Call for Proposals for £4m Research in non-communicable diseases in Africa

By Esther Nakkazi

GSK has launched a £4m call for proposals for scientific research into non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Africa. The first funding round, will support successful proposals from researchers in Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Ghana, The Gambia, Nigeria, Kenya,Uganda and Malawi.

The proposals will be through GSK's Africa NCD Open Lab, established by GSK earlier this year, with a commitment of £25m funding over five years, as part of a series of strategic investments in sub-Saharan Africa.

Dr. Mike Strange, Interim Head of the Africa NCD Open Lab, said: “We believe the highly collaborative research network we’re creating through the Africa NCD Open Lab has the potential to dramatically improve understanding of NCDs in Africa – and could ultimately, accelerate the development of new, better medicines to treat these.

“The launch of our first call for proposals is an important milestone for this initiative, and we encourage researchers working in the field of NCDs who are based in the eight eligible countries to consider applying for the funding and expert support available to them through this.”

NCDs including cancer and diabetes, are becoming more prevalent, across the developing world, and more research is needed to understand more about how – and why – these diseases manifest differently in this setting.

The Africa NCD Open Lab aims to address this through the creation of an innovative research network that will see GSK scientists collaborate with researchers across Africa on high quality epidemiological, genetic and interventional research, from its hub at GSK’s Stevenage R&D facility in the UK.

It will specifically inform interventions for the prevention and treatment of five priority diseases - cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease and chronic respiratory disease – while helping build local expertise and creating a new generation of African NCD experts.

An independent external advisory group, comprising clinical and scientific experts in the field of NCDs, will review applications to the NCD Open Lab, with recommendations for funding based on scientific merit. The group will consist of a majority African membership to ensure that only locally-relevant research is funded.

A second call for proposals in South Africa is planned for early in 2015 which will be launched in collaboration with the Medical Research Councils of South Africa and the UK, with a combined £5m funding.
For more information, or to submit a research idea for consideration, please visit http://www.gsk.com/africa-ncd-openlab.

WHO declares Uganda Marburg Free

11/11/2014

Hon. Sarah Achieng Opendi
Minister of State for Health – Primary Health Care

MINISTRY OF HEALTH
P. O. BOX 7272,
KAMPALA - UGANDA

Press Statement

Today, the Ministry of Health wishes to inform the Public that the country is officially declared free of the Marburg Virus Epidemic. The declaration comes after completion of 42 days of the Post Marburg Surveillance countdown period which is a prerequisite of the World Health Organization (WHO) requiring any affected country to monitor the situation of any Viral Hemorrhagic Fever for that period before finally declaring an end to the outbreak.

The outbreak of the epidemic was declared on October 4th 2014 following laboratory tests done at the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) which confirmed that one person, a health worker, had died of the viral hemorrhagic fever.

The index case was a 30-year-old male Radiographer, who originally was working in Mpigi Health Centre IV, Mpigi Town Council but had been recruited by Mengo Hospital two months before his death on September 28th 2014 at Mengo Hospital.

The Ministry of Health informs the general public that since then, there have been no Marburg cases reported in the country. This implies that the Marburg outbreak in the country has completely been controlled. Marburg is a highly infectious viral hemorrhagic fever that is spread through direct contact with, body fluids like blood, saliva, vomitus, stool and urine of an infected person. A person suffering from Marburg presents with sudden onset of high fever with any of the following; headache, vomiting blood, joint and muscle pains and bleeding through the body openings like the eyes, nose, gums, ears, anus and the skin.

From 4th October 2014 when the outbreak of Marburg was declared, the National Task Force on epidemics took up the coordination of all interventions geared towards combating the epidemic.

Additionally, the district taskforces of Kasese, Mpigi and Ibanda were alerted to trace all people who could have got into contact with the confirmed case. Consequently four isolation centers were set at; Mulago National Referral Hospital, the National Isolation Centre in Entebbe, Mpigi Health Centre IV and in Kagando Hospital in Kasese.

During the period of the outbreak, a total of 197 people were followed up for three weeks in Kampala, Mpigi and Kasese districts. These are people who got into contact with the confirmed case either during his sickness or after death. During this time, eight of these contacts developed symptoms similar to those of Marburg. However, their results tested negative for the Viral Hemorrhagic Fever at the Uganda Virus Research Institute.

A total of 13 samples were also collected from different parts of the country (Ibanda, Lira, Kitgum, Jinja, Gulu, Luwero and Kampala ) as part of a wider surveillance network during the period. On a good note however, they all tested negative for the Marburg virus.

By 20th November, all the contacts had completed their 21 days of monitoring and apart from the 8 who required laboratory investigation and tested negative; the rest did not develop symptoms which confirms that none contracted the virus. An additional 21 days of surveillance was carried out to make 42 days as a requirement for management and control of viral Haemorrhagic fevers.

The Ministry of Health urges the public to reduce the risk of wildlife-to-human transmission by avoiding contact with fruit bats, reduce the risk of human-to-human transmission in the community in-case of suspected cases reported by avoiding direct or close contact with suspected patients.

We urge the Healthworkers to wear gloves and appropriate personal protective equipment when taking care of ill patients.

The public is also urged to embrace regular hand washing after visiting patients in hospital, before eating and after using the toilets, to avoid infections.

Finally, the Ministry of Health recognizes the contribution of the different development partners for their support during the outbreak. Special recognition goes to the World Health Organization, the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Medicens San Frontiers, UNICEF, USAID (Communication for Healthy Communities), Airtel Uganda, Uganda Red Cross Society, World Vision Uganda, AFENET and the Media.

The Ministry of Health further acknowledges the efforts and contribution of Kampala Capital City Authority towards the control of this out break.

Lastly, the Government of Uganda once again reassures the general public that it is committed to protecting the population by ensuring that all measures are in place for early detection and immediate response to all Viral Haemorrhagic fever out breaks.

ends

Uganda based Health Organization Selected by Canada to Save the Lives of Women and Children

Press Release 

Nairobi, Kenya, November 7, 2014 – The seven-year, CA$36 million Innovating for Maternal and Child Health in Africa (IMCHA) research program today announced the selection of health organizations based in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Burkina Faso that will help put research into practice and bring the program’s results to the attention of decision-makers.

The IMCHA program was launched in May 2014 by Canada’s Minister of Health, the Honourable Rona Ambrose, on behalf of the Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie. It is a joint initiative of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

“Thanks to Canadian leadership and collective global action through the 2010 G8 Muskoka Initiative, we are seeing tangible results for the world’s women and children: fewer mothers are dying, more children are celebrating their fifth birthday, and women and children around the world have better access to quality healthcare,” said the Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie. “Canada is building on these results with a $3.5 billion commitment from 2015 to 2020. Supporting research initiatives like this one is key to finding the innovative solutions we need to end the preventable deaths of mothers, newborns and children and ensure that our programs reach those most in need.”

IMCHA is investing in scientific breakthroughs in primary health care to improve the health of women, newborns, and children in sub-Saharan Africa. It will fund approximately 20 research teams.

The selected organizations are: A consortium, which includes the Kenya based African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC); Tanzania- based East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA-HC); and Uganda based Partners in Population and Development (PPD)

The West African Health Organization (WAHO), a specialized institution of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

These organizations will bridge the gap between the research teams and decision-makers in Africa, helping to ensure that research findings are taken up into policy and that health interventions are evidence-based and effective.

“This is an important step forward in turning research into action in sub-Saharan Africa,” says Alain Beaudet, President of CIHR. “By reaching out to decision-makers, these organizations will help innovations in health care be implemented so that the lives of women, children, and newborns can be saved.”

Maternal, newborn, and child health is Canada’s top development priority. Half of the world’s maternal, newborn, and child deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Most of these deaths can be prevented by strengthening health systems on the frontlines, where primary health care is provided.

According to Dr. Alex Ezeh, APHRC’s Executive Director, "Current research shows the value of investing in a holistic approach to maternal and child health issues through public-private partnerships, reinforcing the capacity of health workers closest to mothers and children, finding innovative ways of reaching vulnerable groups, and strengthening health governance at all levels. Moving forward, getting this evidence to drive policy decisions and programmatic actions will make all the difference."

“This made-in-Canada collaboration brings leading Canadian researchers together with their colleagues in the developing world to improve the lives of women and children,” said IDRC President Jean Lebel. “The program will make health systems stronger and more accessible in the area of frontline primary health care, where it is needed most.”

Research on pressing health issues to improve the lives of mothers, newborns, and children will focus on nine sub-Saharan African countries targeted in the Muskoka Initiative: Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, South Sudan, and Tanzania.

-30-

Media Enquiries:

Gloria Lihemo
Communications and Public Affairs Officer, International Development Research Centre

Regional Office for sub-Saharan Africa / glihemo@idrc.ca /+254 727 903 983/ www.idrc.ca 

Bibiana Iraqi

Communications Officer, the African Population and Health Research Center

biraki@aphrc.org / +254 702 643 448 / www.aphrc.org 

Uganda Hosts African Science Academies Meeting

Press Release:

African Science Academies are in Uganda to Discuss Country Ownership of the Post-2015 Development Agenda. The meeting also Marks Culmination of 10-Year Initiative.

KAMPALA, Uganda – The 10th Annual Meeting of African Science Academies, hosted by the Uganda National Academy of Sciences, began today. The three-day conference’s agenda focuses on country ownership of Africa’s development in the post-2015 era.

The meeting also marks the culmination of the 10-year African Science Academy Development Initiative (ASADI), a partnership of the U.S. National Academies and several counterparts in Africa aimed at strengthening the capacity of the African academies to inform policymaking through evidence-based advice. The number of national science academies in Africa has more than doubled since the initiative began.

“It is an honor to host the annual meeting of African science academies and provide a forum for our colleagues and other distinguished experts to discuss how Africa can control its own destiny by taking greater ownership of our continent’s development agenda,” said Nelson Sewankambo, president of the Uganda National Academy of Sciences. “The meeting also gives us the opportunity to discuss how African science academies can carry forward the momentum gained during ASADI to further establish ourselves as trusted sources of independent advice on science, technology, and health policy matters.”

The conference began with the release of a new report from several African science academies titled “Mindset Shifts for Ownership of Our Continent’s Development Agenda,” which recommends several catalysts for giving all sectors of society a greater stake in and shared responsibility for development goals. It describes how five levers -- communities, institutions, education, health, and capital -- all have a role to play in stimulating broader societal ownership of development agendas such as the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the U.N.’s planned Sustainable Development Goals, which will build upon the Millennium Development Goals that expire in 2015.

The InterAcademy Council, a multinational organization of the world’s science academies, also released a report at the conference titled “Enhancing the Capacity of African Science Academies: The Final Evaluation of ASADI.” The panel that authored the report concluded that ASADI succeeded in meeting its objective to increase the African academies’ capacity to be effective sources of evidence-based advice, thus allowing them to occupy a unique civic space in their respective societies. The report also draws on lessons learned during ASADI to make recommendations about the future shape of science academies in Africa.

“We are pleased that our collaboration has resulted in African science academies being increasingly well-positioned to offer authoritative advice to their respective governments,” said Enriqueta Bond, chair of the ASADI board and president emeritus of the Burroughs-Wellcome Fund. “African science academies also are well-positioned now to engage at the international level to help address the many global challenges facing the world. We hope the impact of ASADI will last for many years to come.”

The national science academies of Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, and the regional African Academy of Sciences are partners with the U.S. National Academies under ASADI, which is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The U.S. National Academies are made up of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council.

The Network of African Science Academies also helped organize this year’s annual meeting. More information about the conference including an agenda and copy of the African academies’ report on country ownership can be found atwww.ugandanationalacademy.org and www.nationalacademies.org/asadi. The InterAcademy Council report is available at www.interacademycouncil.net.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Ann Nsubuga 
AMASA 10 Coordinator
Uganda National Academy of Sciences
annsubuga@unas.or.ug
tel. +256 414-533044 or +256 705-409-416 (mobile)

William Kearney
Director of Media Relations
U.S. National Academy of Sciences
wkearney@nas.edu
tel. +1 202-334-2144 or +1 202-450-9166 (mobile)

Tom Arrison
Executive Director
InterAcademy Council
secretariat@iac.knaw.nl

Myths about Ebola dispelled in Animation Film

By Esther Nakkazi
There is a call to the church and all clergy to join in the efforts to educate the world about Ebola led by the United Methodist Church. Commentaries by trusted leaders encourage cooperation with health programs they say.

Through the United Methodist Communications http://www.umcom.org the global communications agency of The United Methodist Church, and collaborations with Chocolate Moose Media http://www.chocmoose.com and iHeed http://www.iheed.org, a mobile-health-education innovator., they have created an animation in a free video http://www.ebolavideo.org that also calls for the local people to support the health workers and the scientists. The film is for West Africans and will dispel myths about how Ebola is spread and it will promote prevention efforts.

“Our goal is to provide education that leads to better understanding to prevent infections,” said the Rev. Larry Hollon, chief executive of United Methodist Communications in a press release.
“Ebola gains foothold in poor communities where mistrust, resistance to proper care and lack of understanding of the virus and is widespread. The church’s advantage lies in its network of trusted leaders who live in the affected regions.”

United Methodist Communications is using several approaches, including providing text messages to clergy in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

The press release further says; "I have created what I hope will be a compelling video to prevent the spread of Ebola,” said Chocolate Moose Media founder and award-winning director Firdaus Kharas. “My approach is to combine animation with non-coercive persuasion by having Africans speak to their own broader family.”

Accessed through download for local playback, all partners will distribute the video to reach as many as possible. Distribution channels include international organizations, non-governmental organizations, civil society and churches and through social media using #Ebolavideo.

"Through a combination of weak health infrastructure, inconsistent levels of education and unpreparedness, this epidemic has become a global threat,” said Dr. Kunal D. Patel, medical director of iHeed. “Digital media can fill the gaps. In combination with technologies such as mobile phones, cinemas, projectors and tablets, animated information can help."

The United Methodist Church is responding in a number of other ways in a joint effort by the United Methodist Committee on Relief, West African United Methodist church leaders and regional health boards, denominational health facilities, and others.

According to the World Health Organization, 7,470 cases of Ebola had been reported as of Oct. 3 (http://goo.gl/ni3P1M), with 3,431 deaths in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Ebola is transmitted to humans from wild animals and spreads through person-to-person transmission. Contact with the body of a deceased person can also play a role in transmission.

ends

Cancer; World Oncology Forum: “Treat the treatable”

Press release 13 October 2014

Fifty global leaders in research and treatment of cancer will gather at the Second World Oncology Forum in Lugano, 24–25 October, to draw up policy recommendations for getting effective and affordable cancer care to everyone who needs it.

The Forum has been convened by the European School of Oncology, in collaboration with The Lancet, in response to the global cancer epidemic, which is hitting low- and middle-income countries particularly hard. It is backed entirely by independent, non-commercial sponsors.

Over the course of one and a half days, participants will hear from key players about a variety of initiatives from countries across the globe that have shown to be successful in recent years. 

These range from new business models that help speed discovery and development of affordable new treatments, to healthcare models that deliver the best possible outcomes for the money available – across prevention, early detection, treatment and follow up – together with new models of healthcare financing that can provide close to universal coverage on a sustainable basis.

The participants will assess how such initiatives can be adapted for use in other settings, including the world’s poorest and most under-served communities. The Forum will conclude with a consensus statement on key policies that are urgently needed to get a grip on the rising tide of suffering and death from cancer.

Franco Cavallia, chair of the Forum’s Scientific Committee, said: “In recent years governments across the world have belatedly been waking up to the reality of the rapid rise in cancer cases among their citizens, and the toll it is taking on the social and economic life of their countries. 

But in many of the worst-hit countries, ill-founded assumptions not just at the level of governments, but also in association with international aid agencies, has skewed the policy response almost exclusively towards prevention. 

Even the richest countries are realizing that providing the best quality cancer care for their citizens is becoming unsustainable, as more people need treatment for longer periods with therapies that offer incremental improvements at very high prices.

The Forum, entitled ‘Treat the treatable’, is focused on the needs of all the men, women, and children who have cancer, and need access to early detection, effective treatment, and good follow-up care.

“It will highlight examples from countries such as Thailand, Mexico, and India that show how, with the right policies, public healthcare systems can deliver very good quality screening and care for all citizens," says the press release.

"It will look at what lessons can be learned not just by other middle-income countries, but also by low-income countries, e.g in sub-Saharan Africa, on the one hand, and by countries in the developed world on the other."

And it will also look at the balance of public-private partnerships that can facilitate the speedy and effective development of scientifically rational approaches to innovative treatments, to speed progress towards more effective and more affordable treatments.

“Governments and international policy bodies and aid agencies have the power to greatly reduce the personal, social, and economic burden of cancer among their citizens by adopting policies that have been shown to work. 

The policy statement that will come out of this Forum will be based on experience and evidence and will have the backing of 50 international leaders in cancer control. We will be calling on world leaders and everyone in a position to help make a difference to play their part.”

The policy statement will be published in The Lancet and Cancer World. The Lancet will also publish the presentations of the keynote speakers

ENDS

For further information and interview requests:

In English: Anna Wagstaff, ESO media team: +44 (0)1865 723450 or +44 (0)790-860 3790, annawag1@gmail.com
In Italian: Alexandra Zampetti, ESO WOF Secretariat: +41 (0) 91 820 0954, wof@eso.net

NOTES
a Franco Cavalli is the Scientific Director of the Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland, and Chair of the Scientific Committee of the European School of Oncology

From Ebola Now Uganda has Marburg

MINISTRY OF HEALTH
PRESS STATEMENT
5th October 2014

The Ministry of Health would like to inform the general public that there is a confirmed case of Marburg in the country.
This initial case follows laboratory tests done at the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) on September 30th 2014 which confirmed that one person, a health worker, had died of the viral hemorrhagic fever.

The index case is a 30-year-old male Radiographer, who originally was working in Mpigi Health Centre IV, Mpigi Town Council but had been recruited by Mengo Hospital two month ago as a Radiographer. He started feeling unwell on September 17th while at Mengo Hospital and travelled back to Mpigi HCIV on September 18th to seek treatment since he felt more comfortable with a facility that he had worked with for a long time.

He was treated at Mpigi Health Center IV but when his condition worsened, he was transferred back to Mengo Hospital where he was admitted on September 23rd. He presented with Headache, Epistaxis, abdominal pain, vomiting blood and diarrhea. His condition deteriorated on September 27th and a Viral Haemorraghic fever was suspected. Blood samples were removed for further analysis on September 28th; unfortunately he died on the same day. His body was taken to Munkunyu 1 Village, Munkunyu Sub-county, Kasese district for burial.

Preliminary reports also show that his brother, one of the contacts so far listed has developed signs. He has been quarantined and isolated for further monitoring. Samples have been taken from him and are being tested at the Uganda Virus Research Institute. The public will be informed of his status. Altogether 80 contacts have been listed from Mengo, Mpigi and Kasese for follow up.

Marburg Viral Haemorraghic fever is a fatal illness caused by the Marburg virus which belongs to the filoviridae family together with the Ebola virus. The incubation period ranges from 2 to 21 days while the Case fatality rates vary from 24% to 88%. Fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are considered to be the natural hosts of Marburg virus. The Marburg virus is transmitted to people from the fruit bats and spreads among humans through human-to-human transmission by direct contact with wounds and body fluids like blood, saliva, vomitus, stool and urine of an infected person.

A person suffering from Marburg presents with sudden onset of high fever with any of the following;
1. Headache
2. Vomiting blood
3. Joint and muscle pains
4. Bleeding through the body openings, i.e. eyes, nose, gums, ears, anus and the skin.
There is no specific antiviral treatment or vaccine available; patients are usually given supportive treatment.

The Ministry of Health is undertaking the following measures to control the spread of the disease;
• Yesterday, a team of epidemiologists and surveillance officers were sent to Mpigi Health Center IV, Mengo Hospital and to Kasese district to investigate the case and list all people who got into contact with the dead.
• So far, a total of 80 people who got into contact with the initial confirmed case have been identified and isolated as a precautionary measure and for follow up for any signs and symptoms within the 21 days incubation period. These include 38 health workers from Mengo Hospital, including his brother and 22 health workers from Mpigi Health Center IV and 20 people from Kasese district. They are currently being monitored by a team of epidemiologists from the Ministry of Health.
• Arrangements have been put in place to transport all suspect cases to the National Isolation Facility in Entebbe should they occur. The facility is already stocked with the necessary infection control materials and other supplies to handle any incoming patients.
• Arrangements have also been made at Mengo Hospital to isolate any suspect with symptoms. Health workers have been asked to effect all infection control measures.
• Preparations are underway to train all health workers at Mengo Hospital and Mpigi Health Center IV on infection control starting tomorrow 6/10/2014 at 9.00am
• Government working with partners and specifically Medicens San Frontiers (MSF) are in the process of revamping the isolation facility at Mulago National Referral Hospital under the leadership of Kampala Capital City Authority in readiness and the facility will be ready in three days time.
• MSF is also mobilizing additional resources to assist with infection control and case management at all the isolation facilities that have been set up.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) is providing technical assistance and logistical support (PPE’s) to all the affected facilities.
• In Kasese, a team has been dispatched to work with the district official and Kagando Hospital to trace for any other suspects.
• Personal Protective Equipments (PPE’s) and other supplies have been mobilized and sent to Mengo and Mpigi health center IV and Kagando HCIV.
• National Medical Stores will supply additional infection control materials to Mengo Hospital and Mpigi HCIV by tomorrow morning.
The Ministry of Health however informs the general Public that Mengo Hospital is safe and all measures have been taken to ensure that there is no further spread of infection. Patients are encouraged to continue to receive services from there.
Ministry of Health urges the general public to observe the following protective measures;
• Report any suspected patient to a nearby health unit
• Avoid direct contact with body fluids of a person presenting with bleeding tendencies or symptoms of Marburg.
The Ministry of Health once again calls upon the public to remain calm and be on alert amidst this epidemic. All suspect cases can be reported on the Ministry hotline on +256750996034.

Hon. Elioda Tumwesigye
Minister of State for General Duties &
Holding the Portfolio of Minister for Health