Global A
health
experts
awarded
£3.5m to
promote
health
services
in fragile
settings
SIGNIFICANT RESEARCH GRANT
of £3.5 million has been awarded
to global health experts at QMU
to strengthen mental health care and
treatment of diabetes and heart disease
in countries with weak health systems.
The grant, awarded by the National
Institute for Health Research (NIHR), will
help researchers in QMU’s Institute for
Global Health and Development work
with colleagues in Lebanon and Sierra
Leone where the ravages of war, civil
unrest and the impact of the refugee crisis
present huge challenges to the delivery
of these vital services. This is one of only
13 NIHR Global Health Research Units
that was granted funding (in this round
of grant distribution) across the UK, with
four grants being awarded to Scottish
institutions.
The research team will look at ways
of strengthening the resilience of health
workers and clinics, and the work of local
community groups, to develop new ways
of providing vital services in even the
most fragile of circumstances. According
to the World Health Organization,
non-communicable diseases (NCDs)
such as heart attacks, strokes, cancers
and diabetes kill 38 million people a year
with almost three quarters of these deaths
occurring in low and middle-income
countries. Mental health issues create
a huge burden of suffering in countries
troubled by instability.
Professor Alastair Ager
Professor Alastair Ager, Director of
QMU’s Institute for Global Health and
Development, explained: “Promoting
good health and delivering effective health
services in countries affected by years of
unrest or adversity is a challenging task.
By building on the relationships we have
developed with researchers and health
leaders in Lebanon and Sierra Leone we
have an opportunity to develop innovative
approaches to address these challenges.
If we find ways of delivering these services
in these countries, we could learn lessons
to share in other fragile situations.”
Tackling U
the spread
of drug-
resistant
tuberculosis
NIVERSITY RESEARCHERS ARE
taking an innovative approach
to tackling the transmission of
drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB)
within health facilities in South Africa.
The Institute for Global Health &
Development is a leading partner on a
major new £1.7 million grant awarded
under the Cross Research Council
Tackling AMR initiative.
IGHD at QMU is recognised as a world
leader in two major areas of research
– health systems and mental health
provision. This research grant will bring
together these two major strands. The
£3.5m grant will allow QMU to collaborate
with the College of Medicine and Allied
Health Sciences (COMAHS) at the
University of Sierra Leone, and the Global
Health Initiative at the American University
of Beirut.
Professor Ager concluded: “This
important research builds on ideas
developed as part of our ReBUILD
consortium, which focused on the study
of post conflict health systems recovery
in Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Uganda and
Cambodia; and in an ongoing project
funded by the Wellcome Trust and UK
Aid looking at the resilience of the health
care system after the influx of refugees
from Syria to neighbouring countries.
We are delighted to continue to work in
partnership with colleagues in Beirut and
Sierra Leone, who will be key to making
this research have real influence on the
lives of people in these countries facing
the growing challenges of mental ill-health
and non-communicable disease.”
Professor Fiona Coutts, QMU’s
Dean of Health Sciences, said: “This
is a significant grant which will help to
impact the lives of people who have
been affected by traumatic situations in
fragile countries. Importantly, this work
also has the potential to improve health
outcomes for communities across many
different countries. It confirms QMU’s
excellent reputation in global health
and development, and strengthens our
ambition of being a university of ideas
and influence.” ❒
QMU’s Dr Karina Kielmann will work with
partners at London School of Hygiene and
Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) to develop
data that will inform the design of a health
systems intervention package to reduce
the transmission of DR-TB within health
care clinics in South Africa.
Find out more at the News section of
QMU’s website www.qmu.ac.uk ❒
South Africa has one of the highest
burdens of drug-resistant tuberculosis in
the world, with more than 20,000 people
diagnosed with DR-TB in 2015.
QMYOU / Health & Rehabilitation
11