Spittle
Brian grew up in the UK and in his mid-twenties moved to the United States to pursue postgraduate studies. He has lived in Chicago for the past forty years, retiring from a career in higher education administration six years ago. His father, Jack Spittle, was in the RAMC during the Second World War, arriving in Singapore at the end of November 1941. He worked in the dysentery wing at Roberts Hospital at Changi, and followed the hospital moves to Selarang and Kranji. A keen ornithologist, he made detailed observations of the birds at Changi, publishing them after the war in the Bulletin of the Raffles Museum. It was only after his father died in 2004 that Brian found the notebooks he had made in captivity. Brian is close to completing a memoir about his own journey to understand more of Jack Spittle’s time as a POW and...
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Have you heard the term SciArt before? In this episode, we explore what it is and the benefits of combining art and science as a research and communication tool.
Our Co-host for this episode is Elli Wright, Public Engagement Manager at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Elli told us ‘...effective science communication can really connect people and communities with research. Science communicators and public engagement professionals want to reduce the elitism built into society with regards to who is allowed to access scientific knowledge. Science belongs to all of us which is why effective science communication is so important. There are many ways that science can be communicated to the diverse public audience, including through art.’
Natasha Niethamer shared with us, ‘the more we engage others about public health concerns that require global efforts to fight, the more likely we are to inspire community action, driving interest in policy makers and funders. Directly inspiring even one teacher, parent, young person, or community member may indirectly inspire a large network of their own. You may inspire the next major activist of our generation!’
Listen on to find out more about how a playful approach can bring new insights to your work.
This episode features:
Dr Elli Wright - Public Engagement Manager, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Elli has been working in the science communication and public engagement sector at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine for nearly 8 years. She is currently studying an MSc. in science communication at the University of the West of England, which has given her a stronger understanding of the theories behind science communication practices. Her research explores the use of autoethnography as a tool to the co-creation of the Tropical Medicine Time Machine by artists Tom Hyatt and Natasha Neithamer (also featured in this episode).
Mark Roughley - Senior Lecturer 3D Digital Art, Liverpool John Moores University
Mark is a Senior Lecturer in 3D Digital Art at Liverpool School of Art and Design and a member of the Face Lab research group that explores faces and art-science applications. Mark trained as a medical artist, gaining his MSc in Medical Art from the University of Dundee, and specialises in visualising anatomy through 3D data acquisition, modelling and fabrication. His research focuses on the affordances of 3D digital technologies for both digital and haptic interaction with anatomical and cultural artefacts. Mark is also the programme leader for the MA Art in Science programme, which provides exciting opportunities for artists and scientists to collaborate and explore the boundaries of art and science.
Tom Hyatt - PhD Student at the Liverpool School of Art & Design, Liverpool John Moores University
Tom is a polymathic artist, musician, scientist, educator, and maker from Rossendale, Lancashire. After graduating with a Masters in physics and philosophy from Oxford University he moved to London to pursue grassroots music and a career in the arts, while teaching maths and physics. He moved back up to Liverpool after receiving a PhD scholarship to study at the Liverpool School of Art and Design. Recently he has been working with Natasha Niethamer to create the ‘Tropical Medicine Time Machine’ for LSTM – a multifaceted piece of sci-art public engagement that encompasses the length and breadth of LSTM’s prolific 125 years.
Natasha Niethamer – SciArtist, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Natasha is a SciArtist commissioned to create a pop up museum for LSTMs 125th Anniversary, along with a set of interactive loan boxes for use in local primary schools. Natasha has a special interest in sci-art activism and public outreach in microbiology and antimicrobial resistance. In 2020, she graduated from the MA Art in...
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In this episode, we are going to celebrate World Malaria Day with our co-host and guests. This year's theme is Time to Deliver Zero Malaria, and it is focused on investing, innovating, and implementing tools that are available today and innovating for future tools.
WHO calls to action include prioritising funding for the most marginalised and hard to reach populations who are less able to access services and are the hardest hit when it comes to becoming ill from malaria. To help us understand more, we have co-host, Dr. Hellen Barsosio, who is a medical Kenyan doctor who has been investigating risk factors, tools, and interventions to prevent adverse birth outcomes, and more recently research on preventing malaria in pregnancy. She is in her final year of her PhD at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine under the Department of Clinical Science, where her PhD focuses on new drugs to prevent malaria in pregnancy.
The WHO also calls for stepping up innovation for new vector control approaches, so we have two guests with us today to help us to understand what those are.
We will be speaking to reader and Wolfson Fellow, Dr. Grant Hughes, and reader, Dr. Tony Nolan from the Vector Biology and Tropical Disease Biology Department at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Tony has led the development of genetic tools to better understand the biology of mosquitoes that transmit malaria, and this has led to the development of genetic approaches to control mosquito populations. This is to decrease the amount of malaria transmission. Tony is also using some of these tools to understand how insecticides work, and in particular, how mosquitoes can evolve resistance to insecticides.
Grant is currently focusing on novel control strategies for arboviruses and malaria, and his overarching goal is to develop approaches which will either reduce mosquito numbers, or stop these mosquitoes transmitting the pathogens that make people ill.
This episode features:
Dr Hellen Barsosio - Clinical Research Scientist and section Head Maternal and New-born Health Studies, Malaria Program, KEMRI-CGHR
Over the past 11 years, Hellen has been investigating risk factors, tools and interventions to prevent adverse birth outcomes, and more recently research on preventing malaria in pregnancy as one of the causes of adverse birth outcomes in malaria endemic areas. She trained in Kenya as a medical doctor, and did her post-graduate studies at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and University of Oxford. She is in the final year of her PhD at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine under the department of Clinical Science where her PhD work focuses on new drugs to prevent malaria in pregnancy.
Dr Tony Nolan - Reader in Insect Genetics and Research Group Leader, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Tony has led the development of genetic tools to better understand the biology of mosquitoes that transmit malaria. This has led to the development of genetic approaches to control mosquito populations, in order to decrease the amount of malaria transmission. Tony is also using some of these genetic tools to understand how insecticides work and, in particular, how mosquitoes can evolve resistance to insecticides.
Dr Grant Hughes - Reader and Royal Society Wolfson Fellow, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Grant has been investigating the use of microbes to control mosquito-borne diseases for over 15 years. After undertaking a PhD at the University of Queensland in Australia looking at microbial control of crop pests, Grant moved to the US to complete a post-doctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to examine how a bacteria called Wolbachia infected mosquitoes and interacted with Plasmodium parasites, the parasites that cause Malaria. After further work at Penn State University, working on...
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In this episode we are celebrating World TB Day, this year’s campaign is ‘YES! We Can End TB’ and is all about solidarity and collective action. It centres on the increased engagement of those affected by TB, communities and civil society that are leading the movement towards ending this disease.
This episode features the LIGHT consortium which aims to provide new evidence on the effectiveness of different gender-sensitive pathways and approaches to health for those with TB in urban, HIV-prevalent settings across Uganda, Nigeria, Malawi and Kenya. Our co-host Samara Barnes, who has lived experience of TB in the UK, speaks with researchers Toyosi Adekeye in Nigeria and Jasper Nidoi in Uganda from the LIGHT consortium about the ways they are enaging with affected communities in their work. Samara also shares her experience from the UK and the conversation reflects on the differences of TB across contexts.
This episode features:
Samara Barnes Affected Community Co-Lead at the UK Academics and Professionals to End TB (UKAPTB)
Samara is an Affected Community Co-Lead at the UK Academics and Professionals to End TB (UKAPTB). She was diagnosed with active pulmonary TB in late 2015 and it was discovered she was also drug resistant as her treatment went on.
Until that point, Samara knew little about the illness apart from the fact that her Grandad had died of TB many years previously. Samara has raised money for TB Alert and has been part of their peer supporter programme too. She has also studied and written papers on the Global disparities in TB treatment. It is important for Samara to raise awareness of this illness, be an advocate for reducing the stigma surrounding it and to encourage decision makers in the UK to ensure they keep to their commitment of a year on year reduction of TB and contribute to the WHO's commitment to eliminate TB by 2035. Samara works for a national children's charity and is also a borough and county councilor.
Dr Jasper Nidoi - Early Career Researcher, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, U.K and Makerere University Lung Institute, Uganda.
Jasper Nidoi is a Ugandan medical doctor with specialist training in health economics and health systems and policy research from Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. For over 5 years, she has been involved in the design and implementation of clinical trials that have evaluated drugs for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases in Uganda. She is a health economist on a clinical trial that is evaluating the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of standardized medication for MDR-TB. She was a co-investigator in a study that evaluated the impact of socio-economic factors on tuberculosis treatment outcomes in one of the poorest regions in Uganda.
Her research interests are in the socio-economic determinants of health as they pertain to tuberculosis and the use of decision-analytic models to systematically synthesise data for the economic evaluation of healthcare interventions to guide policy that maximises resource allocation in the presence of uncertainty.
Dr Jasper Nidoi joins the LIGHT Consortium as a researcher where she will contribute to generating evidence on gender-sensitive pathways and approaches for TB to increase the proportion of men in urban areas with TB who successfully complete screening and initiate treatment.
Dr Toyosi Adekeye - Senior Lecturer Department of Community Medicine and primary Healthcare Bingham University and Research Uptake Manager, LIGHT Consortium Zankli Research Centre (ZRC) Nigeria
Dr. Adekeye is a Medical Doctor and Public Health expert who serves as a senior lecturer in the Department of Community Medicine and Primary Healthcare and the LIGHT consortium Research Uptake Manager, at the Zankli Research Centre (ZRC), Bingham University, New Karu, Nasarawa State where he manages and coordinates all
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In this episode we are celebrating International Women’s Day (IWD). This year’s theme is #EmbraceEquity and aims to get the world talking about why "equal opportunities are no longer enough" - and can in fact be exclusionary, rather than inclusive.
We will be discussing the differences between the terms equity and equality and why is it important to understand, acknowledge and value this.
Definitions of these terms are provided by IWD campaign, they highlight the differences.
• Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities.
• Equity recognises that each person has different circumstances, and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome.
To explore what this means in reality, we have two guests who will speak about the work they are doing to promote equity. They unearth differences as well as similarities across their respective contexts, but draw the same conclusions,
“... it's a process. It takes time. You do get some gains and you should celebrate those. So don't feel frustrated and its small steps and nudging and knowing who to reach out to. Most importantly, listening to the voice of the community and those that we want to work with, that's the most critical part”.
About our guests:
Dr Lilian Otiso - Executive Director, LVCT Health
Dr. Lilian Otiso is the Executive Director of LVCT Health, a large Kenyan NGO that carries out programs on HIV, sexual & reproductive health, gender-based violence, mental health and community health reaching over 1 million individuals annually.
She is a medical doctor with an MBA in Health Care Management currently pursuing a PhD in Global Health at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Her PhD topic is on accountability for universal health coverage among pregnant adolescents/teenage mothers. Lilian has over 15 years’ clinical, programming and research experience in government and NGO sectors at senior management level. She has been a Principle Investigator and co-investigator of several research studies. She is passionate about the community and has conducted several studies and projects on community health. She has contributed to Kenyan and global WHO guidelines and policies and published several documents and peer reviewed articles. She is the winner of the Trocaire Oscar Romero Award 2021 for protecting vulnerable communities during COVID 19.
Dr. Renu Khosla - Director, Centre for Urban and Regional Excellence (CURE)
Dr. Kholsa is the Director of the Centre for Urban and Regional Excellence (CURE). Her core values are designed to include, level-up and connect urban low-income communities. She seeks to unthink and reimagine slum development; nudging a change from top-down to bottom-up and state to people-led development. Her work is aimed at strengthening local government capacity for: participative planning, information visualization and analytics using spatial and social media technologies, localizing and de-engineering solutions and strategies and simplifying institutions. Her work has led to deepening of the policy discourse on urban poor and access to services.
Want to hear more podcasts like this?
Follow Connecting Citizens to Science on your usual podcast platform or YouTube to hear more about the methods and approaches that researchers apply to connect with communities and co-produce solutions to global health challenges.
The podcast covers wide ranging topics such as NTD’s, NCD’s, antenatal and postnatal care, mental wellbeing and climate change, all linked to community engagement and power dynamics.
If you would like your own project or programme to feature in an episode, get in touch with producers of Connecting Citizens to Science, the SCL Agency.
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In this episode we celebrate International Women’s Day by revealing the hidden gender inequities that lead to gender-based violence and more importantly what can be done to instigate change.
It is the first of two episodes celebrating International Women’s Day and features a Kenyan community based participatory research project by Beate Ringwald (PhD student) from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine who worked in partnership with LVCT Health (including our guests) and 11 community co-researchers from Gitathuru village in Korogocho. The study aimed to strengthen community capacity to prevent intimate partner violence and HIV.
Veronica Mwania and Maria Muthoki take us through a participatory research journey, discussing the ways that they engaged co-researchers whilst considering and addressing power structures of inequity. They talk about how knowledge was generated through creativity, dialogue and awareness raising which was embedded and transferred to communities through drama, word of mouth and art.
More about our guests:
Maria Muthoki – Researcher, Kemri, LVCT, Infinite Insight (among others)
Maria Muthoki is a freelance researcher based in Nairobi, Kenya and has 14 of years of professional research experience. She has done both social and market research, involving mainly qualitative and sometimes quantitative methods. Maria Muthoki worked with LVCT Health, as part of the Accountability for Informal Urban Equity Hub (ARISE), to support this community-based participatory PhD study on the intersections of HIV and intimate partner violence in an informal settlement in Nairobi. She worked with a diverse group of community co-researchers from an informal settlement. While her main role was documentation and management of data, she also supported co-researchers to analyse data and disseminate findings. Maria loves talking to people and understanding their viewpoint on the studies that she conducts.
Veronicah Mwania - Independent Researcher, Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)
Veronica Mwania has a background in applied psychology and has been an independent researcher for 17 years in Kenya. She has worked for LVCT Health on various research studies, including the participatory study that we will be hearing about in this episode. She is currently working with the Kenya Medical Research Institute on a study involving mental health screening for adolescents who are living with HIV.
Veronica’s work in this project blended intersectionality and participatory research approaches working with a diverse group of community co-researchers who were equal partners in the research process. Intersectionality links theory and action – the formation of theory through practice by marginalised groups and the use of knowledge to challenge inequalities in everyday life. By applying a participatory health research approach, the team sought to mitigate the risk of their research being a closed space, reproducing unequal power structures, and being irrelevant. In line with participatory and intersectionality research guidelines, they paid attention to power, time, space, and diversity of knowledge; and promoted reflexivity, equity, and opportunities for collective action.
Useful links:
• A research journey that brought power theories to life: Lessons from Korogocho, Kenya | ARISE [Blog]
• The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on community-based participatory research: Reflections from a study in an...
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