AFRO-NETS> Call for grant applications: Strategic Social, Economic & Behavioural Research

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

Call for grant applications: Strategic Social, Economic & Behavioural Research
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Source: tdr-scientists@who.ch

TDR Increases its Efforts in Strategic Social, Economic and Behav-
ioural Research

The new Steering Committee on Strategic Social, Economic and Behav-
ioural Research (SEB) issued its first call for grant applications in 
October 2000. Over the next 2-3 years, SEB will focus on supporting 
research that increases understanding of: 

* how large-scale social and economic forces affect inequality of ac-
  cess to treatment, prevention and information related to infectious 
  diseases;

* the implications of globalization on the persistence, emergence and 
  resurgence of these diseases. 

Studies of this nature will require innovative research methods, in-
volving multi-level analyses that allow for investigation of the ef-
fects of large-scale forces on local level processes and outcomes. An 
important aspect of the Committee's work will be to support capacity 
building to conduct such analyses.

Social science research in TDR: past, present and future

 From the beginning, TDR has placed considerable emphasis on the so-
cial and economic aspects of tropical infectious diseases and their 
control. From 1979-1994, TDR supported social science research 
through its Steering Committee on Social and Economic Research (SER), 
and since 1994, applied social science research has been supported by 
the Intervention Development and Implementation Research team (for-
merly the Applied Field Research team).

In June 1999, TDR's Joint Coordinating Board (JCB) approved the crea-
tion of a new Steering Committee on Strategic Social, Economic and 
Behavioural Research (SEB). As mentioned in TDRnews No. 63, SEB is 
located within the Basic and Strategic Research team (STR) to reflect 
its focus on basic social, economic and behavioural research issues 
of trans-disease and global importance.

A Scientific Working Group (SWG) of experts from a range of social, 
economic and policy sciences met in Geneva in June 2000 to set the 
overall direction for SEB. In September, the SEB Steering Committee 
met for the first time, and developed a vision for the next five 
years and a detailed work plan for the coming two years. 

The focus of SEB reflects WHO's growing interest in the complex rela-
tionship between poverty and health. On a worldwide scale, infectious 
and parasitic diseases disproportionately affect populations living 
in poverty. Social, political and economic inequalities are central 
to the persistence and spread of these diseases, and the performance 
of health systems in protecting vulnerable populations from the im-
pact of these diseases often falls far short of potential. Over the 
next several years, the SEB Steering Committee will examine these is-
sues within the context of globalisation, the changing role of the 
state, and the emerging role of non-state actors (the private sector, 
NGO's and civil society).

For further information, please contact the SEB Secretariat:

Dr Johannes Sommerfeld
SEB Secretary
Tel: +41-22-791-3954
Fax: +41-22-791-4854
mailto:sommerfeldj@who.int

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The SEB workplan and current call for grant applications can be re-
trieved at the TDR website: 
http://www.who.int/tdr/grants/workplans/seb.htm
http://www.who.int/tdr/grants/grants/seb.htm

or requested, by regular mail, from the SEB secretariat.

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