King’s Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre formally launched a new global health partnership with the Tropical Health and Education Trust (THET) on 4 February 2010.
Renewing an existing 10 year partnership between THET and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, (one of the founding members of King’s Health Partners) this new partnership will allow King’s Health Partners and THET to take steps to develop further their shared agenda and create a new centre of activity within King’s Health Partners.
The new partnership aims to expand delivery of the ‘Health Systems Strengthening’ work, as well as to promote greater involvement of younger members of the health profession by creating further opportunities to be engaged in and learn about global health.
The launch saw guest presentations and speeches from representatives of the existing partnership organisations as well Edna Adan Ismail, former Foreign Minister for Somaliland and Professor Christopher Whitty, Chief Scientific Advisor and Director of Research at the Department for International Development.
The event was held at the Weston Education Centre based on the King’s College Hospital site, which will now be the home of the Somaliland team from THET, to strengthen the joint working on this partnership.
Robert Lechler, Executive Director of King’s Health Partners said; “We view Global Health as an important part of the work we are doing across clinical care, research, and education and training. As an Academic Health Sciences Centre, we aim to influence healthcare both nationally and internationally. This new partnership with THET will play a key role in our aspirations to be a leader in global healthcare education, and is soon to form part of a wider Institute of Global Health Education and Training at King’s Health Partners.”
Pia McRae, Chief Executive at THET said; “We are delighted to be extending our collaboration with King’s Health Partners, following ten years of successful partnership in Somaliland supporting both the training of health professionals, as well as the development of a health infrastructure. We share some key values with King’s Health Partners including an interest in how to support UK health professionals in providing service to developing countries through working alongside (and at the request of) overseas colleagues. Going forward, we aspire to build on our shared commitment to increasing the understanding, education and awareness of UK health sector students, as well as staff, in global health issues and the needs of developing countries.”
Andy Leather, Director of the King’s International Development Unit, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, added; “King’s College Hospital have had a long standing relationship with THET and I am excited that this extended partnership as King’s Health Partners will not only further strengthen the capacity building and educational work in Somaliland but will also catalyse research partnerships with institutions there.”
- To view the presentations from the event, visit our Presentations page
- To listen to podcasts from the event and to view King’s THET Somaliland Partnership video, visit our Audio & Visual page
[...] For more information on King’s College Hospital’s and Somaliland’s partnership visit: King’s Partners [...]
A project funded by the EC-UN Joint Migration and Development Initiative (JMDI) to improve survival and quality of life for children with Sickle Cell Disease(SCD) recently held a workshop in the Nigerian capital Abuja to raise awareness of the disease in Nigeria and train medical workers in diagnosis and counselling.
A project funded by the EC-UN Joint Migration and Development Initiative (JMDI) to improve survival and quality of life for children with SCD recently held a workshop in the Nigerian capital Abuja to raise awareness of the disease in Nigeria and train medical workers in diagnosis and counselling.
SCD is a life-long blood disorder, usually presenting in childhood, that shortens life expectancy and can cause various acute and chronic complications, some potentially lethal. Nigeria is reported to have the largest number of new births - up to 150,000 per year – but has no coordinated programmme for newborn screening and diagnosis and therefore hospitals are not able to empower parents to provide relevant intervention, such as vaccination, mosquito nets to reduce malaria and appropriate clothing to reduce painful crises. With the help of UK-based practitioners, largely Nigerianprofessionals, this project aims to institute early infant diagnosis in Nigeria and develop local capacities to establish sustainable, standardised care from diagnosis, prevention and treatment to rehabilitation.
At the workshop on 1-2 December 2009 instructors, including Nigeria-based doctors and medical practitioners from the UK and the United States, largely Nigerian migrants, demonstrated appropriate counselling methods, informed participants about different available diagnosis methods, including screening of newborns, and taught skills to counsel patients and relatives on how to live with sickle cell anaemia.
The 62 workshop participants, including doctors and nurses from public and private hospitals in and around Abuja, also learnt about the diagnosis of SCD and how it can be managed. The importance of adherence to a physician’s recommendations before and during a SCD crisis. They also received information on the JMDI-funded project and how to participate. Other participants included health care assistants, pharmacists, maternity home operators, field workers, missionaries working in villages and a representative of the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Public Health.
Chief Investigator- Dr Baba Inusa (Evelina Children’s Hospital)
Co-Chair- Prof Stephen Obaro (Michigan State University)
PI-Niegria-Dr Funke Lawson (Zankli Medical Centre, Abuja)
Comunity lead-Dr John Dada (Fantsuam Foundation, Kafanchan)
Programme Manager- Mrs Bola Ojo