*Correspondence: Robin M. Warner, Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, University of Wollongong, ITAMS Building 233, Innovation Campus Squires Way, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia e-mail: [email protected] As global shipping intensifies and technological advances provide more opportunities to access the resources of the high seas and the deep seabed beyond national juri...

BACKGROUND An assessment of the state of the Research for Health (R4H) environment can provide relevant information about what aspects of national health research systems needs strengthening, so that research output can be relevant to meet national priorities for decision-making. There is limited information on the state of the R4H environment in the Economic Community of West African States (E...

New developments in biotechnology and the need to overcome the lack of incentive for investment in vaccines for diseases affecting Africa have led to the promotion of product development public-private partnerships (PPP). Our work at the ESRC INNOGEN Research Centre assesses the way in which these collaborative mechanisms approach their mission of getting science to work for the poor and what t...

The concept of capacity building for public health has gained much attention during the last decade. National as well as international organizations increasingly focus their efforts on capacity building to improve performance in the health sector. During the past two decades, a variety of conceptual frameworks have been developed which describe relevant dimensions for public health capacity. No...

BACKGROUND Health systems in low-income countries are often characterized by poor health outcomes. While many reasons have been advanced to explain the persistently poor outcomes, management of the system has been found to play a key role. According to a WHO framework, the management of health systems is central to its ability to deliver needed health services. In this study, we examined how di...

There is a cascade of risks associated with a hazard evolving into a disaster that consists of the risk that: (1) a hazard will produce an event; (2) an event will cause structural damage; (3) structural damage will create functional damages and needs; (4) needs will create an emergency (require use of the local response capacity); and (5) the needs will overwhelm the local response capacity an...

BACKGROUND To support equity focussed public health policy in low and middle income countries, more evidence and analysis of the social determinants of health inequalities is needed. This requires specific know how among researchers. The INDEPTH Training and Research Centres of Excellence (INTREC) collaboration will develop and provide training on the social determinants of health approach for ...