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Background: Research capacity enhancement is needed in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) for improved health, wellbeing, and health systems' development. In this article, we discuss two capacity-building projects, the African/Asian Regional Capacity Development (ARCADE) in Health Systems and Services Research (HSSR) and Research on Social Determinants of Health (RSDH), implemented from 2011 to 2015. The two projects focussed on providing courses in HSSR and social determinants of health research, and on developing collaborations between universities, along with capacity in LMIC universities to manage research grant submissions, financing, and reporting. Both face-to-face and sustainable online teaching and learning resources were used in training at higher postgraduate levels (Masters and Doctoral level). Design: We collated project meeting and discussion minutes along with project periodic reports and deliverables. We extracted key outcomes from these, reflected on these in discussions, and summarised them for this paper. Results: Nearly 55 courses and modules were developed that were delivered to over 920 postgraduate students in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Junior researchers were mentored in presenting, developing, and delivering courses, and in preparing research proposals. In total, 60 collaborative funding proposals were prepared. The consortia also developed institutional capacity in research dissemination and grants management through webinars and workshops. Discussion: ARCADE HSSR and ARCADE RSDH were comprehensive programmes, focussing on developing the research skills, knowledge, and capabilities of junior researchers. One of the main strengths of these programmes was the focus on network building amongst the partner institutions, where each partner brought skills, expertise, and diverse work cultures into the consortium. Through these efforts, the projects improved both the capacity of junior researchers and the research environment in Africa, Asia, and Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By comparing the HRM practices in Indian and European MNE subsidiaries located in four of the Southern African Development Community countries, this paper tests the relevance of the country-of-origin effect and analyses the strength of institutional and firm-level influences. Examining data from 865 MNE subsidiaries obtained from the World Bank enterprise survey data, the paper finds that Indian MNEs have higher labour costs in relation to total sales than their European counterparts, that Indian MNEs make more use of temporary labour than their European counterparts, that Indian MNEs invest in less training than their European counterparts. No support is found for the hypothesis that Indian MNEs have a lower ratio of skilled workers in comparison to European-owned subsidiaries. The study shows that country-of-origin effects are weakened if they are not consistent with host country ideology and that as economies evolve so too do their expectations of HR policy and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Non-consensual sterilisation is not only a historic abuse. Cases of unethical treatment of women around the time of a pregnancy continue in the Twenty-First Century in five continents. Sterilisation is being carried out by some healthcare professionals at the time of delivery, or soon afterwards, without valid consent. A range of contemporary examples of such practices is given. Respecting women's autonomy should be the touchstone of the consent process. Avoidance of force, duress, deception and manipulation should go without saying. Ethnic minority communities and women living with HIV, in particular, are being targeted for this kind of abuse. Attempts have been made in various countries and by international professional organisations to introduce clinical guidelines to steer health professionals away from this malpractice. Survivors have sought justice in domestic and international courts. This paper critically assesses the evidence on the practical, ethical and legal issues around the handling of consent for these procedures. Suggestions are made about possible regulatory responses that address abuse, whilst maintaining access for those individuals who freely elect to undergo these procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relationship between military expenditure and FDI inflow conditioning on the exposure of a country to armed conflict in the long run. We apply the band spectrum regression estimator, and the maximal overlap discrete wavelet transform, to a panel of 60 developing countries, for the years 1990 to 2013. The estimated results indicate that military expenditure, in the absence of armed conflict, reduces FDI inflow. However, the negative effect is mitigated by increased military expenditure, in the presence of armed conflict. We also show that the effect of military expenditure on FDI is time sensitive, in that it takes time for military expenditure to affect FDI inflow. FDI inflow in response to higher military expenditure is higher for the country that faces higher armed conflict than the country that faces lower armed conflict. The findings are robust in the case of overall as well as internal conflict. These results are also robust to the alternative specification, subsample analysis with different armed conflict thresholds, and the estimation using the time variant long-run models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As international relations actors in the post-Second World War world, international organisations have played a significant role in the standardisation of global policy concepts during the 20th century, and humanitarian assistance has been no exception. While the study of the role of international organisations in shaping a dominant model of humanitarian aid has recently gathered pace, few historians have focused on different, less successful models and interpretations developed by other international organisations. Recently declassified Commonwealth Secretariat records show that discussions within the Secretariat and among member states regarding the potential objectives and scope of Commonwealth humanitarian assistance programmes took place as early as the 1960s, and continued throughout the following decades. This article provides an overview of the origin and evolution of the Commonwealth’s approach to humanitarian assistance since the 1960s. Its objective is to document this hitherto little known aspect of Commonwealth assistance policies, and, based on an initial literature and archival survey, to contribute to the identification of further research questions and gaps in this aspect of Commonwealth history. Although they are very different in nature and scope, the Commonwealth and the European Union share at least one common feature in so far as humanitarian assistance is concerned, namely their difficulty in reaching a consensual definition of it. By exploring the links and discrepancies between, as well as within, each organisation’s approach to humanitarian assistance, and by examining the initiatives of some of their member states, this paper seeks to highlight the plasticity of the definition of humanitarian assistance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Growing demand for Global Health (GH) training and the internationalisation of education requires innovative approaches to training. Blended learning (BL, a form of e-learning combining face-to-face or real-time interaction with computer-assisted learning) is a promising approach for increasing GH research capacity in low- to middle-income countries. Implementing BL, however, requires additional skills and efforts from lecturers. This paper explores lecturers' views and experiences of delivering BL courses within the context of two north-south collaborative research capacity building projects, ARCADE HSSR and ARCADE RSDH. Design: We used a qualitative approach to explore the experiences and perceptions of 11 lecturers involved in designing and delivering BL courses collaboratively across university campuses in four countries (South Africa, Uganda, India and Sweden). Data were collected using interviews in person or via Skype. Inductive qualitative content analysis was used. Results: Participants reported that they felt BL increased access to learning opportunities and made training more flexible and convenient for adult learners, which were major motivations to engage in BL. However, despite eagerness to implement and experiment with BL courses, they lacked capacity and support, and found the task time consuming. They needed to make compromises between course objectives and available technological tools, in the context of poor Internet infrastructure. Conclusions: BL courses have the potential to build bridges between low- and middle-income contexts and between lecturers and students to meet the demand for GH training. Lecturers were very motivated to try these approaches but encountered obstacles in implementing BL courses. Considerable investments are needed to implement BL and support lecturers in delivering courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advocacy is one of the core functions of public health and is a key tool for achieving Sustainable Development Goals. Public health associations play a key role in advocating for the development and implementation of strategies to prevent diseases and promote health and well-being. This study aims to map out the focus of public health advocacy carried out by selected national public health associations over 4 years, between 2018 and 2021, in order to identify gaps and strengths and support associations and professionals in their advocacy efforts. Twelve national public health associations participated in the study. Official policy documents produced between 2018 and 2021 were collected and analysed. The title and summary of the policy documents were examined line by line and coded into the main subject categories and themes. A qualitative thematic analysis was conducted. Policies were assessed from global and regional perspectives. A total of 220 policy documents were analysed. Overall, the largest number of policy documents came from high-income countries and dealt with environmental health and communicable diseases, including COVID-19, with, however, important differences among regions. In the African region, public health advocacy focused mainly on strengthening health systems; Europe and South America were mostly concerned with communicable diseases and pandemic management; and North America and the Western Pacific regions focused primarily on climate change. Limited attention was paid to international health and health as a human right in all regions. Our study showed that, especially in high-income countries, public health associations actively engage in advocacy; however, more effort needs to be devoted to implementing a more international and intersectoral approach at the global level, anchored in health as a human right and aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migrant health workers fill care gaps in their destination countries, but they also actively engage in improving living conditions for people of their countries of origin through expatriate professional networks. This paper aims to explore the professional links that migrant health workers from sub-Saharan African countries living in five African and European destinations (Botswana, South Africa, Belgium, Austria, and the United Kingdom) have to their countries of origin. Qualitative interviews were conducted with migrant doctors, nurses, and midwives from sub-Saharan Africa (N=66). A qualitative content analysis of the material was performed using the software ATLAS.ti. Almost all migrant health workers have professional ties with their countries of origin supporting health, education, and social structures. They work with non-governmental organizations, universities, or hospitals and travel back and forth between their destination country and country of origin. For a few respondents, professional engagement or even maintaining private contacts in their country of origin is difficult due to the political situation at home. The results show that African migrant health workers are actively engaged in improving living conditions not only for their family members but also for the population in general in their countries of origin. Our respondents are mediators and active networkers in a globalized and transnationally connected world. The research suggests that the governments of these countries of origin could strategically use their migrant health workforce for improving education and population health in sub-Saharan Africa. Destination countries should be reminded of their need to comply with the WHO Global Code of Practice for the international recruitment of health professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the experience of two years of working with migrants residing in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Three different groups, with participants from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe, students, migrants and asylum seekers, converged in three different spaces and frameworks. A total of 51 participants, six men and 41 women between 20 and 50 years of age, took part in spontaneous movement workshops to promote their health, body awareness and well-being, the strengthening of affective bonds and creativity. The impact of the sessions was assessed through an anonymous survey, a semi-structured interview and a facilitator's diary of the sessions. The settings of the three groups were not identical and, thus, did not allow for a comparison between them. However, the results showed that the sessions helped participants to increase their sense of well-being and confidence, facilitate their integration process and strengthen their bonds with other participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional consumption of edible insects is common in one third of the world's population, mostly in Latin America, Africa and Asia. There are over one thousand identified species of insects eaten in some stage of their life cycle; and they play important roles in ensuring food security. The most common way to collect insects are from the wild, which is seasonal with limited availability and has an increasing demand resulting in a disruption to the ecosystem. There is a growing interest shown in rearing insects for commercial purposes, and an industrial scale production will be required to ensure steady supplies. Industrial production will need to take into account the living environment of insects, the nutritional composition of their feed and the overall efficiency of the production system. We provide a short overview on the consumption of and rearing insects in Africa, Asia and Europe. For Africa, a snapshot is given for Nigeria, Ghana, Central African Republic, Kenya and Uganda, while the following countries are reported for Asia: China, Japan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Thailand and Vietnam. In addition, a list of insect species with the highest potential for food and feed in the European Union is provided with some reference to The Netherlands and Finland. The review concludes that there is need to better understand the rearing and farming procedures that will yield high quality edible insects in Africa, Asia and Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is a global demand for rehabilitation services but to date little attention has been paid to rehabilitation as part of the health agenda, especially in low- and middle-income countries. The objective of the scoping review was to get an overview of the needs and unmet needs for rehabilitation services described in the literature. Materials and methods: Electronic search was performed in PubMed and REHABDATA for studies published between 2000 and 2017. Results: Eighty-six articles met the inclusion criteria. Results revealed a profound need for rehabilitation among different user groups with non-communicable diseases and injuries across countries. However, this need considerably outstripped the provision of services, which left many people with substantial unmet needs for rehabilitation. The main reasons for the unmet needs for rehabilitation were the absence of or unequal geographical distribution of services within a country, lack of transportation, and unaffordability of the services. Conclusions: There are substantial unmet needs for rehabilitation and numerous barriers to accessing services. Efforts need to focus on building the capacity for rehabilitation research predominantly in low- and middle-income countries. The comprehensive data that this review provides is useful for raising awareness for the need of rehabilitation at policy level. There is a profound need for rehabilitation services due to the ageing population and growing prevalence of non-communicable diseases. This scoping review shows that the need for rehabilitation considerably outstrips the provision of services. There are substantial unmet needs for rehabilitation and numerous barriers to accessing services. Concerted global action to scale up quality rehabilitation services is needed, especially in low- and middle-income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is estimated that up to a third of injuries requiring emergency department (ED) admission are alcohol-related. While injuries that are alcohol-related are unsurprising to ED staff, less is understood about the precursors to the injury event. Methods: Using data from representative ED injury patients in 22 countries, we examined associations between context of injury (private or public), cause of injury (fall or trip, being stuck/cut/or burned and violence) and alcohol use. Alcohol-related policy data were also obtained from each study locale. Results: Injuries were similarly reported in private (54%) and public settings (46%), while cause of injury was most often due to falls (39%) or being struck/cut or burned (38%). Violence-related injuries were reported by approximately 1 in 5 patients (23%). Increased odds of drinking prior to the injury event was associated with injury due to violence in private settings but not public venues. Similarly, patients from regions with fewer restrictive alcohol policies were more likely to report drinking prior to an injury event and have elevated violence-related injuries in private settings. Conclusion: Understanding the cause and context of injury and alcohol use are important components to evaluation and development of alcohol policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative project is focused on the challenges that newcomer athletes revealed when they considered their earliest encounters with a receiving culture during general daily life. Conversational interviews with 24 national and international amateur newcomer athletes were subjected to interpretive thematic analysis and developed into a composite vignette. This vignette unearths three themes revealing hope (theme: opportunities abound); uncertainty and fear (theme: weighing the risks for the journey ahead); and anger, humiliation, and hardening (theme: public stonings). Understanding the fluidities within the vignette will permit practitioners to explore the uncertainties of acculturation and find entry points to support athlete acculturation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The author discusses the essay by Raewyn Connell on the discourse of decoloniality in higher education and Southern theory, which raises critical concerns over the Euro-American university and its influence on post-colonial global-Southern educational settings. Topics include the focus of Connell on the change in the colonial curriculum in post-colonial Afica, the history of knowledge production, and the imposition of foreign governance in higher education system in Africa.

Background: As blended learning (BL; a combination of face-to-face and e-learning methods) becomes more commonplace, it is important to assess whether students find it useful for their studies. ARCADE HSSR and ARCADE RSDH (African Regional Capacity Development for Health Systems and Services Research; Asian Regional Capacity Development for Research on Social Determinants of Health) were unique capacity-building projects, focusing on developing BL in Africa and Asia on issues related to global health. Objective: We aimed to evaluate the student experience of participating in any of five ARCADE BL courses implemented collaboratively at institutions from Africa, Asia, and Europe. Design: A post-course student survey with 118 students was conducted. The data were collected using email or through an e-learning platform. Data were analysed with SAS, using bivariate and multiple logistic regression. We focused on the associations between various demographic and experience variables and student-reported overall perceptions of the courses. Results: In total, 82 students responded to the survey. In bivariate logistic regression, the course a student took [p=0.0067, odds ratio (OR)=0.192; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.058-0.633], male gender of student (p=0.0474, OR=0.255; 95% CI: 0.066-0.985), not experiencing technical problems (p<0.001, OR=17.286; 95%CI: 4.629-64.554), and reporting the discussion forum as adequate for student needs (p=0.0036,OR=0.165; 95%CI: 0.049-0.555) were found to be associated with a more positive perception of BL, as measured by student rating of the overall helpfulness of the e-learning component to their studies. In contrast, perceiving the assessment as adequate was associated with a worse perception of overall usefulness. In a multiple regression, the course, experiencing no technical problems, and perceiving the discussion as adequate remained significantly associated with a more positively rated perception of the usefulness of the online component of the blended courses. Discussion: The results suggest that lack of technical problems and functioning discussion forums are of importance during BL courses focusing on global health-related topics. Through paying attention to these aspects, global health education could be provided using BL approaches to student satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immigrant men who have sex with men (MSM) are vulnerable to HIV. In the last decade, several rapid HIV-testing facilities targeting MSM have been established around the world and seem popular among immigrants. This study analyzes factors contributing to immigrant MSM's use of Actuel sur Rue (AsR), a community-based rapid HIV-testing site in Montreal's gay village, where 31% of clients are immigrants. From October 2013 to January 2014, AsR staff compiled a list of new clients born outside of Canada. With their consent, 40 immigrant MSM were reached among these new clients for a 15-minute phone survey entailing open-ended and multiple-choice questions. The survey sought immigrant MSM's reasons for visiting AsR; satisfaction with service and staff; and open comments. An inductive thematic analysis was conducted with the qualitative data, and descriptive statistics were produced with the quantitative data. The qualitative findings indicate that the main reasons for seeking an HIV test were a recent risk, routine testing, or being in a new relationship. Clients chose AsR mainly because it is easily accessible, service is fast or they heard about it from a friend. The quantitative findings indicate that rates of satisfaction were high (over 90% were satisfied about all aspects except for openings hours) and more than 80% felt comfortable while receiving services at AsR. Nevertheless, this study's findings have implications for improving services. They stress the importance of offering rapid yet comprehensive service and of taking into account immigrant MSM's concerns for confidentiality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines German public service broadcasting and its message for African female audiences. It situates the activities of Deutsche Welle (DW) within public diplomacy theory and analyses the content of DW'sLearning by Earseries, which is geared towards young African women. The article investigates DW's view on gender and education in Africa and positions the broadcaster's activities within the broader context of the German and European Union's (EU) development assistance to the continent. Through critical discourse analysis, the article examines the broadcaster's perception of Africa. It argues that DW constructs a flattened, reductionist and often incorrect image of Africa. In its stories, Africa is depicted as a continent of harmful traditions that need to be abandoned, gender-biased schooling practices which are a product of regressive African communities, and women who are voiceless and powerless. The article concludes that although well intended, DW fails to grasp the complexities of African realities. Its broadcasts emerge as a series of culturally insensitive programmes that perpetuate well-worn stereotypes. Supported by Germany's Federal Foreign Office and designed to dispose of ‘backward’ African traditions to make space for the ‘new’ and the ‘modern’, theLearning by Earseries echoes the language of themission civilisatriceof Africa's imperial past – something that contemporary development discourse has significantly moved away from. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Aims: The ternational urvey nforming reater Insigts in Opioid Dependence reatment (INSIGHT) study evaluated the implementation of opioid dependence treatment across different countries to assess treatment delivery, quality of care and outcomes. Methods: A questionnaire-based survey was used to gather data in nine countries across Central and Eastern Europe, South Africa and South-East Asia, from patients with opioid dependence receiving medication-assisted treatment (MAT), healthcare professionals (HCPs) who cared for opioid-dependent patients and opioid users not receiving MAT. Findings: There was substantial variation between countries, but overall results suggest that several aspects of MAT can be improved, such as access to treatment (conditions to start or remain in treatment), quality of care (availability/awareness of treatment options and appropriate medication dosing) and treatment outcomes (on-top use, misuse and diversion). Conclusions: This analysis highlights key priorities that should improve the quality of opioid dependence care and access to treatment. These priorities include: acknowledging opioid dependence as a chronic medical condition requiring long-term treatment; recognition by policymakers of the cost-effectiveness of treatment; making available, to those who want them, psychosocial interventions and educating HCPs to prescribe the safest, least divertible forms of medications available at optimal doses in order to reduce opioid use, misuse and diversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a former colonial power in Africa, Portugal has been a conspicuously neglected case in the contemporary academic literature on Europe–Africa relations. This article explores Portugal's role in European Union (EU) relations with Africa, focusing on the issue of political conditionality. The analysis considers how active Portugal has been at the EU level regarding that controversial issue and to what extent Lisbon has tried to mediate between its European partners and Africa. Taking into account the limited contributions on the topic, this article makes great use of primary sources and takes a long-term perspective. The findings show that Portugal's general stance was mainly reactive and cautious. However, Portuguese policy-makers ingeniously used intra-EU pressures towards conditionality to highlight Portugal's conciliatory position and buttress a bridging role between Europe and Africa. This study contributes to the literature on Portuguese foreign policy in the EU–Africa context and provides useful insights for other studies on smaller EU member states as well as Europe–Africa relations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]