Needs assessment to strengthen capacity in water and sanitation research in Africa: experiences of the African SNOWS consortium

Health Research Policy and Systems

Samuel N Odai⁸  Mike van der Es⁹  Edgar Mulogo²  Edward W Muchiri⁵  Ingrid Mokgobu⁶  Natasha Potgieter¹  Jeroen HJ Ensink⁴  Anders Dalsgaard³  Eileen Chappell⁴  Sandy Cairncross⁴  Esi Awuah⁸  Prince Antwi-Agyei⁸  Samira H Abdelrahman⁷  Paul R Hunter⁶ 

[1] Department of Microbiology, University of Venda, P/Bag X5050, Thohoyandou, South Africa;Department of Community Health, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, PO BOX 1410, Mbarara, Uganda;Department of Veterinary Disease Biology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 15, DK-1870 Frederiksberg C, Denmark;Environmental Health Group, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK;Faculty of Engineering, Egerton University, PO Box 536, Egerton, Njoro, Kenya;Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Science, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, South Africa;Department of Family & Community Medicine, University of Gezira, PO Box 20, Wad Medani, Sudan;Civil Engineering Department, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana;The Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR 4 7TJ, UK

关键词: Water;    Training;    Sanitation;    Water;    Research;   

Others  :  1133784
DOI  :  10.1186/1478-4505-12-68

 received in 2014-05-24, accepted in 2014-11-25,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Background

Despite its contribution to global disease burden, diarrhoeal disease is still a relatively neglected area for research funding, especially in low-income country settings. The SNOWS consortium (Scientists Networked for Outcomes from Water and Sanitation) is funded by the Wellcome Trust under an initiative to build the necessary research skills in Africa. This paper focuses on the research training needs of the consortium as identified during the first three years of the project.

Methods

We reviewed the reports of two needs assessments. The first was a detailed needs assessment led by one northern partner, with follow-up visits which included reciprocal representation from the African universities. The second assessment, led by another northern partner, focused primarily on training needs. The reports from both needs assessments were read and stated needs were extracted and summarised.

Results

Key common issues identified in both assessments were supervisory skills, applications for external research funding, research management, and writing for publication in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. The bureaucratisation of university processes and inconsistencies through administration processes also caused problems. The lack of specialist laboratory equipment presented difficulties, particularly of inaccessibility through a lack of skilled staff for operation and maintenance, and of a budget provision for repairs and running costs. The lack of taught PhD modules and of research training methods also caused problems. Institutionally, there were often no mechanisms for identifying funding opportunities. On the other hand, grantees were often unable to understand or comply with the funders’ financial and reporting requirements and were not supported by their institution. Skills in staff recruitment, retention, and performance were poor, as were performance in proposal and paper writing. The requirements for ethical clearance were often not known and governance issues not understood, particularly those required by funders.

Conclusions

SNOWS believes that working with African universities to develop networks that support African-led research driven by the local context is an effective approach to develop and retain research skills needed to change policy and practice in water, sanitation, and hygiene in Africa.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 Hunter et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

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