Wits School of Public Health

The AS-SBC Summit is now one week away! We are all ready to be part of this great SBC movement. We are hosting a watch party for Day 2 of the event, and you are invited to join us for this exciting opportunity!
By attending our watch party, you'll be able to experience the energy and insights of the AS-SBC Summit in a more intimate setting. You'll have the chance to network with other industry professionals, foster valuable connections, and be a part of the current discussions.
Details for the watch party:
Date & Time: 03 July 2024, 14h00
Location: Heartlines, 281 Jan Smuts Avenue (corner Bompas) 1st Floor, Dunkeld West Centre Dunkeld.
Join us for the SBC Summit 2024 watch party and be a part of this industry-leading event. Please note, that only 30 people will be admitted for the watch party. RSVP Here: https://forms.gle/FfhRdjSMX8eiwfhM7. Please RSVP by Friday, the 28th of June 2024.
We look forward to engaging with you!

Listen up: are you a young and upcoming professional in the Social and Behavior change field? Join us for the biggest SBC event in Africa!

This is an opportunity to network with other African SBC professionals and to influence the international SBC agenda.

The event will take place on the 2nd of July 2024. The summit aims to bring together innovative concepts and practices in social and behavior change (SBC) that are tailored to the dynamic culture and context of African people. The theme for the summit is "Cultivating Resilience and Relevance," which emphasizes the need to align SBC techniques, tools, and approaches with the rapid technological and societal changes happening in Africa and around the world.

It seeks to initiate a dialogue on integrating the diverse social frameworks of the continent into SBC programming. By leveraging the knowledge and wisdom of local communities, the objective is to create SBC strategies that are sustainable, effective, and adaptable enough to meet the needs of Africa's ever-evolving narrative.

Sign up here for the Pre-Youth event: http://bit.ly/3TPorkH

You are cordially invited to The School of Public Health PhD Interim Seminar
Titled: “Exploring the HIV/ AIDS, intimate partner violence experience and poor mental health syndemic and its link with parenting amongst women in Mpumalanga"
By: Mpho Silima
Date: 02 February 2024
Time: 08:15 to 09:30
Save the date📅
Join in using the following link: https://bit.ly/3SAkX63

Are ready?
The SPH Research Day & CARTA Conference 2023 is finally here!
Plenary Session ;)

Are ready?
The SPH Research Day & CARTA Conference 2023 is finally here!
Come join us and if you're unable to join us in person use this zoom link to join online: https://wits-za.zoom.us/j/94550314736
See you then!

Call for Applications.

Deadline for Master in Epidemiology Degree Programme is: 30 June 2023
Deadline for TDR scholarship applications is: 31 July 2023

Further information on implementation research is available on the TDRwebsite.

For more information on applications, please contact
[email protected] [email protected]

You are cordially invited to The School of Public Health Research day and CARTA Conference.
Date: 14-15 September 2023
Save the date📅

The Wits School of Public Health, invites applications for two post-doctoral fellows attached to the South African Research Chair (SARChI) on the Health Workforce, held by Professor Laetitia Rispel. The research of the Chair generates new knowledge on human resources for health (HRH) and contributes to the design of more effective health workforce policies or interventions.

Closing date for applications: 03 April 2023
For enquiries kindly contact: Ms Wendy Pearsall [email protected] or 011 717 2460

You are cordially invited to The School of Public Health PhD Interim Seminar
Titled: "Computational approaches to characterizing morbidity and mortality patterns in rural South Africa"
By: Michael Mapundu
Date: 03 March 2023
Time: 08:15 to 09:15
Save the date📅
Join in using the following link: http://bit.ly/3Xc3scM
Or in person at computer lab 1

You're invited to attend interim seminar
Presenter: Twaambo Hamoong
Date: 3 February 2023
Time: 08h15 – 09h30 (SA time)
Topic: Beliefs, preferences and intention to use PrEP among pregnant and breastfeeding women in Zambia
MS Teams link:
https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3a626d2ecbb3f349bb83d64531dbf1ca45%40thread.tacv2/1614937923696?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%224b1b908c-5582-4377-ba07-a36d65e34934%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22cb7d94ec-0da9-4531-8a2c-796ba98d50b9%22%7d

Did You Know?| Associate Professor Jude Igumbor is one of the authors of a research report that illustrates the utility of the CARTA Evidence platform for rapid synthesis of evidence relevant to Africa's various pressing public health problems.

The combined research of the CARTA fellows and graduates demonstrates the difficulty of being a woman in sub-Saharan Africa and remaining impoverished throughout one's entire life. Many women are born into and remain at or below the poverty line for a variety of reasons, including lack of education, access to health care, poor nutrition, and even extreme violence. To read more about this please click on the link below.👇

We map the impact of poverty on a woman’s life course using the new CARTA Evidence platform. Research can help reverse the trend. Skip to main findings and recommendations >> Sub-Saharan Africa is home to over half of the world's extremely poor people. Forecasts show that by the year 2030, nearly nine out of every ten people living in extreme poverty in the world will call sub-Saharan Africa home. Children and women are esp

You are cordially invited to The School of Public Health PhD Interim Seminar
Titled: Mediators of delayed antenatal care initiation and child underweight in East Africa.
By: Chenai Mlandu
Date: 02 December 2022
Time: 08:15 to 09:30
Save the date📅
Join in using the following link: http://bit.ly/3OK26Sx

You are invited.

On December 2, 2022, at 4.00 pm (EAT), CARTA will officially launch the CARTA Evidence Website in a webinar under the theme 'Increasing visibility of African research and researchers'. Please register using this link: bit.ly/3F0g9QA

CARTA Evidence is an interactive platform that aims to demonstrate the impact of the CARTA network by timeously tracking, collating, analyzing, displaying, and enabling the uptake of empirical and theoretical evidence produced. The platform will create a collaborative environment for African scientists and evidence users working in communities of practice and across boundaries and disciplines.

The development of the CARTA Evidence Website which commenced in 2021 was driven by PhD candidates producing research findings that could have an impact on society thus the need to make their findings available and accessible to various audiences. The platform is now ready for use and public access even as further refinement and customization continue in the background to ensure its responsiveness to the needs of its diverse target audience.

For any questions, kindly contact: [email protected]

You are cordially invited to PhD Interim Seminar
Titled: A mixed-methods analysis of the acceptability, adoption, reach and uptake of the human papillomavirus vaccination of adolescent girls in Lusaka, Zambia
By: Mwansa Ketty Lubeya
Date: 18 November 2022
Time: 08:15- 09:30
Save the date📅
Join in using the following link: http://bit.ly/3Xc3scM

The South African Child Health Priorities Association is an advocacy group that promotes quality-of-care standards, disseminates skills and knowledge, creates programs to promote children's health, and offers forums for dialogue between child health experts from other professions. It was formed in December 2008, following the inaugural Child Health Priorities Conference that took place the previous year.

The School of Public Health will be hosting its 13th conference with Dr. Wiedaad Slemming, a Senior Lecturer at the Community Paediatrics Department and Chairperson at CHPA, Professor Haroon Saloojee of Paediatrics & Child Health and Treasurer at CHPA, along with Dr. Tanya Ruder, a Lecturer in Community Paediatrics as facilitators or presenters in the program.

The conference will take place from the 24th to the 26th of November 2022.

The registration closing date is on the 18th of November.

To register click on the link below.
https://childhealthpriorities.co.za/product/2022conference/

***Attention, attention***

Call for Applications: Female Academic Leadership Fellowship (NPC)

Applications for FALF 2023 are now open. FALF seeks to develop a pipeline of South African, African, and Africans of mixed ancestry female academic leaders in tertiary institutions. For more information with regards to applications, please refer to the document below.

Closing date: 30 November 2022
For Inquiries please contact Lucy Khofi at: [email protected] and copy (cc) [email protected]

You are cordially invited to PhD Interim Seminar
Titled: Examining the role social solidarity, affordability and citizen empowerment in determining health insurance coverage in Kenya
By: Beryl Chelangat Maritim
Date: 11 November 2022
Time: 08:15- 09:30
Save the date📅
Join in using the following link: https://bit.ly/3D6z7Er

Did you know?| Dr Kate Rees and her PhD student, Melanie Bisnauth, co-published an article in The Conversation Africa. The article is based on Melanie and Dr Rees’ work at ANOVA Health and relates it to their research. The article focuses on poor retention of Anti-Retroviral Therapy and and interruption of treatment and its problems.

It references recent research that they both co-authored and makes the critical point that people on ARTs need comprehensive support that covers medication-related issues, psychosocial support and socio-economic support. Proactive strategies should include check-in phone calls or messages, appointment reminders, and pop-up sites to collect treatment in remote communities, and after-hours facilities. Use the link below to learn more about their research: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0256540

Use the link below to access their article in The Conversation Africa https://theconversation.com/hiv-treatment-in-south-africa-how-to-help-people-stay-on-arvs-when-life-gets-in-the-way-190684

***Achievements***

Dr Prudence Ditlopo awarded the 2022 Female Academic Leadership Fellowship (FALF) Pod Spirit Award.

Dr Prudence Ditlopo, is a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Health Policy, who was recently awarded the 2022 Female Academic Leadership Fellowship (FALF) Pod Spirit Award, alongside her fellow pod members, Professor Veronica Ntsiea and Dr Busisiwe Maseko.

FALF fellows are encouraged to establish pods or peer support groups and are at liberty to determine the activities of these groups. These awards go to individuals who embody the mission, goals, and values of FALF. This was demonstrated by her determination to take initiatives, collegiality, ability to foster collaboration, while at the same time embodying true leadership spirit.

FALF was founded in 2020 by Dr Judy Dlamini, the University of the Witwatersrand Chancellor to address the racial and gender disparities at leadership level within tertiary institutions. Dr Ditlopo is one of the 30 first cohort fellows across the university that received this fellowship.

Congratulations Dr Ditlopo on your exceptional work👏🥳

Did you know?| Our Wits SPH Distinguished Professor, Lenore Manderson, is one of the editors of Water's Edge, an intriguing book where authors reflect on our natural environment in terms of its forms, textures, and stewardship. The book project emanates from a colloquium organized by the editors at the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society.

It features diverse writers and artists from six countries, and from different fields of scholarship and practice including; artists, biologists, geologists, poets, ecocritics, actors, and anthropologists. To read more about this please use the following link:👇 https://nupress.northwestern.edu/9780810145795/waters-edge/

***Achievements***

Professor Karen Hofman awarded ASSAf Science for Society Gold Medal

The Academy of Science of South Africa annually awards ASSAf Science for Society Gold Medals in recognition of outstanding achievements by individuals. This year the two Gold Medals were awarded to Professor Karen Hofman and Professor Achille Mbembe at the annual awards ceremony held in Pretoria on the 19th of October 2022.

Professor Hofman's work on universal health coverage has strategically focused on priority-setting, a key driver to implement a sustainable National Health Insurance (NHI) by doing research to inform health benefit packages and decisions to improve both health systems and population health outcomes.

Congratulations Professor Karen Hofman on your exceptional work🥳🎉🎈

You are cordially invited to PhD Interim Seminar
Titled: "Community-orientated primary health care: exploring the interface between community health worker programmes, the health system and communities in South Africa"
By: Hlologelo Malatji
Date: 21 October 2022
Time: 08:00- 09:30
Save the date📅
Join in using the following link: https://bit.ly/3D6z7Er

You are cordially invited to the Birth To Thirty Book Webinar, where Dr Carren Ginsburg will be presenting as one of the panelists
Date: 19 October 2022
Time: 15:00
Save the date📅
Please register on the link below to hear what the data revealed about factors related to child mobility and its consequences: https://bit.ly/3VaQM4Z

You are cordially invited to join the CPR (Create Prosperous Realities) Foundation as they raise funds for medical students in need. A registered NPO and the CPR Foundation is a group of student activists and musicians that stage concerts as part of their fundraising initiative.

On the 15th of October 2022, they will host their second annual Cultured Concert at the newly established Chris Seabrooke Concert Hall on Main Campus.
Time: 18:00 to 18:30

To RSVP, click on the link https://forms.gle/GZkvqt9wbGMDeoh
Donations are also welcome.

You are cordially invited to Year of the Health and Care Workers Seminar
Where Professor Laetitia Rispel will be participating in a seminar series jointly organised by WHO and Health Education England.
On the 5th of October 2022
Time: 10:00am to 12:00pm
Save the date📅
If you'd like to attend please register using the following link: https://global.hee.nhs.uk/yhcw/seminars/seminarfour/

You are cordially invited to The 2022 Sefularo Sheiham Memorial Lecture on Health Equity.
Titled: Race, Inequity and Mental Health in the time of Covid-19: Benefits and Lessons from mixed methods approaches in the United Kingdom.
On the 4th of October 2022
Time: 13:00
Save the date📅
Join in using the following link: https://bit.ly/3SOHWb7

Following the Faculty's Prestigious Research Lecture by Prof Stephen Tollman and Prof Kathleen Kahn, that was held at the Marie Curie Lecture Theatre, on the 29th of August 2022, please view the video footage of the lecture below 👇

Prestigious Research Lecture series featuring Professors Steve Tollman & Kathy Kahn Talk: From Transition to Transformation: Restoring the dream of health for all using community-oriented evidence.

Did you know?| Breastfeeding support is not only an issue of public health, but also one of transformation and gender equity. Members of the Faculty of Health Science Wellness Committee are conducting a qualitative study to find out about the support Wits provides Wits staff and students who want to breastfeed. If you have tried to breastfeed at Wits in the past five years, while an employee and/or student, we want to talk to you.

We also want to talk to people who hold positions that can influence breastfeeding support, such as human resources or transformation committees, to document your thoughts on this topic. To learn more about the study, please share your details using the following link and someone from the study will be in touch: https://redcap.link/WitsBreastfeeding or contact [email protected]