News and events - 2022

December 2022

Diego presents at House of Commons

Diego García, Lecturer in Global Health, presented his reflections on the damaging consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic on LGBT+ individuals in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Nigeria at the House of Commons this week. As an expert in the intersections between gender, sexuality and health, Diego discussed the extraordinary impact of the pandemic on the health of LGBT+ activists and individuals across the three countries. As he emphasised, the situation has been especially worrying for LGBT+ people returning to unsafe family homes where they faced discrimination and violence that they could not escape from because of mobility restrictions, which mostly affected the mental health of students (due to the closure of universities) and those who had lost their jobs and were facing financial difficulties. In addition to mental health challenges, difficulties in accessing medication and healthcare services also had an impact on the physical health of LGBT+ individuals. In Indonesia and Sri Lanka, a key challenge in accessing healthcare services related to difficulties obtaining a national ID card. This was particularly impactful for trans individuals. Trans women often did not have updated documents including their current name and gender identity, hindering their access to healthcare services. 

Across the three countries, violence grew at multiple levels during the pandemic. Firstly, LGBT+ individuals reported harassment and outing from family members with whom they shared domestic spaces. Secondly, domestic violence was a major issue among some queer couples. Thirdly, police brutality increased since lockdowns laid the ground for increased police and military power, predominantly impacting individuals such as trans women. Conservatism and patriarchal structures, which had already limited access to public spaces among queer individuals prior to the pandemic, gained strength during the Covid-19 crisis. The militarisation of society is especially worrying in the Sri Lankan context. Lastly, forced conversion therapy grew in Sri Lanka and Nigeria due to the increased exposure to family members who considered being LGBT+ to be a condition that could be “healed”.

LGBT+ activists lacked information on how to respond to the pandemic and on services available for the populations they work for. This was often linked to a lack of resources provided by governments. Among LGBT+ individuals who were not part of activist circles, the situation was more complex, especially in rural areas where isolation was a pre-existing issue that became exacerbated. Fake news on Covid-19 and vaccines emerged as a key challenge to access health services too. 

As Diego highlighted, Indonesia, Nigeria and Sri Lanka have international human rights obligations that apply equally to LGBT+ people and provide a clear road map towards the protection and fulfilment of those rights for all. Instruments such as the Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (2007), the Declaration of Montreal (2006), and the United Nations Human Rights Council RES/27/32 on “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity” (2014) should be taken seriously by policymakers to protect the human rights of all citizens.

November 2022

A social itch: an evening of film and social science exploring a neglected infectious disease

On 8 November, researchers from BSMS ran a general public film screening and Q&A at the Towner Art Gallery Cinema in Eastbourne, called The Social Itch.

Read the full story here >

New paper published

Prof Jackie Cassell and Jo Middleton are co-authors on a new paper titled ‘Scabies outbreak management in refugee/migrant camps across Europe 2014-17: a retrospective qualitative interview study of healthcare staff experiences and perspectives'.

Read it in full here >

BSMS at PHA meeting at Havard

Last week a team from BSMS attended the Planetary Health Alliance’s (PHA) Annual Meeting at Harvard Medical School. Jo Middleton, Research Fellow, gave a plenary talk titled ‘Integration of medical service provision and nature conservation worldwide 1980-2022: Collaborative evidence mapping of 43 projects across 22 countries’. Jessica Stockdale, Doctoral Student Fellow, presented a poster titled ‘The disease burden of global anthropogenic landscape change morally obliges individuals to share their personal data for health research: A policy project utilising philosophical investigation and stakeholder discussion’. Stefania Tsatsari, Year 4 BSMS student, presented a poster titled ‘Mobilising medical students for climate action: The Planetary Health Report Card example at a UK medical school’. Download the posters and presentation videos here. BSMS has been an institutional member of the PHA since the inaugural meeting in 2017. PHA is a growing consortium of more than 300 institutions worldwide committed to understanding and addressing the impacts of environmental change on human health.

PRESAR network meets in Addis Ababa to discuss antibiotic resistance

The PRESAR network, (One Health Platform to Reduce the Emergence and Spread of Antibiotic Resistance in the Nile Valley) team, which involves staff from Global Health and Infection, gathered in Addis Ababa from November 7-9 to evaluate the status, and data presentation of the scoping review on the one-health aspect of antibiotic resistance (ABR) and policy documents on ABR. The PRESAR network is uniquely diverse, both with relation to the location of the researchers (Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia, UK, Canada, Germany, and Spain), but also in expertise and background which includes immunology, microbiology, infectious diseases, medical anthropology and more. The meeting included speakers to cover a wide range of One Health topics in AMR research. It also gave an opportunity for the network members to review the past achievements and plan for future research projects. In addition to the core network members, the meeting was attended by representatives of the Ethiopian Ministry of Health, and Ethiopian Institute of Public Health who gave presentations on the current local AMR surveillance system and national AMR strategy. The team discussed the capacity within the group and potential future funding possibilities.  

Find out more about the meeting here >

GHI remember Professor Sir Eldryd Parry

The Department of Global Health & Infection joins with colleagues around the world in remembering the life of Professor Sir Eldryd Parry, who died on 13 November aged 91. Prof Gail Davey said: “A chance meeting with Eldryd in the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine bike shed changed my career and life. He asked about my post-doctoral plans, and established that my husband (Richard) and I were exploring ways to volunteer in East Africa, following Richard’s retirement as a professional athlete. He quietly 'made enquiries' at Addis Ababa University, and a few months later I started an honorary position there. Within the first year, he set me on EW Price's podoconiosis trail, asking the then British Ambassador, Sir Myles Wickstead, to send me to assess a non-government organisation in southern Ethiopia. That visit triggered the twenty-plus year old podoconiosis research programme that now finds itself based at BSMS and has impacted the lives of thousands of people affected by podoconiosis across East Africa. Eldryd continued to support us in Ethiopia, bringing apples, newspapers and ideas for Lancet comments. He visited BSMS to celebrate our Wellcome Centre for Global Health Research and to give warmly received seminars at student conferences. His self-deprecating, faithful and person-focussed approach arose from a deep, inclusive Christian faith. He will be greatly missed.” Prof Melanie Newport said: “When BSMS first opened, Eldryd took great interest in the development of the global health curriculum for our undergraduate students, and travelled down to BSMS specially to give engaging lectures to captivated students. He introduced a number of other speakers to us, including as Prof Adetokunbo Lucas who went on to receive an honorary doctorate  for his contributions to the development of global health at BSMS. Eldryd founded the Tropical Health Education  Trust (THET), a charity aiming to promote  Health Partnerships as a model for supporting local communities and Ministries of Health in African countries. It was Eldryd who persuaded us in Brighton to develop our own partnership - the Brighton Lusaka Health Link was established in 2006 and remains very active. He defined the ethos of health partnerships – to be responsive not prescriptive and that trust and willingness to learn on both sides was the most effective approach. This was wise advice which we have applied much more broadly to all our GHI partnership activities across education, training and research.”

Mei presents research in Barcelona

Dr Mei Trueba, Senior Lecturer in International Development and Global Health, participated in the fifth international conference on socially responsible public procurement held in Barcelona from 16-18 November. Mei presented her research on commodity value chains and labour rights violations in various industrial sectors and also chaired a panel focused on discussing achievements and challenges in the promotion of a public procurement model based on the protection of human rights.

New paper

Dr Saeideh Babashahi, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Health Economics, is the author of a new paper titled ‘External validity of multi-criteria preference data obtained from non-random sampling: Measuring cohesiveness within and between groups, Annals of Operation Research.’

Read it here >

October 2022

International global health gathering at the Amex

In October 2022, more than 100 delegates from the UK, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Sudan converged on the Amex Stadium for the NIHR-BSMS NTDs Research Programmes Annual Meeting. The meeting took place from Tuesday to Friday, with updates on  the 5S Foundation and Global Health Research Unit. On Thursday morning an international panel of experts had a thought-provoking discussion on the theme of partnerships, with all agreeing that despite inherent challenges in a North-South partnership, global partnerships can be an effective model today – with all stakeholders sharing equity, a vision for the project and goals. One of the representatives of the National Institute of Health Research who attended the meeting said it was “very exciting to see how full of energy, passion and drive the whole team is. It was a wonderful example of true partnership working.”

Prof Melanie Newport, co-director of the Research Unit, said: “It was fantastic to be able to welcome colleagues from abroad and from UK partner institutions for this meeting hosted by BSMS at the Amex – always a popular venue! Meeting in-person allowed us to consolidate the relationships and friendships that are the essential foundation of our work and establish new cross-cutting connections that are so hard to kindle remotely. It was great to hear of the progress the PhD students and post-doctoral research fellows have made with their projects, as well as having dedicated time to focus on impact, community engagement and professional staff training. A real sense of purpose threaded through the meeting and I feel everyone left feeling inspired and energised, ready for the year ahead!” There was also time to enjoy Brighton, with attendees visiting the pier on the Thursday evening for a fish and chip supper and an iconic stick of Brighton rock.

Exploring menstrual health and human rights

BSMS hosted an evening of music, activism and conversation around menstrual health and human rights on 5 October as part of Black History Month. Dr Chi Eziefula, Senior Lecturer in Infectious Diseases, was joined by Jane Dancey from Wen – a campaigning charity who highlight the need for safety, sustainability, and affordability of all period products – and the Ganda Boys, a UK-based, African fusion band who have helped to lift more than 7,000 young people out of period poverty through their charitable work. Students and staff attended the event, which highlighted the need for action locally and globally in addressing the intersections of menstrual health, poverty and human rights. Chi said: "This event brought together a really diverse audience, bringing awareness and focus on menstrual health, a topic that is not often talked about, and yet a life experience for half the planet! We hoped to show that research in this area at BSMS has relevance to both local and global health. The feedback demonstrated that events such as this, combining both arts and science, can help start conversations and spark engagement in what we do."

Where Belonging Meets Wellbeing exhibition

This exhibition extends the work of Kwaku Darko, a fifth-year medical student at BSMS, who used PhotoVoice as a creative research method to explore – among UK medical students who identify as West African Diaspora – the role of visual cues in triggering a sense of belonging and how that might affect their wellbeing. The exhibition launched at Yellowave on Friday 30 September, and will be moving to the Medical Teaching Building foyer (by Drs Orders cafe), from the afternoon on Monday 10 – Friday 14 October, as part of Black History Month.  

New paper

Martin Llewelyn, Professor in Infectious Diseases, is the lead author on a new paper titled 'Antibiotic review kit for hospitals (ARK-Hospital): a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised controlled trial'. The paper has been published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

WHO guidance features BSMS research

Collins Iwuji, Professor of Global Health and HIV Medicine at BSMS, is part of the team that features in the latest WHO guidance on PrEP implementation. The guidance, titled ‘Implementation tool for pre-exposure prophylaxis of HIV infection – Integrating STI services’, was supported by BSMS-based research funded by the NIHR-HPSR development grant. Read the guidance here >

September 2022

Prof Davey gives keynote speech in Cameroon

Gail Davey OBE, Professor of Global Health Epidemiology, gave a keynote speech at the First National Conference on Podoconiosis in Cameroon. Held at the Talotel, Bafoussam, Western Region on September 8 and 9, the event was coordinated and hosted by Prof Samuel Wanji a partner of the BSMS Wellcome Trust Centre for Global Health Research, with support from Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research-funded TAKeOFF Consortium, the Wellcome Trust and the University of Buea. More than 100 delegates participated, including representatives of the Ministry of (Public) Health (MINSAN), WHO Country Office, the West Region Council, Universities, non-government organisations, and endemic district health workers. The aim of the event was to give all delegates a strong background on podoconiosis (what it is, where it is found, what the consequences are, and what can be done about it), hear from Cameroonian PhD students on their respective projects and look ahead to future research needs. In the final session, two non-government implementers (Baptist Health Services and HKI) were asked for their comments and suggestions based on what they had heard to date. Then a set of resolutions were drafted and briefly discussed. Members of a Working Group were proposed to take the revised resolutions forward. The organising committee will prepare a report and we will share it when available. You can follow all BSMS’ Neglected Tropical Diseases work on the new Twitter feed: @NTDsResearch >

Prof Vera receives a UKRI grant

Prof Jaime Vera, Chair in HIV Medicine, has received a UKRI grant titled ‘Development of a mHealth pathway to expand and enhance comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services for young people in Zambia.’ Adolescents and young people in Zambia are disproportionately affected by HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STI) and have limited access to convenient, non-judgmental, and confidential sexual and reproductive health services including HIV/ STI testing and contraceptionIn collaboration with Zambart in Zambia, Prof. Helen Ayles from the LSHTM, Mary Darking from the University of Brighton and Jenny Whetham from University Hospitals Sussex, the team led by Jaime will use community-based, participatory research to design and develop with AYP a service specification for a youth-friendly, digitally-supported pathway of care to overcome barriers to STI service access by offering increased convenience, privacy and confidentiality.The pathway will include: a mobile phone app for receiving health information and sexual health test results; vending machines located in-community dispensing a range of products including HIV self-testing kits, sampling kits for STIs (Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, Trichomonas, Syphilis, HIV) and contraceptives; and a web application for medical review of test results and treatment prescription.  A service specification and prototype versions of the app, vending machine interface, and web application will be completed in this project, ready for implementation in a future trial. More information on HIV and sexual health research at BSMS can be found below.

Find out more here > 

New Head of Department

Prof Gail Davey is taking over from Prof Melanie Newport as Head of the Global Health and Infection Department, with Dr Jaime Vera becoming research lead for the department. 

Where Belonging Meets Wellbeing

Friday 30 September, 4-7pm, Yellowave Beach Sports Venue & Beach Cafe

This exhibition extends the work of Kwaku Darko, a fourth-year medical student at BSMS who used PhotoVoice as a creative research method to explore, among UK medical students who identify as West African Diaspora, the role of visual cues in triggering a sense of belonging and how that might affect their wellbeing.

Book your free ticket here >

Music, Activism and Conversation: Exploring Menstrual Health and Human Rights

Wednesday 5 October 2022, 6:30-8:30pm, Room 76, University of Sussex

Join BSMS for an evening of music, activism and conversation around menstrual health and human rights. The event will begin at 6:30pm, with short talks from Dr Chi Eziefula (Global Health, BSMS), and Environmenstrual campaigners Wen, followed by an hour-long show from the Ganda Boys at 7pm, and the opportunity for conversation, networking and light refreshments after the performance.

Book your free ticket here >

10 Global Health Research Units announced

Ten new NIHR Global Health Research Units have been awarded funding under the programme’s second call to deliver high-quality applied global health research and training in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) over the next five years. Each of the Units will receive up to £7m over the next five years. Among the units are the NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Neglected Tropical Diseases at BSMS and the Integrating HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis and diagnostic STI care: an individualised public health approach (iPreP-STI), led by Dr Collins Iwuji at BSMS.

Find out more about the awards here >

New STI vending machine at SU

A new sexual health and HIV digital vending machine has been launched at the University of Sussex Student Union Reception Building, funded by the Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF).

Read the full story here >

July 2022

Global Health away day

The Global Health and Infection Department held its annual away day at the Sussex Yacht Club in Shoreham last month. The day comprised a series of presentations from researchers working on the Society, Culture and Health theme, as well as the Infectious Diseases theme. The day ended with an interactive session on inclusivity and creating a workplace where everyone belongs. The department highly recommends the venue for any other groups at BSMS looking for an external space to host meetings.

TB work presented in Wales

Aaron Goff, from the Department of Global Health and Infection, presented his PhD work on profiling Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) responses to lung microenvironments at the Acid Fast Club. The two-day meeting of the UK mycobacterial community was in Aberystwyth, proclaimed as ‘the Brighton of Wales’ last month, with researchers from BSMS in attendance.

Interested in a more global dimension to working in healthcare?

Colleagues from BSMS attended the Brighton Lusaka Health Link Open Meeting held on 5 July. The meeting was an opportunity to ‘show and tell’ what’s been going on with the link, attended in-person at the AEB in Brighton and online by friends and colleagues in Zambia. Presentations came from a number of colleagues, including Prof Heike Rabe and Prof Jaime Vera from BSMS. The Link has been co-producing work for the benefit of the health of people in Zambia through training health care workers but is also taking on an increasing number of research projects relevant to the charity’s aims. If you have an area you think would be worth developing or want to find out more about the Link, visit the webpage below.

Find out more here >

June 2022

NTDs awareness event takes place in parliament

Members from Global Health and Infection at BSMS co-organised an event at House of Lords to encourage the UK to make a public commitment behind the Kigali Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), which launched at the end of January on World NTD day. The event, Ending the Neglect: Celebrating the UK’s role in beating NTDs, was planned prior to the Kigali Summit on Malaria and NTDs taking place on 23 June 2022 at which Heads of State will endorse the Declaration, renew, and extend commitments in support of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Roadmap of NTDs (2021-2030) and to join the 100% Committed to end NTDs Campaign.

The reception was also a chance to positively raise the profile of NTDs with UK Parliamentarians following cuts to the aid budget in 2021, which also included cuts to NTD programmes. Prof Abebaw Fekadu, Co-Director of the NIHR Global Health Research Unit on NTDs at BSMS, gave a presentation on “UK funding, Impact, Partnership platforms & Therapeutic solutions” which can be viewed below.

The event was co-hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases and the UK Coalition Against NTDs. 

View Prof Fekadu's talk here >

Dr Maya Semrau presents at COR-NTD panel 

Dr Maya Semrau, Senior Research Fellow in Implementation Research, presented at the Coalition for Operational Research on Neglected Tropical Diseases (COR-NTD) panel this month. This was the first in a series of three events focused on recently completed research in disease management, disability, and inclusion. Maya shared results from the IMPRESS study (Improving access to integrated morbidity management and disability PREvention services through stigma reduction for people with lower limb lymphoedema in Ethiopia). Maya said, “It was fantastic to have a session that focused on research around mental health and stigma for people affected by NTDs, and to present our IMPRESS work as part of this. I was inspired to hear from other related projects and discuss some of the lessons learned, challenges and gaps that need to be addressed in order to ensure holistic integrated care for all persons affected by NTDs that includes mental health and psychosocial care alongside their physical care.”

Colleagues from NIHR NTDs programmes host UK MPs in Kigali

Colleagues from the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) programme based at the University of Kigali and Global Health and Infection at BSMS met with members from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Malaria and NTDs to share how our projects are contributing to the prevention, diagnosis, care and treatment of mycetoma, podoconiosis and scabies. MP James Sunderland said: “I am deeply impressed with these fantastic projects and hope to come back and see their outputs in a few years.” The meeting took place in conjunction with the Kigali Summit on Malaria and NTDs last week, alongside the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

The PRESAR network meets in Egypt

Earlier this month, the PRESAR network held its first face-to-face meeting in Cairo, Egypt. It was a three-day hybrid meeting with speakers covering a wide range of expertise and methodology in Antimicrobial Resistance research. The meeting included 14 talks from across a variety of institutions and disciplines, as well as a team presentation on the data collection and a general discussion on how to improve the collection process. The PRESAR network is uniquely diverse, both with relation to the location of the researchers (Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia, UK, Canada, Germany, and Spain), but also in expertise and background which includes basic science, immunology, microbiology, infectious diseases, medical anthropology and more. Members from the Global Health and Infection Department at BSMS were in attendance.

Find out more here >

May 2022

HIV team at BHIVA

The HIV team from BSMS (Prof Jaime Vera, Dr Collins Iwuji, Natalie Clair-Sullivan and Kate Alford) were present at the British HIV Association (BHIVA) 2022 spring conference last month. Natalie Clair-Sullivan won the BHIVA Chloe Orkin Award for the best oral presentation in the field of social sciences for her research on ‘Exploring frailty and frailty screening for older people living with HIV’. She also got a special mention on Twitter from Dr Laura Waters, Chair of BHIVA.

Find out more here >

Success for Global Health students

The MSc Global Health alumni and current students have been making great achievements in the field of global health and academia. Gift Treighcy Banda (2019-20) has been offered a PHD studentship at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. This is a NIHR-funded MultiLink consortium Studentship looking at the prevalence and clinical outcomes of multimorbidity in acute secondary care settings. Bella Tomsett (current student) has been offered a PHD studentship at the University of Brighton focusing on victims of domestic abuse and modern slavery in telemedicine settings. Geeta Hitch (2020-21) has got a job as lecturer in public health at the University of Sunderland in London. And Janet Saborsky (2019-20) has been offered a job working with the office of the Global AIDS Coordinator on the PEPFAR project in the USA. Congratulations to all.

West African diaspora: a photovoice study
BSMS student Kwaku Boadu Darko has worked with Dr Chi Eziefula and Dr Caroline Ackley to explore the roles that visual cues have in promoting emotional connections to the sense of belonging and wellbeing in the West African diaspora of BSMS students, with the hopes that findings can be applied to aid a wider population of the diaspora. This is part of Kwaku’s fourth year individual research project (IRP). Kwaku used a method called photovoice which enabled participants to control the narrative of the research through taking pictures that they best felt related to the research. This research touches on Kwaku’s own experiences of bias, belonging and wellbeing due to being from the West African diaspora. Kwaku is hoping to publish this research and is organising a public photo exhibition in June.

Global Health attend Anthropology on Campus day
Gemma Aellah and Dr Mei Trueba from the Department of Global Health and Infection took part in the Anthropology on Campus day 2022 last week, which was organised by the Global Studies Research Centre at the University of Sussex. Both presented in the Anthropology around the Campus session – Gemma discussed the Social Sciences for Severe Stigmatising Skin Conditions (5S) Foundation, along with her interest in policy making around neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), while Mei presented on her project in Guatemala with the Ministry of Health on NTDs, and her modern slavery PPE procurement project.

Gail attends royal garden party

Gail Davey OBE, Professor of Global Health Epidemiology at BSMS, attended the second official garden party of the year at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday 18 May. Gail joined more than 8,000 guests who were welcomed by the Duchess of Cambridge. Gail was awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) award in the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours, for her dedication to leading public health research that has transformed care for some of the world’s most vulnerable communities.

Read more here >

April 2022

New book chapter: Mei Trueba

Dr Mei Trueba, Lecturer in Global Health at BSMS, has written a new book chapter in the prestigious Critical Studies in Risk and Uncertainty book series. Drawing 17 months of ethnographic research in the mines of Potosi (Bolivia), Mei illustrates the need for dominant global health approaches to move beyond training-based behaviour-change strategies and instead actively engage with the multifaceted and ever-shifting socio-political and economic contexts in which health risks are assembled, encountered, perceived and ultimately responded to. Mei argues that until individuals’ health risk management perspectives are incorporated into the contextualised planning and implementation of interventions, dominant global health approaches will continue being part of the problem instead of agents of change. Mei’s chapter can be accessed below.

Read the chapter here >

Situating anti-LGBT moral panics in Indonesia: homophobia, criminalisation, acceptance, and religiosity

In this special issue of the peer-reviewed journal Indonesia and the Malay World, Dr Diego García Rodríguez, Research Associate in HIV and Social Science at BSMS, and Ben Murtagh, SOAS University of London, have brought together a number of international scholars to analyse what the consequences of the 2016 anti-LGBT events in Indonesia have been for queer people and their allies, by exploring both the antecedents to these moral panics and the current environment in the archipelago. The articles in this special issue can be divided into three clusters. The first one puts the focus on the increasingly punitive trans- and homophobic landscape in the archipelago post-2016. In this group, Ferdiansyah Thajib explores the affective dynamics creating anti-LGBT campaigns, Benjamin Hegarty theorises how media reporting is harnessing a relationship between sex and crime as a form of entertainment related to LGBT, and Hendri Yulius examines digital homophobia in post-2016 Indonesia. The second cluster pays attention to the intersections between religion and non-normative genders and sexualities in various ways. While Terje Toomistu analyses the bodily negotiations of transgender Muslim women against the background of their religious sensitivities and aspirations for belonging, Diego García Rodríguez moves the focus to the allies of sexual and gender minorities in Indonesia by locating the forces inspiring the advent of pro-queer religious activism. Lastly, Ben Murtagh’s article takes a step back from everyday events to engage with a range of Indonesian films united by an engagement with the difficulties of being lesbian or gay in Indonesia.

View the journal here >

A genetic research story of giving back and returning to the country of a thousand hills

Prof Leon Mutesa, one of the Co-Investigators on the Phase 2 NIHR Research Unit on NTDs at BSMS, has written this personal piece on the journal Nature, on what inspired him to develop the first academic centre for human genetics in Rwanda, in order to build molecular technologies and human capacity in genetics and genomics.

Read the article here >

Climate change reduces HIV treatment adherence in Africa

Droughts caused by climate change can have an impact on HIV treatment, according to a new study led by researchers at BSMS and the University of Sussex School of Global Studies. The study, a systematic review of more than 100 studies in Africa, showed that livelihoods and economic conditions, comorbidities, human mobility and psychobehavioural dispositions and support systems can interact in complex ways that influence HIV treatment adherence during droughts. The study was led by Dr Collins Iwuji, Senior Lecturer in Sexual Health and HIV Medicine at BSMS.

Read the full story here >

Routine HIV screening launches at local Emergency Department

Prof Jaime Vera, at BSMS, was interviewed by BBC South East this week about the routine HIV screening which has launched at Royal Sussex County Hospital’s Emergency Department. All patients who attend A&E at the Royal Sussex County Hospital will now be screened for HIV when having routine blood tests, unless they choose to opt out. The story was also picked up by The Argus.

Read the full story here >

Search for better drugs for non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infections

Lancet Microbe recently published a study from the Department of Global Health and Infection applying an open drug discovery approach to rare mycobacterial infections. The study from the Waddell group featuring Daire Cantillon, Aaron Goff and Sussex Pharmacy student Emad Salehi alongside clinical colleagues, Stuart Taylor, Simon Stoneham and Katy Fidler, found several novel compounds that inhibit these difficult to treat mycobacteria in vitro. The team also identified options for antimicrobial drug repurposing, which may be the simplest route to improving patient outcomes.

Read the full study here >

New article: ivermectin

Jo Middleton, Research Fellow, has published an article in The Lancet Regional Health on the history of the mass drug administration (MDA) of ivermectin to control scabies.

Read it in full here >

March 2022

Watch highlights from the Kigali declaration

Colleagues from the Global Health and Infection Department at BSMS were in Kigali, Rwanda, last month to mark the Kigali declaration. Launched on 27 January, the declaration is the political brawn behind the strategic brains of the World Health Organization's NTD Roadmap 2021-30. The Global Health and Infection team have been running a series of training workshops with their partners in Rwanda, Ethiopia and Sudan, as part of their NIHR-funded partnerships to tackle neglected tropical diseases. Videos from the declaration are now available to view on the Global Health and Infection webpage, including an address from Gail Davey OBE, Professor of Global Health Epidemiology at BSMS.

Watch the videos here >

Grants for BSMS researchers

Dr Stephanie Daley, Prof Jaime Vera and Katie Alford have been successful in obtaining a successful grant from HEALTHY AGEING @SUSSEX – PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH FUND for the UPLIFT project, in partnership with Brighton SwitchBoard. The UPLIFT project will establish, for the first time, a lived experience advisory group of people living with HIV and cognitive impairment. It is envisaged that the researchers will work with this group to co-produce a set of research priorities for improving the quality of life of those affected by cognitive impairment. The team envisage the advisory group to contribute with future research bids by reviewing research grant applications and participating directly in future research activities including coproduction, patient recruitment and dissemination of findings. The potential impact of this work could be significant at a national and international level for a group of people that to date have been underserved in terms of HIV and cognitive impairment research activity. Additionally, Dr Liz Ford, Prof Jaime Vera, Dr Michael Smith and Katie Goddard have been successful in obtaining another grant from HEALTHY AGEING @SUSSEX – PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH FUND for a project titled ‘Co-producing trustworthy and transparent governance pathways for using routinely collected health data to understand healthy ageing in people living with HIV’. This project will aim to co-develop HIV data governance guidelines for the NHS. HIV is still seen as a highly stigmatised condition; consequently HIV status is extremely sensitive health information.

New paper: placental transfusion

BSMS alumna Kjersti Midtbo, who studied the Global Health MSc at BSMS, published her paper ‘Barriers to implementation of placental transfusion of babies at birth in Zambia’, published in the African Journal of Reproductive Health. Kjersti is now training as a midwife at the University of Bergen.

Read the paper here >

New papers: Papreen Nahar

Dr Papreen Nahar, Senior Research Fellow (Medical Anthropology and Global Health) has published two new papers recently. The first is UK-based research on co-designing with patients and carers to improve NHS feedback system. Read it here. The second is a protocol paper on enhancing health services, looking at the potential to integrate mental health services into primary healthcare facilities in Bangladesh.

Read it here >

New paper: HIV

Dr Collins Iwuji, Clinical Senior Lecturer in Sexual Health & HIV Medicine, is the co-author of a new paper titled ‘Economic, social and demographic impacts of drought on treatment adherence among people living with HIV in rural South Africa: A qualitative analysis.’ The paper has been published by Climate Risk Management.

Read it here >

BSMS at the Sussex Research Partnerships Conference

Colleagues from BSMS took part in the 60 Years of Sussex, Sussex Research Partnerships Conference on Wednesday 9 March. Prof Gail Davey and Prof Mel Newport discussed neglected tropical diseases and partnerships with researchers in Ethiopia, Sudan and Rwanda. Watch the recording here. And Jo Middleton discussed sustainable development goals in relation to conservation work in Papua New Guinea. Watch the recording here >

New paper: biological anthropology 

Dr Papreen Nahar, Senior Research Fellow (Medical Anthropology & Global Health), has published a new paper with former colleagues from Durham University. In this paper, the analysis of biological anthropology data has shown a gender disparity among British Bangladeshi migrants in the UK. The paper has been published in Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health. 

February 2022

Global Health team in Rwanda for launch of declaration

Colleagues from the Global Health and Infection Department at BSMS have been to Kigali, in Rwanda, in the past week to mark the Kigali declaration. Launched on 27 January, the declaration is the political brawn behind the strategic brains of the World Health Organization's NTD Roadmap 2021-30. The Global Health and Infection team have been running a series of training workshops with their partners in Rwanda, Ethiopia and Sudan, as part of their NIHR-funded partnerships to tackle neglected tropical diseases. Gail Davey, Professor of Global Health Epidemiology at BSMS, wrote a blog about the team’s work and the declaration.

Read more about the declaration here >

Childlessness in Bangladesh: Dr Papreen Nahar in conversation for International Women's Day

Tuesday 8 March 2022, 1-2pm via Zoom. For International Women's Day 2022, join BSMS’ Dr Papreen Nahar, Senior Research Fellow (Medical Anthropology and Global Health), who will discuss her new book: Childlessness in Bangladesh: Intersectionality, Suffering and Resilience, in conversation with Prof Maya Unnithan, Director of the Sussex Centre for Cultures of Reproduction, Technologies & Health, and Prof Trudie Gerrits, Co-Director of the Masters in Medical Anthropology and Sociology at the University of Amsterdam.

Register here >

60 Years of Sussex – Sussex Research Partnerships Conference

Wednesday 9 March, 2-4pm via Zoom. Professors Gail Davey and Mel Newport from Global Health and Infection at BSMS, will be taking part in the Research Partnerships event as part of the University of Sussex’s 60th anniversary. They will discuss neglected tropical diseases and our partnerships with researchers in Ethiopia, Sudan and Rwanda. The conference will take place all day from 8:30am-4pm.

Register here >

High rate of blood clots in Covid-19

Research by Dr Chi Eziefula, Senior Lecturer in Infection, and Dr Tim Chevassut, Reader in Haematology, has been featured by VNExplorer. Chi and Tim found that Covid-19 is associated with a high incidence of venous thromboembolism, blood clots in the venous circulation, and so a D-dimer blood test was useful to identify those patients at highest risk of venous thromboembolism when admitted to hospital. 

Read the article here >

January 2022

Putting our principles into practice on Neglected Tropical Diseases

Professor Gail Davey OBE discusses why the Kigali Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases is a major milestone in global health. Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of chronic infectious diseases that affect people in many low and middle income countries. Although they are preventable and often treatable, knowledge of NTDs within healthcare systems is limited and more than 1 billion people worldwide suffer extensive pain, disfigurement and disability, as well as discrimination and social stigma that contribute to a cycle of poverty in affected areas.

Read the full blog here >

£7 million grant will boost research into 'ignored' diseases

The Global Health Research Unit at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), which works on some of the most ‘ignored’ neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), has been given a boost by an award of £7 million funding over five years by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The new grant will fund research projects based in Ethiopia, Sudan and Rwanda, working on three NTDs (podoconiosis, mycetoma and scabies). Together, these conditions affect millions of vulnerable people in poor communities in low-income countries, and they are mostly ignored by other research groups.

Read the full story here >

Clean hands save lives campaign

NIHR funded researchers at BSMS, University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust and Lusaka University Teaching Hospital in Zambia worked together to share knowledge in making safe low-cost hand sanitiser for hospitals during the Covid-19 crisis. Hospital pharmacists responded to shortages during the pandemic by manufacturing their own hand sanitiser using locally sourced materials. Watch the video below to find out more.   

Watch the video here >

Global Health panel to present at RAI conference

Prof Shahaduz Zaman and Dr Papreen Nahar from the Global Health and Infection department at BSMS will be presenting at the Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI) conference on ‘Mobilizing methodology in Medical Anthropology’ from 18-21 January. The title of their talk is ‘Critical Medical Anthropological Engagements with Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD).’ Zaman and Papreen will be conveners on the panel, while Gemma Aellah, Mohamed Elsheikh, Dr Vicky Hall and Kibur Engdawork from the department will be presenting.

Find out more here >