The Wellcome Trust initiative will see the formation of seven new international consortiums that will focus on developing and sustaining high quality research into the health and wellbeing of African people. More than 50 institutions from 18 African countries will participate in the programme and lead on partnerships with scientists from Europe, the US and Australia.
Africa is affected by some of the world's deadliest diseases, including HIV, malaria and tuberculosis. Many African universities need help to drive forward research into these conditions and nurture young researchers at the beginning of their careers.
The University and the LSTM will work with universities in South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe as part of the SACORE consortium which aims to support African medical schools in creating a vibrant research environment for students and research leaders. The collaboration will also help create postgraduate scholarships to allow students to research health-related issues in their home country.
Professor Peter Winstanley, from Liverpool's Wellcome Trust Tropical Centre, said: "This initiative is built on 20 years of University and LSTM collaboration and shows the major impact that such global networks can have. Within the SACORE consortium we will create a joint Malawi-Liverpool PhD programme as part of our contribution to the training of biomedical researchers in a region that needs excellent science to underpin developments in healthcare.
"The most pressing problems in Africa right now are infectious diseases. Falciparum malaria remains one of the highest priorities in children. In adults HIV-related pathogens, such as TB and Salmonellae, demand the most attention. This new initiative will improve the capacity of African medical schools to develop research careers and secure essential funding for long-term commitment to studies in health sciences."
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Notes to editors:
1. The University of Liverpool is a member of the Russell Group of leading research-intensive institutions in the UK. It attracts collaborative and contract research commissions from a wide range of national and international organisations valued at more than £93 million annually.
2. The University and School of Tropical Medicine is working with the University of Malawi as part of the Clinton Global Initiative, a scheme that invites world leaders to share their expertise and provide practical solutions for global issues. Scientists at Liverpool will support Malawi Medical School in developing research programmes for study into infectious diseases.
3. The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine has been engaged in the fight against infectious, debilitating and disabling diseases for more than a hundred years and continues that tradition today with a research portfolio in excess of £130 million and a teaching programme attracting students from over 70 countries.
4. The Wellcome Trust is the largest charity in the UK. It funds innovative biomedical research, in the UK and internationally, spending over £600 million each year to support the brightest scientists with the best ideas. The Wellcome Trust supports public debate about biomedical research and its impact on health and wellbeing. http://www.wellcome.ac.uk
Thursday, 2 July 2009
Malawi Anti-Corruption Body to Release Passport after Muluzi Signs Bond
Malawi's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) says former President Bakili Muluzi's passport can be returned after he signs a $13 million bond. The ACB said the bond would ensure that Muluzi returns to face graft charges after his scheduled medical trip to the United Kingdom.
The anti-corruption body seized Muluzi's passport claiming it had information that the former president would not return to face corruption charges.
Muluzi is facing corruption charges after being accused of diverting donor funds into his personal account, charges he denies.
ACB chairman Alex Nampota told VOA that Muluzi's properties would not be confiscated if he returns after his medical trip.
"If he (Muluzi) comes back, then there is no problem. But in the event he doesn't come back, all the properties which are a subject of a seizure warrant which we obtained get vested in the government and get sold to make good the $13 million dollars," said Nampota.
He described as suspicious the former president's challenge of the bond.
"Now, he is resisting in the court to say he doesn't want to execute the bond. And we are wondering, if he is coming back, why the resistance? So, this also gives us the impression that probably there is something amiss about this trip that is making it difficult for him to execute a bond," he said.
Nampota said the ACB is not to blame for the delay in Muluzi's scheduled medical trip.
"We want to give him his passport as soon as possible. All he does is [sign] a bond. We wondered where the urgency of the (Muluzi's medical) trip had gone suddenly," Nampota said.
But supporters of the former president said they are unhappy by what they describe as the ill-treatment meted out to Muluzi.
"We are in an extreme sense very saddened and we feel sorry about it," said Humphrey Mvula, director of research of Muluzi's opposition United Democratic Party (UDF).
Malawi’s Bingu wa Mutharika takes oath of office in Blantyre, 22 May 2009
Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika fell out with his predecessor.
He sharply denied Muluzi's refusal to execute the bond was because he had something to hide.
"The area of subsequent legal action of requiring a bond and withdrawing a passport were obtained ex parte [by a judge, without all parties present]. I'm sure if good intentions were demonstrated through the defense and the prosecution sitting down and talking about it, probably the lawyers or anybody else would have looked at it differently," he said.
Mvula said the former president will return to face the graft charges against him.
"He has never wanted to run away and he will not run away. He is not a small person," Mvula said.
He questioned the timing of the ACB's claim of a tip-off that led to Muluzi's passport seizure.
"As a party, we have said that look, if indeed there was an anonymous caller, it should have been treated with a lot of contempt because that anonymous caller should have been so ignorant of what happens when a former president is traveling," he said.
Bakili Muluzi stepped down in 2004 after serving two consecutive terms as Malawi's president, but not until he tried unsuccessfully to change the constitution to allow him to run again.
The anti-corruption body seized Muluzi's passport claiming it had information that the former president would not return to face corruption charges.
Muluzi is facing corruption charges after being accused of diverting donor funds into his personal account, charges he denies.
ACB chairman Alex Nampota told VOA that Muluzi's properties would not be confiscated if he returns after his medical trip.
"If he (Muluzi) comes back, then there is no problem. But in the event he doesn't come back, all the properties which are a subject of a seizure warrant which we obtained get vested in the government and get sold to make good the $13 million dollars," said Nampota.
He described as suspicious the former president's challenge of the bond.
"Now, he is resisting in the court to say he doesn't want to execute the bond. And we are wondering, if he is coming back, why the resistance? So, this also gives us the impression that probably there is something amiss about this trip that is making it difficult for him to execute a bond," he said.
Nampota said the ACB is not to blame for the delay in Muluzi's scheduled medical trip.
"We want to give him his passport as soon as possible. All he does is [sign] a bond. We wondered where the urgency of the (Muluzi's medical) trip had gone suddenly," Nampota said.
But supporters of the former president said they are unhappy by what they describe as the ill-treatment meted out to Muluzi.
"We are in an extreme sense very saddened and we feel sorry about it," said Humphrey Mvula, director of research of Muluzi's opposition United Democratic Party (UDF).
Malawi’s Bingu wa Mutharika takes oath of office in Blantyre, 22 May 2009
Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika fell out with his predecessor.
He sharply denied Muluzi's refusal to execute the bond was because he had something to hide.
"The area of subsequent legal action of requiring a bond and withdrawing a passport were obtained ex parte [by a judge, without all parties present]. I'm sure if good intentions were demonstrated through the defense and the prosecution sitting down and talking about it, probably the lawyers or anybody else would have looked at it differently," he said.
Mvula said the former president will return to face the graft charges against him.
"He has never wanted to run away and he will not run away. He is not a small person," Mvula said.
He questioned the timing of the ACB's claim of a tip-off that led to Muluzi's passport seizure.
"As a party, we have said that look, if indeed there was an anonymous caller, it should have been treated with a lot of contempt because that anonymous caller should have been so ignorant of what happens when a former president is traveling," he said.
Bakili Muluzi stepped down in 2004 after serving two consecutive terms as Malawi's president, but not until he tried unsuccessfully to change the constitution to allow him to run again.
Teacher will educate herself Malawi trip
A GULLANE Primary School teacher is sacrificing her home comforts to spend a month educating kids in rural Malawi, Africa.
Val Travers is the first county teacher to take part in the Global Teachers programme, funded by Learning Teaching Scotland with the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), which offers a once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience another country’s education system first-hand.
Part of a team of 14 Scottish teachers assigned to the impoverished southern African state, Mrs Travers departed on her incredible journey on Saturday and will spend the next four weeks living with a local family in a rural community in the Dedza District and teaching in Chimkombero Full Primary School.
During her stay, she will have to get used to life without certain home comforts, such as running water or electricity. Before her departure Mrs Travers, who lives in North Berwick, said: “I am extremely excited about going to work in Malawi, though obviously a little apprehensive at present about the ‘unknown factor’ – it is the first time the school and family have had an overseas visitor.
“A family of six are giving up one of their three rooms for me and the school is one of the largest in the area.
“This once-in-a-lifetime experience is bound to have a profound effect on my future thinking and working within education and have a positive impact on myself, school and wider community.”
Following her placement, Val will work with children at Gullane Primary to raise awareness of global citizenship and developmental issues in Africa.
She also hopes to make an official link between Gullane and the Malawian school so teachers can share expertise with each other.
“I’d like to thank members of the North Berwick Christian Fellowship, parents and colleagues from Gullane Primary School and friends and family who have made donations and supported me in preparing for the trip,” she said.
Val Travers is the first county teacher to take part in the Global Teachers programme, funded by Learning Teaching Scotland with the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), which offers a once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience another country’s education system first-hand.
Part of a team of 14 Scottish teachers assigned to the impoverished southern African state, Mrs Travers departed on her incredible journey on Saturday and will spend the next four weeks living with a local family in a rural community in the Dedza District and teaching in Chimkombero Full Primary School.
During her stay, she will have to get used to life without certain home comforts, such as running water or electricity. Before her departure Mrs Travers, who lives in North Berwick, said: “I am extremely excited about going to work in Malawi, though obviously a little apprehensive at present about the ‘unknown factor’ – it is the first time the school and family have had an overseas visitor.
“A family of six are giving up one of their three rooms for me and the school is one of the largest in the area.
“This once-in-a-lifetime experience is bound to have a profound effect on my future thinking and working within education and have a positive impact on myself, school and wider community.”
Following her placement, Val will work with children at Gullane Primary to raise awareness of global citizenship and developmental issues in Africa.
She also hopes to make an official link between Gullane and the Malawian school so teachers can share expertise with each other.
“I’d like to thank members of the North Berwick Christian Fellowship, parents and colleagues from Gullane Primary School and friends and family who have made donations and supported me in preparing for the trip,” she said.
Madonna pips Surbiton charity to land in Malawi
A Surbiton-based charity which help orphans in Malawi has been pipped to the post by superstar Madonna in its latest building project.
The singer, who recently adopted a child from the African country, snapped up a plot of land near Lilongwe, just before volunteers from the Landirani Trust went to view it.
In an apparent “battle of the charities”, she is understood to want to build a girls’ academy on the land, while the Landirani Trust wanted to build a training village.
Landirani charity worker Nigel Palmer learned the news on a trip to Malawi earlier this month.
His wife Heather Palmer, who set up the charity from her Surbiton home in 2005, said: “We went to see it, being told it was for sale, but when we got there we were told we couldn’t buy it because Madonna wanted to buy it.
“It seemed like it was in a good position but there’s other land so we’ll keep looking.”
She has almost crossed paths with Madonna in Malawi three times in recent years, signing the same guest books and meeting the same people.
The singer successfully adopted her second Malawian child Mercy James, four, at an appeal hearing on June 12.
Mrs Palmer, who is also foster carer for Kingston Council, raised concerns about uprooting the child from her customs and traditions and converting her from Christianity to Kabbalah.
She said: “The children she has seen are in orphanages and are relatively well looked after but there are people out there who are very desperate. She wouldn’t get the opportunity to see that.”
The Landirani Trust took pupils from Tolworth and Tiffin Girls’ Schools to Malawi in April this year and plans to build an HIV clinic and set up a “Saturday club” for orphans to discuss their feelings.
Madonna was not available for comment.
The singer, who recently adopted a child from the African country, snapped up a plot of land near Lilongwe, just before volunteers from the Landirani Trust went to view it.
In an apparent “battle of the charities”, she is understood to want to build a girls’ academy on the land, while the Landirani Trust wanted to build a training village.
Landirani charity worker Nigel Palmer learned the news on a trip to Malawi earlier this month.
His wife Heather Palmer, who set up the charity from her Surbiton home in 2005, said: “We went to see it, being told it was for sale, but when we got there we were told we couldn’t buy it because Madonna wanted to buy it.
“It seemed like it was in a good position but there’s other land so we’ll keep looking.”
She has almost crossed paths with Madonna in Malawi three times in recent years, signing the same guest books and meeting the same people.
The singer successfully adopted her second Malawian child Mercy James, four, at an appeal hearing on June 12.
Mrs Palmer, who is also foster carer for Kingston Council, raised concerns about uprooting the child from her customs and traditions and converting her from Christianity to Kabbalah.
She said: “The children she has seen are in orphanages and are relatively well looked after but there are people out there who are very desperate. She wouldn’t get the opportunity to see that.”
The Landirani Trust took pupils from Tolworth and Tiffin Girls’ Schools to Malawi in April this year and plans to build an HIV clinic and set up a “Saturday club” for orphans to discuss their feelings.
Madonna was not available for comment.
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