UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER |
Please share with colleagues or institutions that might be interested in our grant program. The TDR Programme invites applications for the award of Collaborative Research Grants (CRGs) to research institutions and scientists from least developed endemic countries (LDCs), and from high-burden countries for TDR target diseases on the following two research areas defined by the newly established Steering Committee on Social, Economic, and Behavioural Research (SEB):
1. Determinants of inequality of access to prevention,
therapy and
information; and 2. Implications of changing economic,
social, political and civil structures(including health
reforms) for disease persistence, emer gence, resurgence
and factors affecting them such as drug and insec
ticide resistance.
Please consult the TDR webpage: http://www.who.int/tdr/grants/workplans/seb.htm
for SEB's workplan and focus research areas for the coming years. As outlined in the workplan, SEB aims to promote and support research that critically examines social, economic and behavioural issues related to disease persistence and emergence and contributes to innovative thinking about improved control and prevention of TDR diseases.
Despite significant, global efforts over the last 50 years, communicable diseases continue to obstruct social and economic development in developing countries, and disproportionately affect the poorest and most marginalized populations. A better understanding of how social, behavioural, political, economic and health system factors operate to affect disease patterns and disease control efforts will be important for identifying future needs, opportunities and innovations for improved control of TDR diseases (African trypanosomiasis, Chagas disease, dengue fever, leishmaniasis, leprosy, malaria, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, tuberculosis).
Collaborative Research Grants are the main type of research grant awarded by TDR. They are intended to support goal-oriented research. During 2000-2003, SEB will request research proposals on the following:
A. Inequality of access to prevention, therapy and information
what factors affect access of populations to prevention,
existing therapies, and information regarding TDR diseases?
Factors that could be examined include those at the
household/community, health systems and services, and
non-health sectors/central government levels; SEB is
particularly interested in studies that consider two
or more levels and the links between them. Research
questions of particular interest include but need not
be confined to: * How can governments extend access
and improve equity through provi sion, financing and
regulation? * What are the implications of different
kinds of public/private
partnerships for equity in access to pharmaceuticals
and services? * What can be learned from existing or
past partnerships, and how might we best assess their
impact on equity? * To what extent are the needs of
vulnerable populations being met through such partnerships?
Partners might include the public sector, private-for-profit
firms, donors, NGOs etc. * How can different approaches
for increasing access to proven thera pies, prevention
and information be best utilized to contribute to improved
disease control?
B. Implications of changing economic, social, political and civil structures for infectious disease persistence, emergence and resurgence; and for drug and pesticide resistance Research questions of particular interest include but need not be confined to:
* What are the social, economic and political determinants
of drug use patterns (at household, community, health
systems and central government levels), and what are
the implications of these, e.g., for drug resistance?
* How are household choices and actions constrained
or enabled by lo cal and large scale forces and processes?
* What are the global forces and conditions promoting
or retarding
the development and equitable distribution of effective
preventive, diagnostic, and/or therapeutic technologies?
* What is the impact (positive and negative) of large-scale
economic processes and policies on the production
and availability of effec tive drugs, diagnostics
and vaccines? Examples of some large scale processes
that might be examined are questions of intellectual
prop erty rights, trade agreements, globalization,
and widening social inequalities, and decentralization
and privatisation of services.
HOW THE STEERING COMMITTEE WORKS The SEB Steering Committee will hold one meeting per year (in May/June) during which it will update its workplan, review new research proposals and monitor overall progress of the Committee. The Committee invites individual research projects with budgets normally not to exceed $25000 per year for a period of one to two years. The committee is particularly interested in supporting projects that involve South-South and South-North partnerships between institutions and individuals that will contribute to research capacity building for social science research in disease endemic countries. For group projects and, in exceptional cases individual projects, the Committee will consider projects requiring greater levels of funding.
HOW TO APPLY Collaborative Research Grant (CRG) application forms and instructions are available from TDR at: http://www.who.int/tdr/grants/grants/collgrant.htm
Please read and carefully follow the instructions for completing the application. Applicants are invited to be succinct, but may exceed the page limits given in the instructions for describing, in greater detail, the research design. If you are interested in submitting a proposal to the SEB Steering Committee an early letter of intent can be submitted to the SEB secretariat to request feedback before developing a full proposal. Application will be reviewed by the Steering Committee in June 2001.
DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF APPLICATIONS AT TDR 23 March 2001. Please let us know if we can help you with answering questions regarding this grant application program.
Sincerely,
Dr. Johannes Sommerfeld Secretary Social, Economic and Behavioural Research (SEB) Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Basic and Strategic Research Team (STR) Room L 259 CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland Tel: +41-22-791-3954 Fax: +41-22-791-4854 mailto:sommerfeldj@who.int http://www.who.int/tdr
--
Previous Menu | Home Page | What's New | Search | Country Specific |