HIGHLIGHTS

FY 2001/2002

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 1.   Selection of candidates and awarding of 71 scholarships at TROPMED Regional Centres in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand for:

The distribution of scholarship recipients by country are: Cambodia, 8: Indonesia, 5; Lao PDR, 16; Malaysia, 6; Myanmar, 2; Philippines, 6; Thailand, 9; and Vietnam, 19. Of  these, males were 43 and females, 28.

The breakdown of funding sources are: 

Regular training courses are part of the curricular offerings of host institutions with which TROPMED Regional Centres are affiliated. Although not reflected here enrollment in these courses include self-paying students or those supported by other funding agencies, and those coming from Europe, Africa, U.S.A. and other Asian countries.

 2. Implementation of Special Projects

Special projects are those which fall under SEAMEO’s various programmes of cooperation with international organizations and donor governments usually of short-term or mid-term duration, are mission-oriented and with a task-specific agenda.

2.1. Regional Workshop on Management and Programme Evaluation, June 18-22, 2001 – organized under CHASPPAR (Control of HIV/AIDS/STD Partnership Project in Asia Region) in cooperation with the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ);  this is one of a series of training workshops designed to strengthen capability in HIV/AIDS control in member countries under Phase I, II and III of CHASPPAR. Participants were from Cambodia, Germany, Lao PDR, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
  

2.2. Regional Advanced Training Course on Data Analysis, September 10-28, 2001 – designed to upgrade knowledge of key health personnel on epidemiological and statistical methods  under the EC Regional Malaria Control Programme in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam.

	Country	No. of Participants
	Cambodia	10
	Lao PDR	12
	Vietnam	10
	TOTAL	32

2.3. Training on IEC Development for AIDS Education Team, Ministry of Education, Lao PDR, 29 October – 2 November 2001; CHASPPAR-GTZ project to facilitate learning materials development through computer-aided IEC production, other related skills; and observations on best practice in Thailand.

2.4. GTZ-CHASPPAR Regional Workshop on Ethics and Research Investigation on HIV/AIDS, November 12-16, 2001; to share information on basic ethical principles and practices on HIV/AIDS research/investigations in partner countries and to  identify areas of concern and new initiatives.

2.5. GTZ-CHASPPAR Consultative Meeting on Publication of Cross-Cultural Studies on HIV/AIDS, November 19-20, 2001; to discuss the preparation of manuscripts for publication of completed studies under this project.

2.6. SEAMEO-TROPMED Network-Rockefeller Foundation, Regional Health Equity Project, Training on Research Capacity Development of Health Volunteers in Myanmar, January 25-27, 2002; to train health volunteers on simple methods of health needs assessment and community-based action research through participatory learning approach; the overall objective of the project is to enable people at the grass root level to be involved in the process of  identifying their health needs and problems, and to acquire the necessary  basic knowledge and skills in coping with them. Other member countries under this project are: Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam.

2.7. GTZ-CHASPPAR-UNESCO Workshop on Development of Guidelines for Utilization of the Comprehensive Package for Preventive Education on HIV/AIDS, March 25-29, 2002; to pilot-test various learning materials prepared from previous CHASPPAR-UNESCO workshops and to establish guidelines for their use in respective countries;  participants were from Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

2.8. GTZ-CHASPPAR Consultative Meeting for Internal Evaluation, April 1-2, 2002; to assess progress made on country and regional HIV/AIDS projects and to identify future areas for possible inclusion in planning Phase IV of the project.

2.9. Regional Field-based Training Programme in Epidemiology and Control of Tropical Diseases, May 13-July 31, 2002; practical training on malaria; under SEAMEO-France Cooperation Programme in collaboration with EC Regional Malaria Control Programme and WHO;  participants were from Cambodia, India, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

3. Maximizing opportunities for international/regional linkages

3.1. Participated in the 1st SEAMEO Education Congress, March 26-29, 2001, Bangkok, Thailand; poster exhibits and panel discussions.

3.2. Joint International Tropical Medicine Meeting (JITMM), August 8-10, 2001, Bangkok, Thailand; organized by the Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University in collaboration with the  Department of Communicable Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand; Parasitology and Tropical Medicine Association of Thailand; TROPMED Alumni Association; and SEAMEO TROPMED Network.

3.3. Presented a poster exhibit entitled  “Bridging the Gap: Research Capability Development for Community Health Workers in Greater Mekong Subregion Countries” at Global Forum 5 for Health Research, October 9-12, 2001, Geneva, Switzerland.

3.4. Sixth Regional Conference of GTZ-Supported Health Projects in Asia, December 3-6, 2001, Phnom Penh, Cambodia; exchanged information on health sector reform process; HRD; quality management; reproductive health, and HIV/AIDS.

3.5. Participated in the 5th International Conference on Home and Community Care for Persons Living with HIV/AIDS, December 17-20, 2001, Chiang Mai, Thailand; 26 participants were supported by GTZ-CHASPPAR project.

3.6. Presented papers on malaria and HIV/AIDS at the Scientific Conference on Partnership in Public Health Development, March 18-19, 2002, coinciding with the official inauguration of the National Institute of Public Health, Vientiane, Lao PDR.

4. Enhancing the visibility of SEAMEO TROPMED Network

4.1. Published the Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health (SEAJTMPH) vol. 32, nos. 1-4, 2001; vol. 33, nos. 1-2, 2002; world-wide circulation of technical papers based on original biomedical/clinical/epidemiological investigations on diseases of medical and public health importance, including nutrition.

4.2. Proceedings of the 3rd Seminar on Food-borne Parasitic Zoonoses: Food- and Water-borne Parasitic Zoonoses in the 21st Century, Waikagul J et. al, (Eds), SEAJTMPH vol. 32, suppl. 2, 2001, 244 pp.

4.3. Consensus on the Use of Artemisinin Derivative Containing Combinations (ADCC) for the Treatment of Falciparum Malaria, Warhurst D and Supavej S (Eds), SEAJTMPH vol 32, suppl. 1, 2001, 16 pp.

4.4. Published 2 monographs to commemorate the 75th Anniversary Celebration of the College of Public Health, University of the Philippines Manila, concurrently the SEAMEO TROPMED Regional Centre for Public Health:

4.5. Organized study visits as follows:

5. New initiative

A SEAMEO-ADB-UNESCO Partnership Project proposal on application of ICT in HIV/AIDS Preventive Education in cross-border areas of the Greater Mekong Subregion submitted for assistance by the Government of Japan through the Japan Fund for Information and Communication Technology (JFICT).  

5.1. Background & Rationale

 5.2. Goal

 5.3. Objectives

5.4. The Project focuses on demographic and socio-economic aspects and vulnerable groups in border areas, including in-school and out-of-school children, hard-to-reach communities such as ethnic minorities, and migrant populations. Implementing agencies are SEAMEO TROPMED Network, INNOTECH, SEAMOLEC & UNESCO Asia & Pacific Regional Bureau for Education, with 6 participating countries (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and Yunnan Province in South China).