The first part will be devoted to the recent advances in the areas of basic immunology and molecular biology. Teaching modules will be structured to deal with the specific problems related to bacterial, parasitic and viral infections of public health importance. One module will be specifically devoted to the development of new vaccines and the testing of their efficacy.

Practical sessions will be organized during which participants will perform techniques related to: a) the evaluation of the humoral and cellular immune response to infectious agents, and b) identification of micro-organisms in biological samples by nucleic acid hybridization.

There will be an opportunity for one or two participants to stay at the Centre for a period of up to 4 months after the Course for further specialized training. It is mandatory that, those interested in this possibility mention it in their initial application to their Government and explain in detail their motivation in the letter to Dr Pascal Launois.

Dr Pascal Launois,
Tel: +41 (0)22 791 2659
Fax: +41 (0)22 791 4854
Email: launoisp@who.int
Internet: http://www.medramo.ac.ma/fmp/docm/cioms.pdf

The Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) invites researchers, living and working in the developing countries, to apply for one of ten 12-month career development fellowships on Clinical Research & Development at selected pharmaceutical companies and related institutions globally. The goal is to develop human resources to promote high quality R&D in the disease endemic countries (DEC) in the areas of project management, regulatory compliance and good practices. It is expected that qualified professional will be able to enhance DEC product development capacity on diagnostics, drugs and vaccines against infectious diseases that disproportionately impact low income countries. The programme will train individuals in situ with relevant partners in order to develop specialized skills not readily taught in academic centres, including inter alia R&D project management, regulatory compliance and good practices. Upon completing their fellowships, the individuals are expected to return to their home institutes and assume a leading role and become valuable resources in the global effort on R&D for neglected infectious diseases.

The proposed training programme extends TDR's work in empowering DEC scientists to lead, manage and direct vaccine trials against AIDS/HIV, malaria, tuberculosis and other neglected tropical diseases and is based on a successful model developed between GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals (GSK) and TDR over the past eight years.

Steven Wayling
Research Networks Manager
Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases
World Health Organization
1211 Geneva 27
Switzerland
Tel: +41 (0)22 791 39 09
Fax: +41 (0)22 791 48 54
E-mail: waylings@who.int
Internet: http://www.who.int/tdr/svc/grants/calls/clinical-research-fellowships

The Forum will be attended by up to 1000 participants, including government leaders, eminent health, development, civil society, academic and health professional leaders from around the world. This Forum will provide an extraordinary platform for sharing and exploring solutions, consensus and capacity building, and will further galvanize a global movement that is emerging as a response to the increasingly pertinent human resources for health (HRH) crisis.
The Kampala Forum comes at a critical moment when problem recognition has grown enormously and the international community is now moving towards action in addressing global health challenges. With an acute global shortage and migration of healthcare professionals, unfavorable and challenging working conditions, inequalities in access to basic health needs, new killer diseases threatening global security and shorter life expectancies, a new type of health workforce, capable of responding to these challenges is needed for the 21st century.
The Forum meshes well with current movements to revitalize primary health care on the 60th anniversary of WHO, 30 years after Alma Ata. It promises to be an exciting and critical next step for achieving global goals and re-energising the global movement for better health in the 21st century.

The Forum has three main objectives: Forum at a glance
* To build consensus on accelerating human resources for health action
* To build implementation capacity on human resources for health action at a global and country level
* To build networks and alliances as a global movement on human resources for health moving from recognition to concrete action.

Global Health Workforce Alliance
2008 Forum
World Health Organization
20 avenue Appia
1211 Geneva 27
Switzerland

Tel: +41 (0)22 791 1057 or +41 (0)22 791 4957
Fax +41 (0)22 791 4747
Email: ghwaforum@who.int
Internet: http://www.who.int/workforcealliance/forum/en/

Emergencies, disasters and other crises are increasing in number and magnitude, and are affecting multitude of vulnerable and unprotected people. Public health systems and social safety nets in many countries become further weakened and are easily overwhelmed. The added value of humanitarian work is also challenged, and reforms to improve quality, accountability and predictability of response are changing the ways humanitarian organizations work.

The purpose of this Course is to prepare professionals with knowledge and experience in different public health and related fields to work effectively, efficiently and safely in the design, implementation, management and/or coordination of emergency response and early recovery.

Related links:
- Purpose and learning outcomes
- Contents and methods
- Faculty and partners

World Health Organization
20 avenue Appia
1211 Geneva 27
Switzerland
Email: hactraining@who.int
Internet: http://www.who.int/hac/techguidance/training/predeployment/phpd5/en/index.html

The health systems of countries in crisis are often weak and unable to address the increased health needs of the population. Moreover, health workers in these countries often have limited capacity to analyse the major features and weaknesses of the health system.

This lack of capacity hampers the formulation of appropriate sector strategies and plans. As a result, emergency appeals and response interventions are often prepared based on inadequate evidence. This poses major challenges to both Governments and the international community.

This course aims to address these constraints as part of a broader learning programme to improve the analytical and planning capacity of Ministries of Health and agencies in countries in chronic crisis. The overall objective of the programme is to strengthen health professionals' ability to analyse health systems in countries in crisis; develop adequate response and recovery strategies; and plan and implement effective interventions. The course organizers will mentor selected participants following their return to their countries.

Related links:
- Training content
- Methodology
- Country Case Studies
- Faculty

World Health Organization
20 avenue Appia
1211 Geneva 27
Switzerland
Ms Karima Jambulatova
Tel: +41 (0)22 791 1332 or
Email: jambulatovak@who.int
or
Ms Gillian O'Connell, Merlin
Tel: +44 207 0141 690
Email: gillian.oconnell@merlin.org.uk
Internet: Click here

The year 2008 will be significant for WHO as it will be the 60th anniversary of WHO and the 30th anniversary of the Alma-Ata Declaration. The goal of the Alma-Ata Declaration was health for all by the year 2000 through promotion and strengthening of systems based on primary health care. The Alma-Ata Declaration is especially significant for traditional medicine (TM). Although TM has been used for thousands of years and the associated practitioners have made great contribution to human health, it was not until the Alma-Ata Declaration that countries and governments were called upon to include TM in their primary health systems for the first time, and to recognize the associated practitioners of TM as a part of the health care team, particularly for primary health care at the community level. It was at this time that the WHO Traditional Medicine Programme was established.

Congress Objectives:
* review the role of traditional medicine and associated practitioners in health care in line with the Alma-Ata Declaration and in the renewal of primary health care
* review the progress of the countries in the field of traditional medicine
* share information and experience in how to integrate traditional medicine into national health systems based on primary health care
* share information related to research, education, and practice of traditional medicine
* promote the proper use of traditional medicine by the population

Based on the main components agreed upon at two working group meetings of the organizational committee, the Congress will consist of five activities as outlined below:

Congress main activities

• Opening Ceremony
• International Forum on Integration of TM/CAM into Health System
• Satellite Symposia and Exhibitions
• Public Communication and Education for Proper Use of Traditional Medicine in Selected Local Communities.

World Health Organization
20 avenue Appia
1211 Geneva 27
Switzerland
Email: WHOTMC2008@who.int
Internet: Click here

WHO is a technical supporter of the 14th World Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCTOH). The conference, which has been organized every three years since the mid-1960s, will gather tobacco control researchers, activists and leaders. WHO's Tobacco Free Initiative will participate.

This year the conference will focus on the theme of multi-sectoral approach to tobacco control. It will specifically consider the implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which came into force in 2005 and currently has 161 parties.

Other topics for discussion will include:
* health warnings on packages of tobacco
* women and tobacco
* tobacco's aggravation of the global tuberculosis epidemic
* challenges in the enforcement of tobacco control laws.

14th WCTOH,
C/o Salaam Bombay Foundation
46 Maker Chambers III
Nariman Point, Mumbai
Tel: +41 (0)22 645 238 37
Fax: +41 (0)22 228 295 34
Email: secretariat@14wctoh.org
Internet: Click here or http://www.14wctoh.org/

On 16-22 August 2009, Durban will play host to the 57th Session of the International Statistical Institute, the first in Sub-Saharan Africa. An ISI Session, held biennially, provides a platform for the gathering of over 5000 of the world’s statisticians from public, private, research and educational institutions to share experience in a diverse range of statistical issues. The theme of this Session is aptly titled “Statistics: our past, present and future”, as South Africa and the African continent celebrate a revitalization of statistics and statistical development.

The goal of the Special Topic Meeting at the ISI 2009 Session is to promote statistical discourse on measuring health workforce inequalities and the implications for policy and planning. Contributed papers will focus on methodological developments and applications for measuring health workforce inequalities, with special attention to monitoring trends and evaluating their impacts on health systems performance and population health outcomes.

The health workforce is broadly defined to include all those who promote and preserve health as well as those who diagnose and treat disease. Also included are health management and support workers – those who help make the health system function but who do not provide health services directly. Inequalities in the health labour market may refer to, for example, workforce imbalances by occupation, geographical typology, place of work or gender.

The STCPM will take place on 18 August 2009 from 15:30-17:45 at the Durban International Convention Centre. Contributed papers will represent different experiences from selected low and middle income countries, including Brazil, Mexico and Ethiopia. Travel awards for researchers to present their work at the STCMP are being provided by WHO/HRH. The final papers will be published in a forthcoming WHO publication on health workforce inequalities.

About the WHO Department of Human Resources for Health
About the International Statistical Institute
About the ISI 2009 Session in Durban

Mario R. Dal Poz, Coordinator
Departement Human Resources for Health
Tel: +41 (0)22 791 35 99
Fax: +41 (0)22 791 47 47
Email: dalpozm@who.int
Internet: http://www.who.int/hrh/events/2009/inequalities/en/index.html

The Global Health Workforce Alliance, the Prince Mahidol Award (PMA) Conference and the World Health Organization are delighted to announce that they will jointly convene the second Global Forum on Human Resources for Health in Bangkok, Thailand in the first quarter of 2011.

Since the endorsement of the Kampala Declaration and Agenda for Global Action at the first-ever Global Forum on Human Resources for Health held in Kampala, Uganda in March 2008, significant commitments and unprecedented levels of action relating to strengthening the health workforce have been made. As a result of these global and national efforts, several countries have made significant progress in improving their citizens' access to quality health care supported by appropriate levels of trained health workers. Nevertheless, the global health workforce crisis continues with millions of health workers needed to bridge the chronic gaps.

The second Global Forum on Human Resources for Health will review and assess progress made on the Kampala Declaration and Agenda for Global Actions; celebrate successes and identify gaps and new challenges for the health workforce crisis.

We hope that the Forum will provide an extraordinary platform for consensus and capacity building, sharing and exploring solutions, and will further galvanize the global movement that is emerging as a response to the increasingly pertinent human resources for health crisis.

Global Health Workforce Alliance
2008 Forum
World Health Organization
20 avenue Appia
1211 Geneva 27
Switzerland

Tel: +41 (0)22 791 1057 or +41 (0)22 791 4957
Fax +41 (0)22 791 4747
Email: ghwaforum@who.int
Internet: http://www.who.int/workforcealliance/forum/en/

A successful health care system depends heavily on an adequately sized and well-trained
workforce. The delivery of health services requires sufficient financial resources, up-to-date
technology, and, above all, a productive health workforce. However, in many countries today, the
performance of health workers is weakened by a large number of shortcomings and bottlenecks,
including inadequate training, lack of continuing education, supply and demand imbalances,
geographic maldistribution, insufficient work coordination, overlapping work domains, adverse
working conditions, absence of professional incentives, etc. All these negative factors, if not
corrected by a strong process of management and planning, decrease the efficiency of the health
care system and reduce the productivity of health workers, fueling their emigration to other
countries or directing them to careers outside the health sector.

The participants are invited to contribute papers on the various issues concerning the health
workforce; in particular efforts designed to measure and improve performance. The themes
suggested are briefly presented hereafter:

• Measurement of workforce performance
• Observation of the mutual relationship of health workforce performance and health
  system performance.
• Action for improving workforce performance

Dr Bui Dang Ha Doan, Centre de Sociologie et de Démographie Médicales
168 A, rue de Grenelle
75007 Paris (France)
Tel: +33 (0)1 45 55 73 77
Fax: +33 (0)1 45 55 87 94
Email: csdm.fic@wanadoo.fr
Internet: http://www.who.int/hrh/events/symposium_workforce.pdf

Health and development today face unprecedented threats. The financial crisis threatens the viability of national economies in general and of health systems in particular. Global warming and climate change exert a toll in human life, especially in lower income countries. Security threats create a sense of shared uncertainty for communities around the world.

In this context, health promotion has never been more timely or more needed. Over the period from the Ottawa Conference through the six global conferences to Bangkok, a large body of evidence and experience has accumulated about the importance of health promotion as an integrative, cost-effective strategy, and as an essential component of health systems primed to respond adequately to emerging concerns. Read the conference overview

Thematic tracks at the conference:
1. Community empowerment
2. Health literacy and health behaviour
3. Strengthening health systems
4. Partnerships and intersectoral action
5. Building capacity for health promotion
6. Africa Day

Internet: http://www.who.int/healthpromotion/conferences/7gchp/en/