On 26 May 2021, MITU started conducting a survey to collect data that will help to evaluate a reproductive health programme known as “Adolescent 360” or A360. The A360 programme was implemented by the Population Services International (PSI) in 10 regions in Tanzania mainland, including the Mwanza region, and was targeting girls aged 15 to 19 years.
The survey is being conducted in 15 wards of Ilemela district in Mwanza city. In each ward, two streets will be selected by lottery to participate in the study and later visited by trained female research assistants to identify households with girls aged 15 to 19 years. Once this exercise is completed, female research assistants will visit the homes of identified girls to inform them about the study, obtain their consent to participate in the study, and conduct a detailed interview in a private location. Research assistants will also separately interview a sample of adults who live with the interviewed girls. MITU would like to find out whether the A360 programme helped to improve what girls’ knew about family planning (ways to delay or prevent pregnancy), and whether the programme made it easier for girls’ to use family planning services if they wanted to avoid or delay getting pregnant.
More than 5,000 girls will be involved in this survey which is expected to be completed by the end of September 2021. MITU received funds to conduct this survey from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Children’s Fund Foundation.
Joint Statement by the Heads of the World Bank Group, International Monetary Fund, World Health Organization, and World Trade Organization
The Heads of the World Bank Group, International Monetary Fund, World Health Organization, and World Trade Organization today convened for the first meeting of the Task Force on COVID-19 Vaccines, Therapeutics and Diagnostics for Developing Countries. They issued the following joint statement:
“As many countries are struggling with new variants and a third wave of COVID-19 infections, accelerating access to vaccines becomes even more critical to ending the pandemic everywhere and achieving broad-based growth. We are deeply concerned about the limited vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, and support for deliveries available to developing countries. Urgent action is needed now to arrest the rising human toll due to the pandemic, and to halt further divergence in the economic recovery between advanced economies and the rest.
We have formed a Task Force, as a “war room” to help track, coordinate and advance delivery of COVID-19 health tools to developing countries and to mobilize relevant stakeholders and national leaders to remove critical roadblocks—in support of the priorities set out by World Bank Group, IMF, WHO, and WTO including in the joint statements of June 1 and June 3, and in the IMF staff’s $50 billion proposal.
At today’s first meeting, we discussed the urgency of increasing supplies of vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics for developing countries. We also looked at practical and effective ways to track, coordinate and advance delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to developing countries.
As an urgent first step, we are calling on G20 countries to (1) embrace the target of at least 40 percent in every country by end-2021, and at least 60 percent by the first half of 2022, (2) share more vaccine doses now, including by ensuring at least 1 billion doses are shared with developing countries in 2021 starting immediately, (3) provide financing, including grants and concessional financing, to close the residual gaps, including for the ACT-Accelerator, and (4) remove all barriers to export of inputs and finished vaccines, and other barriers to supply chain operations.
In addition, to enhance transparency we agreed to compile data on dose requests (by type and quantity), contracts, deliveries (including through donations), and deployments of COVID-19 vaccines to low and middle-income countries—and make it available as part of a shared country-level dashboard. We also agreed to take steps to address hesitancy, and to coordinate efforts to address gaps in readiness, so countries are positioned to receive, deploy and administer vaccines.”
On 11th May 2021, a group of 10 second year undergraduate sociology students from St. Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT), Mwanza branch visited our unit as part of the study tour. These students’ interest was to understand the contribution of the Mwanza Intervention Trials Unit (MITU) in solving public health problems.
After an official introduction and tour of MITU facilities, the group was invited for a discussion led by three scientists within the unit: Dr Elialilia Okello (Senior Social Scientist), Dr Kenneth Makata (Public Health Specialist) and Onike Mcharo (Social Scientist). The discussion adhered to proper COVID-19 preventive measures. During the discussion, students were given information about a range of research studies conducted in the Unit.
The students had a chance to ask questions to the researchers about MITU’s contribution in addressing public health problems. At the end of the discussion, the students provided positive feedback on their understanding of MITU’s roles and its contribution towards solving public health problems in the region.
Makata K, Ensink J, Ayieko P, Hansen C, Sichalwe S, Mngara J, Mcharo O, Mazigo H, Seni J, Dreibelbis R, Rockowitz S, Okello E, Grosskurth H, Kinung’hi S, Kapiga S.
BMC Med. 2021 May 21;19(1):125.
DOI: 10.1186/s12916-021-01987-6.
PMID: 34016091;
PMCID: PMC8139108.
Women’s Narratives about COVID-19, Preventive Practices and Sources of Information in Northwestern Tanzania.
Mchome Z, Mshana G, Peter E, Aloyce D, Kapiga S, Stöckl H.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021;18(10):5261,
Gerry Mshana, Zaina Mchome, Diana Aloyce, Esther Peter, Saidi Kapiga and Heidi Stöckl.
PMID: 33902620
Nsanya MK, Ayieko P, Hashim R, Mgema E, Fitzgerald D, Kapiga S, Peck RN.
Sci Rep. 2021 Apr 16; 11(1):8397.
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-87996-0.
PMID: 33864003.
Hahn JA, Murnane PM, Vittinghoff E, Muyindike WR, Emenyonu NI, Fatch R, Chamie G, Haberer JE, Francis JM, Kapiga S, Jacobson K, Myers B, Couture MC, DiClemente RJ, Brown JL, So-Armah K, Sulkowski M, Marcus GM, Woolf-King S, Cook RL, Richards VL, Molina P, Ferguson T, Welsh D, Piano MR, Phillips SA, Stewart S, Afshar M, Page K, McGinnis K, Fiellin DA, Justice AC, Bryant K, Saitz R.
Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2021 Apr 10.
DOI: 10.1111/acer.14611.
PMID: 33837975.
The Mwanza Intervention Trials Unit (MITU) based at the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) campus in Mwanza, (Tanzania) is a collaborative research unit of NIMR and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). MITU’s mission is to contribute to improving health through the development and evaluation of interventions against HIV and other health problems by conducting research, including clinical trials, to the highest international standards; to enhance the capacity to carry out such research in Tanzania and the East African region; and to contribute to the translation of research findings into health policy.
MITU, in collaboration with LSHTM and five other African institutional partners, is part of the ENTRANT training fellowship programme which seeks to develop a critical mass of infectious disease epidemiologists to work with the Ministries of health and their academic and research partners, to prevent and respond to emerging outbreaks and public health emergencies. The programme, funded by the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP), will support 15 African scientists over two academic years (2021-2023) to complete a one-year full-time MSc degree in Epidemiology at the LSHTM. At least two fellows will be from Tanzania. In addition to the MSc taught courses, fellows will also complete an LSHTM short- course on pandemic preparedness, response and research led by members of the Uk Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHrSt) and a three-month MSc research project carried out in Tanzania.
The other African institutional partners collaborating in this consortium are:
- National Health Laboratory (NHL), Botswana
- Haramaya University (HU), Ethiopia
- University of Nairobi (UoN), Kenya
- MRC/UVRI & LSHTM Uganda Research Unit (MUL), Uganda
- ZAMBART Project Limited, Zambia
Award Details:
Eight places are available for 2021-22 academic year and each fellowship includes:
- 2021-22 tuition fees (at the overseas fee rate)
- Stipend (living allowance) of £16,800
- Return air travel to London
- An allowance for MSc research project expenses
- Support to attend conferences and networking events after completion of the MSc
To be eligible, candidates must:
a) Be a resident and national of Tanzania.
b) Hold a minimum of an upper second-class honours degree from a reputable university in Tanzania or other countries, or a registerable qualification in medicine, dentistry or veterinary medicine.
c) Be working with either the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children or at the Institutes of Public Health at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), and Catholic University Health and Allied Sciences (CUHAS) or School of Public Health at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College (KCM college), or Research Institutes at the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR),Ifakara Health Institute (IHI) and Kilimanjaro Christian Research Institute (KCRI) or at the University of Dodoma. Applicant employer will need to provide a letter of support guaranteeing that the fellow will be released from work commitments for the full one-year period of the MSc, and that the fellow’s post or an equivalent role will be available for them to return to following completion of their studies. The letter should also express support for the fellow to have protected time (recommended one day per week for a 10-week period) to undertake the pandemic short course following the MSc.
d) Have at least 2 years and less than 15 years’ full-time equivalent work experience since completion of their first degree.
e) Be able to meet English language requirements for the LSHTM MSc Epidemiology specified here https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/sites/default/files/english language requirements policy.pdf
f) Be committed to continue working as a public health practitioner in Tanzania for a minimum of two years after completing their studies.
How to apply:
Candidates should complete their application through the online portal https://fellowship.lshtm.ac.uk/#/get- started. Applications will be accepted from 1st – 30th April 2021.
Please note:
The online application system includes a personal statement section. Candidates should use this section to give further details on their current role in public health and how they will be in a position to contribute to public health activities and disease outbreak preparedness and response activities following completion of the MSc. They should also set out their commitment to remain working as a public health practitioner in Tanzania for a minimum of two years after completing their studies.
Documents that must be uploaded as part of the application are listed below:
- Curriculum vitae
- Academic transcript
- Letter of support from current employer, including the information specified in point c) above.
Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed via Zoom.
Support will not be given as a supplement to other funding, nor to students who have funding from other sources.
Enquiries
Find out more about the MSc in Epidemiology.
Informal enquiries concerning the fellowship can be made to jchangalucha@yahoo.com, saidi.kapiga@lshtm.ac.uk or Emily Webb.
Informal enquiries concerning the MSc can be made to the Programme Directors.
Find out more about visa requirements.