WHO consultancy on malaria

Call for applications (Ref: 2014/03)

Application deadline: 14 July 2014

The WHO Global Malaria Programme is currently looking for a consultant to work with its Diagnosis, Treatment and Vaccines Unit on a project to stimulate the creation of a private sector market for malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) in Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, the United Republic of Tanzania (mainland) and Uganda.

The consultant will be expected to conduct a review of literature on the introduction of diagnostic testing into the private sector for diseases of public health importance other than malaria, map the landscape of international or regional efforts and the activities to harmonize regulation of in vitro diagnostic tests and develop the outline of a road map for implementing quality assured RDTs. He or she will also conduct a broad review of options for field-based quality control of malaria rapid diagnostic tests, review positive control well (PCW) specifications and investigate various potential options for future PCW use in national malaria programmes.

The consultancy is to start as soon as possible for a period of six months.

Full details can be found here.

Malaria Consortium Request for Proposal: Data collection for Thailand Malaria Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) Survey 2014

Background:

Malaria Consortium (MC) has recently announced a request for proposals to conduct the data collection for the Thailand Malaria KAP survey 2014.

The KAP Survey 2014 will provide useful information on what the KAP of Thai citizens and migrant/mobile populations are and, along with data collected in 2012, indicate how KAP is changing over time. This data will be used by partner organisations to tailor interventions to achieve maximum impact among these populations. The KAP also provides data on specific performance indicators that will help organisations evaluate contributions to malaria elimination in Thailand.

Project needs:

MC will be responsible for overall study design; ethical approval; data analysis; and report-writing for the KAP Survey 2014. MC will, however, hire a firm/institution to execute the data collection portion of the study. Specifically, the firm/institution will:

• Propose a methodology for data collection, based on the questionnaire provided by MC. The bidder is free to suggest any method of data collection; however, MC would prefer electronic means, where the bidder shall be responsible for obtaining and programming the device to be used.
• Undertake training of data collection staff under the supervision of MC.
• Pilot the final questionnaires under the supervision of MC.
• Obtain household lists for all villages/clusters in the final sample.
• Coordinate with local health officials to conduct community sensitization and data collection.
• Conduct data collection in the field using the questionnaire, under the supervision of MC.
• Submit bi-weekly reports to update MC on progress of training, data collection, etc.
• Complete data entry training (if necessary) under the supervision of MC and undertake data entry of all completed questionnaires (if paper-based).
• Provide datasets from the data entry activities to MC.
• Ensuring completed questionnaires (if paper-based) are safely delivered to MC.

Number and location of study participants:

• 1,250 households (1 person per household) in 82 villages across Thailand
•    60 households (1 person per household) in 4 refugee camps along the Thai-Myanmar border.

The proposal must include the following information:

• Completed technical and price components
• Company qualification & references
• Any additional services that MC should consider in the bid

Selection Criteria:

• Relevant experience of the bidder
• Qualifications and competence of the personnel proposed
• Adequacy of technical approach and proposed work plan
• Price                        
• Bid compliance to the RFP requirement

Submission:

All proposals are submitted to Mr. Alongkorn Nuanyai via Email (a.nuanyai@malariaconsortium.org) or to the following address:

Malaria Consortium Thailand (Chiang Mai Office)

268/10 Thung Hotel Soi 6

Thung Hotel Road

Watkate, Muang

Chiang Mai 50000

Important Dates:

•  The proposal/bid deadline is 4^th July, 16:00. All bids received after this time will not be considered.
• Winners will be informed within 30 days after the deadline
• Project duration: July – November 2014

Interested? The full Request for Proposal document, with more details about proposal structure can be found here.

If you have any questions, or are interested in applying, please contact Paul (paul.ada@mahidol.ac.th), Tim (tim.mahidol@gmail.com), or Glad (gladgeorge.rot@mahidol.edu) at the Office of Research Services. 

Wellcome Trust - Sustaining Health

The Wellcome Trust has just announced a second call for entries to their Sustaining Health grants. These grants are given to interdisciplinary research proposals for pilot projects that look to address health and sustainability challenges, specifically focusing on the interplay between health, nutrition, and the environment.

Two sub-themes are particularly of interest, though projects outside of these areas are also welcome:

• The health impact of climate change mitigation and adaptation measures
• How to feed 9 billion

Funding is 250,000GBP, but in exceptional cases can be up to 500,000GBP.

The first step in the application process is to submit a concept note, which you can download here. This is a very brief outline of your proposal (4 pages). Successful applicants will be invited to submit a preliminary application at the end of August.

Important dates:

• Deadline to submit concept note: 25 July 2014
• Invites to submit preliminary applications will be sent by 20 August 2014
• Deadline for preliminary applications: 26 September
• Invites to submit full application sent during week commencing 10 November 2014
• Deadline for full applications: 14 February 2015

For full details about the grant opportunity, please click here 

If you are interested in applying for this grant opportunity, please email  Paul, Tim, or Glad at the Office of Research Services.

International Study and Research for FTM staff and students

Australia offers several different scholarship and fellowship programs, which allow applicants from other countries to study or conduct research in Australia. Travel, tuition and living costs can be covered, and the programs run from a few weeks to several years in duration. The following information covers some opportunities which may be of interest to junior researchers and students at FTM:

1.       Australia Awards Scholarships and Fellowships – This prestigious program aims to give the ‘next generation of global leaders an opportunity to undertake study, research and professional development.’ Current scholars include scientists, and people from the ASEAN region. Click here for more information.

2.       International Postgraduate Research Fellowships – The IPRS offers both two year masters programs and three year PhD programs, in order to attract top quality postgraduate students to areas of research strength in Australia. Support is also available for dependents of successful applicants. For more information, follow this link.

You can also search through the database on this website to find programs that best suit you. If you have any further questions, or would like advice on applying, please contact ORS though paul.ada@mahidol.ac.th, tim.mahidol@gmail.com or gladgeorge.rot@mahidol.ac.th