AFRO-NETS> Call for applications - Inequality and infectious diseases research

["Dr. Johannes Sommerfeld" <sommerfeldj@who.int>]

Call for applications - Inequality and infectious diseases research
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Call for grant applications for research on inequality and infectious 
disease emergence issued by the Special Programme for Research and 
Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) at the World Health Organization. 

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 institu-
tions and scientists from least developed endemic countries (LDCs), 
and from high-burden countries for TDR target diseases on the follow-
ing two research areas defined by the newly established Steering Com-
mittee 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 re-
lated to disease persistence and emergence and contributes to innova-
tive thinking about improved control and prevention of TDR diseases. 

Despite significant, global efforts over the last 50 years, communi-
cable 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 so-
cial, behavioural, political, economic and health system factors op-
erate 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, onchocerci-
asis, 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 follow-
ing: 

A. Inequality of access to prevention, therapy and information what 
factors affect access of populations to prevention, existing thera-
pies, 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 resur-
gence; 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 re-
search 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 in-
volve 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 devel-
oping 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 Re-
search 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


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