Connecting Citizens to Science

In this week’s episode we hear from Nafisa Musa Isa, Deputy Director Family & Community Health, Kaduna State, Nigeria, and Dr. Olubunmi Akinboye, Director Public Health, Oyo State Ministry of Health, Nigeria. Together with co-host Lucy Nyaga, we discuss the community structures that are being considered within the Global Funded ‘ Quality Improvement (QI) of integrated HIV, TB, and malaria...

In this episode, the focus is on Tanzania. Together with co-host Lucy Nyaga, we have conversations with Dr Ahmad Makuwani, Assistant Director, Reproductive Health & Child Health, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Tanzania, Dr Leonard Katalambula, Head of Department of Public Health, University of Dodoma and Dr Rukia Bakar Rajab, Dean, School of Medicine, State University of Zanzibar. We d...

In this week's episode co-host Lucy Nyaga , together with guests Amina Baraka , a Nursing Officer in charge of Vihiga County Referral hospital and Fatuma Iman , a Reproductive Health Coordinator in Garissa County discuss their involvement in the ‘ Quality Improvement (QI) of integrated HIV, TB, and malaria services in Antenatal and Postnatal care (ANC and PNC)’ programme funded by the Global Fund...

In this week’s episode we hear from Dr. Leonard Katalambula, the project lead of the ‘Quality Improvement for Integrated HIV, TB and Malaria Services during Antenatal and Postnatal care’ in Tanzania and Dr Uzochukwu Egere, Senior Research Associate, Emergency Obstetric and Quality of Care Unit at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM). Together with co-host Lucy Nyaga, Country Director a...

This week’s episode features Philip Ode, a Programme Officer/Mental Health Focal Point from CBM Global Disability Inclusion, Nigeria and Tarry Asoka, a consultant in health and development. Together with co-host Tosin Adekeye, they discuss the development and delivery of an essential care package for integration of mental health and Neglected Tropical Diseases, including how communities and people...

This episode features Emerson Rogers, the NTD case management lead in the Ministry of Health Liberia and Eric Whey, the mental health and psychosocial coordinator for Grand Bassa County Health Team, Liberia. Together they discuss how Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) and mental health services are being integrated at the primary health care level and the importance of advocating for sustained ser...

In this week’s episode we hear from two community health workers about the work they have been doing to improve mental health services for people affected by neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) as part of the REDRESS programme in Liberia. Satta Sonnie Kollie in Lofa County, Liberia is a community health services supervisor and peer researcher; and Harrison Wenjor in Grand Gedeh, Liberia is the foca...

In this week's episode we hear from Emmanuel Zaizay who is a peer researcher in the REDRESS programme and is affected by Buruli Ulcer, a neglected tropical disease. He shares with us the value of learning new skills, through becoming a co-researcher, which has helped him better connect with his community and contribute to the improvement of medical and psychosocial services for people living with...

In this thoroughly engaging episode, we hear from Dr. Steven Watiti who works for  Mildmay Uganda, a leading HIV and AIDS service organisation, about living and aging with HIV and AIDS. Steven shares his story of family life, courage, loss, survival, learning, and advocacy. He speaks about the importance of mental health support and social capital when living with a lifelong health condition...

In this episode, we hear from Dr Rugema Lawrence from the University of Rwanda and Dr Julian Eaton from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and CBM Global Disability and Inclusion. Together they discuss the links between stigma, discrimination, mental wellbeing and chronic health conditions including Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), how these issues are currently being addressed...

In this week's episode we hear from Detricia Pamba, a patient advocate for people living with diabetes and Prof Kaushik Ramaiya from Shree Hindu Mandal Hospital, Tanzania. Together they paint a vivid picture of what life is like for people living with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in East Africa and what is needed to improve long-term, ‘humanised’ care for patients living with NCDs. Detric...

In this weeks episode we have a conversation with Professor Sayoki Mfinanga, Director and Chief Research Scientist for NIMR Muhimbili Cenre, Honorary Professor of Global Health at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Dar es Salaam, and Adjunct Professor at Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Arusha. Professor Sayo...

In this week's episode, we will be talking about the economic impact of non-communicable diseases or NCDs on east African communities. Guests include Dr. Steven Waititi, a Patient representative on Respond-Africa Partnership and author of “ Conquering HIV and AIDS: My personal experience of living with HIV ” and Josephine Birungi, a Senior Research Scientist based at Medical Research Council/Ugand...

In this series we are talking about responding to the challenge of non-communicable disease in East Africa together   In recent decades, rates of non-communicable diseases (NCD), such as diabetes and high blood pressure have risen sharply in sub-Saharan Africa and are now linked to approximately 2 million deaths per year. Countries across the continent are rapidly looking to address this new...

In this episode we hear from Mary, a TB survivor who shares her inspirational journey from initial sickness to embarking on multiple complex treatments, lengthy isolation, recovery and finally to unending dedication to offer support, positivity and hope for others living with TB. Key learning and lessons in this story for researchers, policy makers and global health planners. Mary  Mpakibi Re...

On this episode we are delighted to be joined by Dr Brunah Schall, post-doctoral researcher at Fiocruz Minas in Brazil, and Dr Julia Smith, assistant professor at Simon Fraser University in Canada. We hear from our speakers about the gendered dynamics of the Covid-19 pandemic, focusing on research which has been conducted in Brazil and Canada as part of the multi-country Gender and Covid-19 projec...

Featuring guest speakers Dr Bintu Mansaray, Lead Research Consultant at the Institute of Gender and Children’s Health Research in Sierra Leone, and Dr Tara Tancred, a senior research associate at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, in today’s episode we hear about doing participatory research with highly vulnerable populations, focusing on women who have survived trafficking and the importa...

In this week’s episode we focus on climate change and its impacts on malaria specifically. Our guests Remy Hoek Spaans from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and Clinton Nkolokhosa from the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme (MLW) will be discussing the effect of floods in Malawi created by extreme weather events and their impact on malaria. Our guests talk about:&...

In this episode we are joined by Dr Sara Parker, Reader in Development Studies at Liverpool John Moores University and Professor Madhusudan Subedi from the Patan Academy of Health Sciences and the Tribhuvan University in Nepal, who will be talking to us about their work on women’s reproductive health and dignity in Nepal, with a focus on understanding menstrual stigmas and engaging with communitie...

In this week’s episode we hear from Dr Ana Bonell and Dr. Aliyu Nuhu Ahmed from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine about environmental degradations from climate change that impact health in The Gambia. The expected increase in heat and reduced rainfall in The Gambia is one of the most significant health threats caused by climate change. However, little is known about the gendered d...

In this week’s episode we hear about citizen science approaches for tackling flooding and waterborne hazards in Ethiopia. Our guests Dr Alemseged Tamiru Haile, Senior Researcher from the International Water Management Institute and David Warne, Professor of Environmental Systems Modelling from Newcastle University are part of the GCRF Global Water Security and Sustainable Development Hub. Their wo...

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 states that we need to “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts”. The consideration of energy is a central focus for climate change experts as it is responsible for “nearly three-quarters of global emissions”, with energy consumption being one of the biggest sources of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.  SDG7 calls for “affordable,...

In this week’s episode we hear from our co-host Robinson Karuga in his role as a Research, Evaluation and Learning Manager at LVCT. Robinson has been part of a team implementing a participatory action research approach to improve health and wellbeing in two informal settlements in Nairobi. Robinson shares with us:  How data collected with community co-researchers using photovoice (see S4...

In this week’s episode we talk about COVID-19 and how travel and public health restrictions presented challenges to ensuring that urban marginalised voices were heard by researchers and policy makers in India and Bangladesh. Our impressive guests Professor Sabina Faiz Rashid and Senior Research Fellow Dr. Surekha Garimella discuss the importance of having established long-term relationships with p...

In this week’s episode we will be discussing the intersections between research and activism for social change. With our guests Vinodkumar Rao and Joseph Kimani, we will be seeking to understand how lessons from activist approaches can be applied within research and vice versa. We will also explore how power, participation and social justice fits within the wider research agenda when seeking to en...