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A NOTE FROM THE CHAIR

Contents Page

Prof. J. K. Wang'ombe - Chair, SOMA-Net

Tenacious efforts to meet the Network's stated goals and objectives by staff and members having been rewarded by a number of accomplishments 1995.

Four new national networks were launched in Ghana, Cameroun, Ethiopia and Nigeria, bringing to twelve the total number of networks.

In fulfiling our objective of developing skills for members, SOMA-Net held its first transdisciplinary proposal development workshop for a cohort of 19 scientists in March 1995 in Machakos, Kenya. The participants were drawn from Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. These teams were able to develop proposals on topics ranging from female circumcision, substance abuse amongst the youth, inter-spousal communication on issues of sexuality and contraceptives, poor urban environmental health to drug use and prescription patterns. These areas are now targeted for further development by SOMA-Net. Although the 7 days period of the workshop was judged too short for adequate coverage of the workshop's scope, an evaluation carried out of the workshop indicated that the participants gained sufficient knowledge and acquired key concepts to enable them develop transdisciplinary research proposals.

The second edition of the Directory of scientists and institutions involved in health and social sciences in Africa was completed during the period under review. It is hoped that the Directory will strengthen further networking. We continued to establish new linkages and consolidated the existing ones with other regional and inter national bodies that share the same objectives with us. To this end, SOMA-Net participated in the Second African Essential National Health Research Network in Harare in August 1995, and held a special session titled "Social Science in Health". SOMA-Net also participated in a symposium organised by the Clinical Epidemiology Unit of the University of Nairobi in December 1995, as one of the five research networks involved in promoting essential national health research in Kenya.

For the year ahead, various activities are planned. These include an external evaluation to take place in mid-October 1996 and the commissioning of student essays aimed at sensitising students on SSH and SOMA-Net activities. It is also intended that a Desktop Publishing facility will be set up to enable in-house production of publications.

Of major concern during the time ahead however is the planning for the 3rd International Conference to be held in Harare, Zimbabwe in July 1997 under the theme "African Health in the 21st Century: Social Science in Health Approaches". SOMA-Net is joining forces with other partners to prepare a joint SSH international conference.

SOMA-Net continued to participate in the global FORUM of Social Sciences in Health. At the Steering Committee meeting for the FORUM in October 1995 in Ontario, Canada, SOMA-Net was represented by Prof. Paul Nkwi from University of Yaounde, Cameroun and myself. In 1996 SOMA-Net will coordinate the production of case studies on the application of social sciences in health in Africa as part of the FORUM's conceptual activity for 1996.

The sustainbility of the network has been a major concern and various proposals have been made on how to address this issue. Raising of fees where SOMA-Net acts as a research funds conduit, charging participants attending skill development workshops or receiving of consultancy fees from members, have been some of the proposals. Sale of publications and interest on deposits have been others. The practicability of these and other proposals is being looked into. SOMA-Net is also diversifying its donor base through development of project proposals that are of interest to a variety of donors.

Thank you.

Prof. J. K. Wang'ombe
Chair, SOMA-Net

INTRODUCTION

Contents Page

The Social Science and Medicine Africa Network (SOMA-Net), is an independent non-profit making regional network that brings together African Scientists, Institutions and Agencies working in health and social sciences in Africa.

The network focuses on the promotion and advocacy for the application of interactive social and health sciences approaches in solving health problems in Africa. This unique approach is based on the rationale that closer collaboration between social, biomedical and medical scientists provides potential strength for broadening the basis for the understanding, identification and solutions to health problems in Africa. The network focuses on three main areas: networking; promotion of social sciences in health and capacity strengthening.

SOMA-Net has established effective communication mechanisms which will improve the flow of information and ideas concerning health issues in Africa. It endeavors to achieve this through convening biennial international conferences, constantly updating, circulating the directory of scientists, institutions working in SSH in Africa, producing a regular newsletter, annual and grant reports.

At the international level, SOMA-Net initiates and encourages collaborative efforts with other institutions carrying out similar activities. In this respect, SOMA-Net is represented in the International Forum for Social Sciences in Health (The Forum), which aims at coordinating activities, facilitating regional initiatives and sharing experiences with regard to the application of social sciences towards improving people's health.

To increase the awareness of the role relevence and importance of collaborative efforts between social, medical and biomedical scientists in improving health in Africa, SOMA-Net has established networks in 12 African countries and the main activities of SOMA-Net are spearheaded by these country networks.

SOMA-Net has been laying down some groundwork for workshops aimed at strengthening its members' skills in developing proposals which attract limited donor funds and prepare technical and scientific papers which can compete for the restricted international journal space. This is done through a series of proposal, data analysis and report preparation workshops. These workshops initiate common methodological approaches linking up different health and social science disciplines. Teams of scientists from different professional backgrounds gain skills in conducting trans-disciplinary research and are expected to initiate projects in their own countries. Transdisciplinary research, an extension of multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary research cuts across disciplines. Representatives of different disciplines are encouraged to transcend their conceptual, theoretical and methodological orientations in order to develop a shared approach to research, building on a common conceptual framework. This framework addresses a common problem by blending together disciplinary-specific concepts, theories and approaches in defining, analyzing and interpreting the research problem. This approach brings into play all conditioning factors which influence the extent of health problems.

Participants of the Ghana SOMA-Net
Network launching workshop.

SOMA-Net GHANA was formed on 23rd February 1995 during an organizational meeting held at the University of Ghana where a steering committee was elected.

The steering committee then held two meetings which discussed activities for SOMA-Net Ghana and planned an inaugural conference to be held in April 1995.

Consequently the SOMA-Net Ghana network was inaugurated at a meeting held on Thursday, April 20, 1995 at the La Beach Hotel, Accra. The programme for this conference included a seminar on aspects of social science and health development. The meeting was attended by key personalities including the WHO representative in Ghana Dr. Brian Dando. Dr. Kwadwo Asenso-Okyere, Chairman of SOMA-Net Ghana Steering Committee and Ag. Director, Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) Legon who introduced the dignitaries.

The key note address was based on an article on "An Overview of Social Science and Health in Ghana" by Dr. Clara Korkor Fayorsey, who is also the secretary/treasurer and co-ordinator of the Ghana network of SOMA-Net. The paper elucidated attempts and efforts that have been made to incorporate social sciences inputs in health programmes and policies and also described ways in which health issues have been embodied into social science training and research.

The opening statements were made by the Dean of Social Studies, University of Ghana, Prof. J.R.

Anquandah and the Vice-chancellor, University of Ghana, Legon Prof. George Benneh.

During the seminar the following five papers were presented:

"An overview of Social Science and Health in Ghana" by Dr. Clara Fayorsey, Lecturer, Sociology Department, Univ. of Ghana, Legon.

"The Role of Social Science in Public Health" by Prof. S. Ofosu-Armaah, Ag. Director, School of Public Health, Univ. of Ghana, Legon.

"Issues of Implementation of Health Policies in Ghana" by Dr. Nana Enyimayew, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Legon.

"Health Social Science Research in Ghana" by Dr. Kwadow Asenso-Okyere, Ag. Director, ISSER, University of Ghana, Legon.

"Policy Research and Health Development in Ghana" by Dr. Kofi Bonsi, Principal Research Officer, CSIR, Accra.

The conference ended with a business meeting.

The officials of this network are:-

1. Dr. Kwadwo Okyere - Chairman
2. Dr. Clara Fayorsey - Secretary/Treasurer
3. Dr. Sam Bugri - Member
4. Dr. Kofi Bonsi - Member
5. Dr. Kofi Wellington - Member

Participants at the Cameroon SOMA-Net
Network launching workshop.

The Cameroonian scientists held the first meeting of their SOMA-Net network on 10th November, 1994 at Hotel Royal in Yaounde. This was soon after hosting the 2nd International conference of SOMA-Net. The meeting was convened by Prof. Paul Nchoji Nkwi and was attended by all lecturers and researchers who are members of SOMA-Net.

The meeting was organized in accordance with the recommendations of the 2nd International Conference of SOMA-Net held in Douala, Cameroun between 3-7 October, 1994 where it had been decided that SOMA-Net establish networks in Africa. The Cameroon network was to be known as `The National Task Force on Social Sciences and Health'. Prof. Nkwi introduced the International Forum for Social Sciences in Health (IFSSH) and discussions were held on the workshop which at that time was being organized by Dr. Sama Martyn.

Three priority projects were indentified at the meeting:-

1. Setting up an E-Mail network as a means of communication and exchanging materials amongst the scientists.

2. Initiating the following research projects:

- National Project on Fertility Management (Paul Nkwi);

- Traditional postmortem (Meli Jean);

- Health and communication (Tatah Mentan);

3. Establishing an inventory of researchers and institutions working in projects under social sciences.

4. Organization of a second workshop with the theme "The Economic Situation on Health in Cameroon". This workshop was to be held in the first week of April, 1996 and was to be organized by Dr. Ajab Amin and Fondo Sikod.

Dr. Martyn Sama was requested to organise a workshop for the SOMA-Net Cameroon network to take place on the 6th December, 1995 at the Royal Hotel, Yaounde under the auspices of The Institute of Medical Research and Studies in Medicinal Plants (IMRM) in collaboration with the National Steering Committee of Social Sciences in Health and International Centre for Applied Social Sciences Research and Training (ICASSRT) which gave the logistic support.

A total number of 36 participants, who included 21 university lecturers and researchers, 11 graduate students from the social sciences, 3 students from the medical school and biomedical sciences and one traditional healer, were present at the meeting.

In his introductory speech Dr. Martyn Sama re-emphasized the importance of the meeting in the context of the worldwide recognition of the relevance of the Health Social Sciences. He challenged the participants to come up with a sustainable agenda that would make the Cameroon network unique. The meeting was officially opened by the Director of IMPM, Prof. Abondo Antoine.

The key speech was made by Prof. Nkwi who outlined the relationship between IFSSH and SOMA-Net while Dr. Anne Pertet, the Coordinator of SOMA-Net gave an overview of SOMA-Net's current and future programs. She encouraged members to contribute to the SOMA-Net Circle, the newsletter for SOMA-Net, as a medium through which the network could get known.

A total number of 11 scientific papers were presented in both French and English under sub-themes drawn from a varied background of biomedical and social sciences disciplines and under the general theme:`The Reflections on Health Social Sciences in Cameroon: Constraints and Prospects'.

The scientific papers presented were:

"Interface Sciences Socials/Politiques et Programmes de Sante" by Dr. Misse Misse,

" Health Personnel Training in Cameroon: Behavioral Science" by Dr. Bame Nsamenang,

"The Teaching of Medical Anthropology at the University of Yaounde" by Prof. Nkwi Nchoji Paul,

"L'approche Psycho Sociologie dans la Formation en Petis Groups d'etudiants en Medecine Configuration Socials et Regionales de la Mortalite des Enfants au Cameroun; Contribution de la Demographie a l'elaboration d'une Politique de Sante" by Dieudonne Takou,

"The Pertinence of the Social Sciences in a Leprosy Control Programme in a Rural Milieu in Cameroon" by Itambi Zacharias Apondo,

"Le Recours a la "Pharmacie de rue" dans la Ville du Douala (Cameroun) Contribution a l'etude des Strategies Populaires d'acces aux Medicaments" by Antoine Socpa,

"Social Science and Health: Understanding the issues at stake" by Dr. Tatah Mentan,

"An Economist's Contribution to Health Programs and Policies in Cameroon" by Dr. Aloysius Ajab Amin,

"Les Sciences Socials au Secours des Sciences Biomedicales dans les Strategies de lutte Contre le Sida: Emergence de Nouvelles Priorites de Recherche" by Njoumemi Zakariou and Claude Cheta,

"The Social Sciences inputs in Health Programs and Policies - The case of Breastfeeding and Contraceptives usages in Cameroon" by Dr. Yinke S.Njikam.

Young scholars also got the opportunity to present papers. An M.A. student presented his thesis and got very useful comments from the scientists present.

In a country where strong collaboration exists between health scientists and traditional healers, a traditional medical practitioner, who was present to discuss issues on illness and disease with social and biomedical scientists, impressed participants with his contributions.

A strong recommendation of the workshop was to reinforce transdisciplinary training among biomedical and social science students at the university level so that linkages between medicine and the social sciences can be developed and maintained.

The workshop ended after setting up the following program of action:

1. Identify sources of funding;
2. Research on:
   - Indigenous practices and Health care delivery
   - Economic burden of tropical diseases
   - Education
3. Hold workshops and seminars
4. Launch a bilingual newsletter;
5. Networking.

A milestone had finally been reached with the birth of the Cameroon network with its mission of promoting the goals of SSH at the National level.

The following office bearers were elected :-

1. Paul Nchoji Nkwi - Chairman
2. Etame Ewane - Vice-Chairman
3. Ajab A. Aloysius - Chairman Elect
4. Sama Martyn - Secretary
5. Meli Jean - Treasurer
6. Tatah Mentan - Advisor
7. Fondo Sikod - Advisor

The Ethiopian Network of SOMA-Net was established in Addis Ababa on April 1, 1995. A steering committee consisting of five persons had earlier been nominated to facilitate the formation of the network and consisted of:-

1. Hailegnaw Eshete (MS, MPH) - Chairman
2. Aklilu Kidanu (Ph.D) - Secretary
3. Girma Wolde Michael (Ph.D) - Member
4. Negussie Taffa (MD,MPH) - Member
5. Gebre Ab Barnabas (Dr PH) - Member

The committee's first task was to collect information on scientists and institutions working in SSH. The second activity the network embaked on was to solicit for funds to support a proposal they had developed titled 'An intervention study on Drug prescription patterns and use in health stations in Ethiopia'. The objective of this study was to document current drug prescription patterns in health facilities, intervene through training, supervision and evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. Communication regarding support for this proposal has been going on between the group and Action Program on Essential Drugs of WHO.

Participants at the Nigeria SOMA-Net
Network launching workshop.

The Nigerian Network was launched on the 15th of April 1995 at a national workshop held at the Gateway International Hotel Ijebu-ode, Nigeria organized by Prof. Layi Erinosho in conjunction with the Centre for Health Research, Abeokute a network of social and health scientists whose principle objective is to promote interdisciplinary research. The workshop was sponsored by SOMA-Net.

Speaking during the workshop's opening ceremony, Prof. Layi welcomed collaboration between SOMA-Net and the Centre pointing out that the mission of the centre was in consonance with the primary goal of SOMA-Net, except that SOMA-Net was operating at the continental level, while the Centre did so at the national level.

Participants at the workshop examined the state of Social Sciences in Health in Nigeria and focused on the activities of SOMA-Net and the country's Network activity workplan.

The following papers were presented:

"Social Science in Health in Nigeria: Carnegie Corporation maternal Network" by Prof. O. Adetoro

"Social Science in Health: The case of Clinical Psychology" by Prof. A.F. Uzoka and Nnamdi Azikwe

"Social Science in Health: The Medical School Experience" by Prof. B.O. Osotimehin

"Social Science in Health: The Community-Based Medical Programme in Nigeria" by Prof. O.K. Alausa

"Social Science in Health Policy in Nigeria" by Prof. Ukwu I. Ukwu

"Clinical Psychology in Mental Health" by Prof. A.O. Odejide

One of the key issues that the participants addressed was the status of social scientists working in the medical school environment and their role in health development. The participants urged for the set-up of an appropriate structure which would facilitate collaborative relationship amongst social scientists and clinicians.

They considered the country's programme during the second plenary session after Dr. Pertet had briefed them on the activities of SOMA-Net in other parts of Africa. In furtherance of the goal of SOMA-Net, the participants resolved to endorse capacity building as the next important phase for Nigeria. They submitted the following themes for a future proposal development workshop:

1. Socio-cultural Implications of Adolescent Health;

2. Reproduction Tract Infections and the Empowerment of women in Nigeria;

3. Co-ordination of Health Services at the community level in Nigeria;

4. Management of Health Care in a Depressed Economy;

5. The Role of Social Structures in Primary Health Care in Nigeria;

6. The Epidemiological Transition in the context of Liberalization Policy.

Teams made up of a clinician, a social scientist and a programme or service manager were to be constituted for the purposes of conducting the studies which were proposed. The concepts were to be forwarded to the chair, Centre for Health Research who would collate and forward them to SOMA-Net, Nairobi. It was agreed that SOMA-Net would review and make final selection of the proposals which would be developed at a workshop for the West African sub-Region.

It was also agreed that the workshop for West Africa would take place in Nigeria to which the Ghana team would be invited. The proposal development workshop would be based on the WHO Health Systems Research Model which incorporates: proposal development; field work; data analysis and report writing; dissemination and utilization of findings of the studies.

Finally it was suggested that teams should be encouraged to present the outcome of their studies at the 3rd continental meeting of SOMA-Net.

Participants at the SOMA-Net
Kenya Chapter launching workshop.

The Kenya SOMA-Net network proposes to initiate a project which will assess the status of training in Social Sciences and Health in Kenyan public universities.

The results of this study are expected to enable SOMA-Net Kenya members to advocate for university curricula that reinforces interaction between Social and Health Scientists in training, if the necessity for that is identified. The study which will be carried out by SOMA-Net in collaboration with the Department of Community Health of Nairobi is supported by GTZ (German Techinical Cooperation).

Participants at the African Essential
National Health Networking Meeting.

PARTICIPATION IN MEETINGS:

African Essential National Health
Networking Meeting

In its endeavor to create, update and maintain a sound communication system that will facilitate easy flow and access of information to institutions and professionals working in SSH, SOMA-Net hosts and participates in international conferences, workshops and meetings. This not only nurtures collaboration with other groups but it also presents opportunities for networking which is one of the major activities of SOMA-Net.

SOMA-Net was represented in the Second African Essential National Health Research Networking held in Harare, Zimbabwe, between August 28-29, 1995. This meeting was organized in conjunction with the 14th conference of the Epidemiological Society of Southern Africa (ESSA). The key objectives of this meeting were: to promote, facilitate and support Essential National Health Research (ENHR) in African countries, which are either in a process of implementing the ENHR strategy or were considering its introduction; to review country experiences in implementing ENHR, to learn from successful experiences and to extract the common lessons that are relevant to countries; and to pool available technical and human resources within the region, through which more advanced countries can provide technical assistance to less-developed countries in the region. The first African ENHR Networking meeting had been held in 1994 in Mombasa, Kenya where SOMA-Net had also been represented.

In line with its objective to advance social science perspective in health planning and policy-making, SOMA-Net held a special session in Social Sciences and Health organized by Drs. C. Katito, SOMA-Net's contact person in Zimbabwe and J. Mufunda, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine in Zimbabwe and a keen supporter of the network. Prof. Joseph Wang'ombe and Dr. Jane Muita, SOMA-Net's Board Members acted as facilitators.

The session titled, "Social Science in Health" was well attended. Prof. Wang'ombe described the interactions between social and health scientists while introducing the objectives of SOMA-Net and the Network's activities to the participants. He requested them to complete and forward the bio-data forms so that they would appear in the directory of scientists working in "Social Sciences and Health in Africa".

Dr. Mufunda explained that though in the infancy stages, the Zimbabwe network of SOMA-Net was happy to host the next conference in Harare. This would be a joint Southern African venture. He was of the view that health reforms have a major impact on the health of Africans and needed to be addressed in the next conference.

Mr. Mbizvo, a member of the Zimbabwe Network of SOMA-Net, indicated that social science components in research would have increasing impact in the area of HIV and reproductive health.

The ESSA conference examined the linkages among health, environment and human development and identified barriers to intersectoral planning and implementation in countries of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADCC). In addition, successful strategies and models for promoting epidemiology in primary health care development were highlighted while challenging participants to link epidemiological findings to a practical action agenda for health development and community participation.

Networking Symposium

Locally, SOMA-Net participates in meetings convened by various research groups to share expertise and experiences, and was involved in December 1995 in a networking symposium of groups working in applied research in Kenya organised by the University of Nairobi, Clinical Epidimiology unit. The main aim of this meeting was to offer a forum for groups involved in health research to exchange ideas on how best to utilise limited human and material resources in the promotion of high quality research and to ensure implementation of ENHR by the already ongoing projects. The meeting was attended by 5 research networks i.e National Health Research and Development Centre (NHRDC), the Clinical Epidemiology Unit (CEU), Applied Nutrition Unit (ANP) Collaboration group and SOMA-Net.

Each group made a presentation of its mission statements, objectives, activities, strengths, weaknesses and mode of collaboration envisaged. A networking sub-committee was set up comprising of NHRDC, SOMA-Net, NHRDC and CEU.

This sub-committee's first task was to compile an inventory of other research groups conducting similar activities and to plan a meeting for March 1996, to which all these other groups would be invited.

Facilitators at the First SOMA-Net Transdisciplinary Workshop.
L to R Dr. Omondi O. Dr. Albretcht G. Prof. Mwaluko G. Prof. Wang'ombe J.

One of the SOMA-Nets' greatest strengths is capacity strengthening. SOMA-Net intends to conduct sub-regional workshops which will impart skills to among other things, enable African scientists working in research and institutions of higher learning to develop applied operations research project proposals of international standards thus enabling them to compete for funding and other resources for research. In addition, it is intended that scientists will acquire skills in preparing technical reports, publishing scientific papers and disseminating their research findings. Technical reports and papers produced will be used in advancing the cause for social science and health inputs in health programs and also provide basis for informed opinion to health policy-makers on the role of SSH in health development.

SOMA-Net uses expert theories, the Essential National Health Research process (whose aim is to tie together research, policy and action) and Health Systems Research process which aims at improving the health of the community by enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of health systems as an integral part of the overall process of social economic development.

The Approach

The first of SOMA-Nets' planned series of skill development workshops, was held in March 1995. The seven-day day event which was attended by 19 researchers from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan and Ethiopia was held at the Garden Hotel, Machakos town, 40 km east of Kenya's capital city, Nairobi.

Sixteen (16) of the participants were university lecturers, two were from the Ministries of Health of Uganda and Ethiopia and one from Kenya Medical Research Institute. The universities represented included, Makerere, Nairobi, Dar es salaam, Khartoum and Addis Ababa.

The disciplines represented included demography, social anthropology, sociology, medicine, health planning and policy management, psychiatry, nursing, pharmacology and psychology.

For nominations of this `pioneer team' SOMA-Net's contact persons in various countries had been asked to submit names of nominees for the workshops to the secretariat which applied the following criteria to select the participants:

- they should belong to a teaching or research institution;

- they must work on an operational/applied research project;

- they must be mid-career professionals;

- they must have at least completed their masters degree;

- in the team there must be at least a medical doctor and a social scientist;

- they should be from different professional backgrounds,

- they should be in close proximity for purpose of working together.

Each nominated team was asked to draft an outline of a proposed study project and fill up a needs assessment questionnaire about the team's workshop expectations.

PROFILE OF NOMINEES

1. Makerere University 2. Omdurman University 3.Khartoum University 4. Dar es Salaam University 5. Nairobi University 6. Aga Khan Hospital 7. Kenya Medical Research Institute 8. Gondar University 9. Addis Ababa University 10. Ministry of Health, Ethiopia.

Before arriving for the workshop, the participants were required to develop a draft of their proposed study using guidelines from the SOMA-Net secretariat. Working together before the workshop enabled them build teamwork and learn about and respect each other's disciplines. It also gave an indication of the ability of these teams to carry out the project, and identify areas of weakness which needed strengthening during the workshops.

Under the guidance of a group of consultants, each team was taken systematically through various proposal development stages with emphasis on transdisciplinarity during the workshop.

The facilitators in this workshop were :-

- Prof. Gabriel Mwaluko, Consultant WHO, Health Systems Research, Zimbabwe;

- Dr. Glenn Albretcht, Lecturer, Newcastle University, Australia;

- Prof. Joseph Wang'ombe, Lecturer,Department of Community Health, University of Nairobi;

- Dr. Omondi Odhiambo, Freelance consultant;

- Mr. Lawrence Muthami, Biostatistician/Epidemiologist, KEMRI, Nairobi.

The `definition of the problem' stage proved most time consuming. Arriving at a consensus on the research focus and building group dynamics proved a major challenge for the scientists. This was especially so for the scientists who were very strong in their disciplinary backgrounds. After this experience however, the group was able to work together as one on the common health problem identified.

The programme agenda included:-

- Theoretical orientations. Theoretical presentations covered all the main research components of Health Systems Research (HSR). Each presentation was followed by group discussions.

- Team activity. The teams worked on their individual proposals using the concepts learned during the theoretical orientation.

- Daily assignments. At the end of each day participants handed in assignments based on sections covered during the previous day to the facilitators.

- Facilitators meetings. The facilitators met each evening to evaluate the day's activities and went through the assignments and prepared a feedback later in the night.

- Plenary sessions. It was planned that each morning the teams would make presentations of their previous day's assignments. However, due to time constraints, plenary sessions were held only during the first and last days of the workshop. The time earmarked for the plenary was used by the participants to go through comments on their assignments made by the facilitators.

Although the participants were experienced researchers, none had the knowledge of HSR and/or transdisciplinary research prior to the workshop.

Save the experience of stress reported by participants, evaluation conducted during and after the workshop indicated that the scientists had gained adequate knowledge and acquired key concepts to enable them develop transdisciplinary research proposals.

The workshop's biggest achievement was the production of the following five complete proposals for research:-

(1) Female circumcision: Its abandonment and Adoption in Omdurman province, Sudan;

(2) Factors associated with substance abuse among the youth of Ilala district in Dar-es-salaam region, Tanzania;

(3) Inter-spousal communication on issues of Sexuality and Contraceptive use in a rural community of Kenya;

(4) Factors contributing to poor urban environmental health in Kampala, Uganda; and

(5) Drug prescription patterns and use in health stations in Ethiopia.

Similar workshops are envisaged for the rest of the SOMA-Net regions. These workshops will initiate common methodological approaches linking up different health and social science disciplines and also create an opportunity for the exchange of ideas on health research methodologies and between social and health medical scientists.

These studies will lead to scientifically integrated research and it is hoped that the recommendations will be appropriate, cost-effective and interesting to the researchers, policy makers, and the community and that they will play some role in attainment of more sustainable solutions to human health problems.

SOMA-Net is currently seeking financial support for the field projects, data analysis and report preparation workshops which are all part of the training package.

Output

• These scientists will be expected to initiate effective problem-solving and decision-linked research and promote trans-disciplinary concepts in projects and programmes in their countries.
• Since most of the participants are lecturers from different university departments, conducting joint projects will lead to the breaking of disciplinary sectoral and geographic boundaries and lay foundation for transdisciplinary research programmes as well as in field projects and thus foster work on a transdisciplinary basis.

• SOMA-Net will also be able to document the transdisciplinary research process and lessons learned will be used to plan workshops in other sub-regions of Africa.

Sustainability

SOMA-Net will be able to contract or sub-contract training consultancies from international or other agencies which require training in their programmes and projects.

1. EVALUATION: An external evaluation which will be conducted mid October 1996

2. COMMISSIONING STUDENT ESSAYS:

In order to sensitize, motivate and facilitate the involvement of "budding scientists" in SSH and SOMA-Net activities, SSH team essays will be sponsored for final year under graduate students at the network level. A call for concept proposals will be sent to medical schools, colleges of humanities and social sciences. An in-depth guide of the scope and details of information to be included in the essay will be provided.

3. ESTABLISHING OF DTP

SOMA-Net will establish DTP for in-house production of its publications to trim costs. This unit is expected to be self sustaining in the long run as it will be able to eventually sub-contract work from other institutions and individuals.

4. PLANNING FOR THE 3RD

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

SOMA-Net is dialogue with various groups working in social sciences with a view to working out modalities of planning joint meetings. The proposed theme of the conference, which will held in Harare, Zimbabwe on 20-24 July, 1997 is "African Health in the 21st Century: Social Sciences and Health Approaches".

The main health areas/Sub-themes to be addressed are:

1. African Health Policy Sector Reform
2. Application of Research Based Evidence
3. Ensuring nutrition security
4. Integrated Reproductive health approaches
5. Facing the challenges of HIV/AIDS and other STIs
6. Control and Preventing Substance Abuse
7. Strengthening Essential Drugs Programmes
8. Gender, Health and Development
9. Community participation for sustainable health and development
10. Enhancing capacity in Social Science and  Health

Conference Format

The Conference is designed to maximize opportunities for interaction among participants around the objectives

Whenever possible presentations will be organized into sessions with common themes to enhance discussion

Dedicated time will be given to both oral poster presentation within the schedule

Conference Presentations

Abstracts are sought for presentations which address the conference themes, and will be selected by the committee for poster or oral presentation. Papers should emphasize integration of social, medical and biomedical sciences in research, training, health care planning and delivery and policy formulation. Papers could be original research, literature/documents constraints and gaps encountered in the application of SSH concepts, theories, methodological and come up with recommendations on how SSH aspects could be strengthened. Submitter may indicate their presence, but final decisions regarding acceptance of abstracts and of the presentation format will be made by the Program Planning Committee.

Poster Session Presentations - Presenters will display their work graphically. Poster will be displayed all day, but presenters must be available to discuss their work and answer questions during specified times. Detailed guidelines will provided after the poster is accepted.

Submitted Papers Session Presentation - Presenter will verbally present their findings in sessions organized by theme areas. Speakers will be given 15 minutes for their presentations; additional time will be scheduled for discussion.

Deadline of submission is 31st of January, 1997.

THE SECRETARIAT

SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGIES

SOMA-Net has considered the sustainability of the secretariat and its activities and following strategies and the methods of obtaining funds have been proposed:-

• Encourage members to develop team proposals. SOMA-Net would then serve as a conduit for these funds and charge a modest administrative fee.
• Collaborate with other networks or institutions by having joint activities and thus share resources. The network is exploring possibilities of collaboration with WHO Health Systems Research and ENHR local efforts.
• Encourage members to obtain consultancy through the secretariat and contribute a small percentage of the consultancy fee to SOMA-Net.
• Raise money through the sale of its publications and to a small extent through membership fees.
• Keep money which is not of immediate use in a fixed deposit account where it will earn interest.
• Conduct skill development workshops for international agencies or other agencies which use interactive social science and health approaches in their programs and projects for a fee.

ARTICLE 1: The name of the organization shall be SOCIAL SCIENCE AND MEDICINE AFRICA NETWORK hereinafter referred to as

ARTICLE 2: SOMA-Net shall be non-partisan, non-political, non-sectarian and a non-profit making regional network that brings together African scientists, institutions and agencies working in Social Sciences and Health (SSH).

ARTICLE 3: SOMA-Net will be located in Nairobi Province within the city of Nairobi.

ARTICLE 4: MISSION STATEMENT

The Network shall promote and advocate for the application of interactive social and health science approaches in solving health problems in Africa. This unique approach is based on the rationale that closer collaboration between social and biomedical and medical scientists and clinicians provides potential strength for broadening the basis for the understanding, identification and solving of health problems in Africa.

ARTICLE 5: THE SPECIFIC AIMS AND

OBJECTIVES

(a) To create communication channels in order to improve the flow of information and ideas concerning health issues in Africa;

(b) To identify and facilitate opportunities for research and training in Social Sciences and Health (SSH) for African scientists and institutions;

(c) To increase collaboration and cooperation amongst various agencies dealing with SSH activities in Africa;

(d) To promote SSH perspectives in Africa;

(e) To establish linkages between health scientists, practitioners, policy and decision-makers and the community;

(f) To strengthen the contribution and application of SSH input in policy formulation, health planning and implementation.

ARTICLE 6: NETWORKS

(a) Networks of the SOMA-Net may be formed anywhere in Africa with the approval of the Governing Council and with due regard to the laws regulating the registration of such networks in those countries and will adopt the same constitution as the one creating them with the following exceptions:-

(i) The aims and objectives will not include the formation of branches/affiliations.

(ii) Amendments to the constitution can only be made in accordance with the provisions of Article 21.

(iii) The provisions of Article 22 shall apply to networks but, in addition, networks will not be dissolved without consultation with the General Assembly.

(b) Any network may, by the resolution of its members duly authorize a person as it thinks fit to act as its representative at any meeting of SOMA-Net, and the person so authorized shall be entitled to exercise the same power on behalf of the network which they represent as if it were an individual member of SOMA-Net.

ARTICLE 7: MEMBERSHIP

Any person or institution wishing to be a member shall be eligible for membership of SOMA-Net on approval of the Governing Council and become a member on payment of the first annual subscription. The subscription may be varied from time to time as the General Assembly may designate.(a) Membership of SOMA-Net shall be open to any individual or institution working for or interested in SSH and in compliance of the following rules:-

(i) "FULL" member being any individual non-governmental non-political organization legally registered in the member country and which understands the objectives of the organization and supports it economically.

(ii) "CHARTERED" member being individuals or a group who agree upon the main and specific objectives of the organization and who take positive part in its activities. They shall participate fully in the General Assembly vote and be eligible for any elective post, provided full membership fee has been paid as directed by the Governing Council.

(iii) "LIFE" member being individuals who wish to be associated with activities of SOMA-Net shall pay a fixed membership fee as directed by the Governing Council.

(iv) "SPECIAL" member being an individual or a group who render distinguished and or specialized service for development of SOMA-Net. Eligibility for special membership shall be subject to the approval of the Governing Council.

(v) "HONORARY" members being individuals or organizations who work to support SOMA-Net financially and or materially. Such membership shall be subject to the Governing Council's approval and be exempted from the payment of membership fee. They shall have no voting right.

(b) Membership categories and fees may be amended by the Governing Council subject to the approval of the General Assembly.

(c) Any member who falls into arrears with his/her subscriptions for more than one year shall automatically cease to be a member of SOMA-Net and his/her name shall be struck off the register of members. The Governing Council may however at its discretion, reinstate such member, on payment of the total amount of subscriptions outstanding.

(d) Any member wishing to resign from SOMA-Net shall give two months' notice in writing to the Governing Council, of his intentions, and the resignation shall take effect from the date such notice is acknowledged.

(e) Any member may be expelled from membership if the Governing Council so recommends and if a General Assembly of SOMA-Net so resolves. Expulsion may occur in such cases as that the member's dignity is questionable or that it/he/she has contravened the constitution of SOMA-Net.

(f) Any member who dies, resigns or is removed from membership shall not be entitled to any refund of contributions made to SOMA-Net or any part thereof or any monies contributed any time, including membership fee.

(g) The Governing Council shall have powers to suspend a member from its membership until the next General Assembly of SOMA-Net and if expulsion is proposed such member shall have the right to address the General Assembly at which its/his/her expulsion is to be considered.

(h) Any member who ceases to be a member of SOMA-Net shall have its/her/his name struck off the register of members. The Governing Council may, however, at its discretion, reinstate such a member on payment of new membership fee.

ARTICLE 8: THE GOVERNING COUNCIL

(a) The Governing Council shall consist of all elected Governing Council members and the Chair, Treasurer and Secretary of the Executive Board of Management.

(b) The office bearers of SOMA-Net shall be drawn from full members (individuals or organizations). Any full member or organization may hold only one elected office at any one time. Elected office shall be made up of representatives from the member networks. They will include a President, 4 Vice Presidents (representing East, West, Central and Southern Africa Regions), a Secretary General and 4 Elected members, all of whom shall represent fully paid up members of SOMA-Net and shall be elected at the General Assembly to be held after every two years.

(c) All office bearers shall hold office from the day of election until the succeeding General Assembly meeting subject to provision of sub-paragraph (e) and (f) of this article and shall be eligible for re-election. (d) No office bearer shall hold office for more than two consecutive terms.

(e) Any office bearer who ceases to be a member of SOMA-Net shall automatically cease to be an office bearer thereof.

(f) Office bearers may be removed from office in the same way as is laid down for the expulsion of members in Article 7 (f) and vacancies thus created shall be filled by persons elected at the General Assembly resolving the expulsion.

(g) Any casual vacancies caused by death or resignation shall be filed by the Governing Council until the next General Assembly.

(h) The quorum for meetings of the Governing Council shall not be less than half of members, and questions arising at any meeting shall be decided by a majority of votes. In case of any equality of votes the President shall cast a second deciding vote.

ARTICLE 9: DUTIES OF COUNCIL MEMBERS

(a) President: The President shall chair all meetings of the Governing Council and the biennial General Assembly unless prevented by illness or other sufficient cause.

(b) Vice President: One of the Vice-Presidents shall perform duties of the President in his absence and such other duties assigned to him/her by the President or by the Governing Council irrespective of the President's presence or absence.

(c) Secretary General: The Secretary shall deal with all the correspondences of the organization under the general supervision of the Governing Council. In case of urgent matters where the Governing Council cannot be consulted, he/she shall consult the President. The decisions reached shall be subject to ratification or otherwise at the next Governing Council meeting. He/she shall issue notices convening all meetings of the Governing Council and the General Assembly and be responsible for the preservation of all records and proceedings of the organization and of the Governing Council.

(d) Treasurer: The Treasurer shall receive and disburse, under the direction of the Governing Council, all monies belonging to the organization and issue receipts for all monies received by him/her. The Treasurer is responsible to the Governing Council and to the members that proper books of accounts of all monies received and paid by the Organization are written up, reserved and available for inspection.

(e) Decisions of the Governing Council shall be binding on all members, provided that any decision which directly affects the right and/or group of members is appealed against within thirty days of receipt of such decision of the Governing Council.

(f) The Governing Council shall notify any member or group of members affected by such decision as aforesaid within two weeks of its having been made.

ARTICLE 10: THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF MANAGEMENT

(a) The Executive Board shall be responsible for the management of the affairs of SOMA-Net.

(b) The Executive Board shall consist of a Chairman, Treasurer, the Chief Executive Officer/ Secretary and three members who will address specific interests within the broader SOMA-Net focus. While the CEO's will hold on appointed post other elected members shall hold office until the following General Assembly. The Executive Board shall meet at such times and places as it shall resolve.

(c) At least two members of the Executive Board shall come from the country where the secretariat is based. The Treasurer and the Secretary should be members of the Governing Council. The Chief Executive shall be an ex-officio member with no voting rights.

(d) The Executive Board shall meet at least twice a year and once before every General Assembly. Between meetings of the Governing Council, the Executive Board shall interpret the rules and regulations and the Code of Conduct of SOMA-Net when necessary and determine any point on which they are silent or ambiguous.

(e) Any member of the Executive Board shall vacate his/her seat on the committee if he/she absents himself/herself from two consecutive meetings of the committee without having first submitted an apology.

(f) The quorum for meetings of the Executive Board shall be not less than half of Executive Board members and questions arising at any meeting shall be decided by a majority of votes. In case of any equality of votes the chairman shall have a casting or second vote.

(g) Executive Board meetings shall be summoned by the CEO acting in consultation with the Chairman by giving at least 15 days notice accompanied by the proposed agenda.

(h) All monies disbursed on behalf of SOMA-Net shall be authorized by the Executive Board except as specified in Article 18 (d).

ARTICLE 11: DUTIES OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF MANAGEMENT

(a) Oversee the implementation of the Governing resolutions.

(b) The Executive Board shall implement and facilitate the functions and objectives of SOMA-Net or carry out other functions as directed by the Governing Council.

(c) The Executive Board shall set up task forces and sub-committees as necessary to deal with specific issues pertaining to the functions of SOMA-Net and co-opt into such task forces or sub-committees such individuals as shall have the requisite expertise .

(d) Before the commencement of each financial year the Executive Board will prepare the estimated revenue and expenditure for that year.

(e) The Executive Board will develop and implement fund raising strategies.

(f) The Chief Executive shall attend all Governing Council and Executive Board of Management meetings of SOMA-Net and all other committee meetings. He/she shall be responsible for the preservation of all records of SOMA-Net. He/she shall ensure that all matters affecting SOMA-Net are reported to the Executive Board and shall ensure due compliance of provisions of the constitution in the daily running of the affairs.

(g) The Chief Executive is responsible to the Executive Board for day to day management of SOMA-Net and its activities as specified in his/her terms of service.

ARTICLE 12: DISQUALIFICATION OF MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF MANAGEMENT

The office of any member of the Executive Board shall be vacated:-

(a) If a receiving order is made against him or he makes an arrangement of composition with his creditors;

(b) If he becomes of unsound mind;

(c) If he fails to attend the meetings of the Executive Board for a period of one year, except by special leave of the Executive Board;

(d) If by notice in writing to the organization he resigns his office;

(e) If he is removed from office by a resolution duly passed under this constitution;

(f) If he is removed from membership of the organization pursuant to a resolution of the organization.

ARTICLE 13: GENERAL ASSEMBLY

(a) There shall be two classes of General Assembly, biennial General Assembly and Special General Assembly.

(b) Notice in writing of biennial General Assembly accompanied by annual statement of accounts and the agenda for the meeting shall be sent to all members not less than 60 days before the date of the meeting and, where "practicable" by press advertisement, not less than one month before the date of the meeting. The General Assembly shall be held at such time and place as the Governing Council shall appoint.

(c) The agenda for any General Assembly shall consist of the following:-

(i) confirmation of Minutes of the previous General Assembly,

(ii) report of officials and committees,

(iii) consideration of the audited accounts,

(iv) election of office bearers and the Committee Members [and trustees where necessary in accordance with Article 23 (a)],

(v) such other matters as the Governing Council may decide or as to which notice shall have been given in writing by a member or members to the Secretary General at least two months before the date of the meeting,

(vi) any other business with the approval of the President.

(d) A Special General Assembly may be called for any specific purposes by the Governing Council. Notice in writing of such meeting shall be sent to all members not less than thirty (30) days before the date thereof and where practicable by press advertisement not less than twenty one (21) days before such meeting.

.(e) A Special General Assembly may also be requisitioned for a specific purpose by order in writing to the Secretary General by not less than two thirds of members from registered networks and such meetings shall be held within 30 days of the date of the requisition. The notice for such meeting shall be as shown in rule (b) above and no matters shall be discussed other than stated in the requisition.

(f) Quorum for General Assembly shall be not less than a quarter of the nominated network delegates.

ARTICLE 14: PROCEDURE AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETINGS

(a) At all meetings of SOMA-Net, the President, or in his absence one of the Vice-presidents, shall take the issue(s).

(b) The President may at his discretion limit the number of persons permitted to speak in favour of or against any issue.

(c) Resolutions shall be decided with simple voting by a show of hands. In the case of equality of vote the President or his representative shall have a second or casting vote.

(d) Decision regarding the venue of the General Assembly

ARTICLE 15: VOTING

(a) Each network shall nominate two delegates to represent it at the General Assembly. Such nominees shall have all voting rights. The names of nominees should be sent to the secretariat 6 months prior to the General Assembly.

(b) The names of all the nominees shall be circulated to all members by the secretariat 4 months prior to the General Assembly.

(c) Voting will be by secret ballot.

(d) Each "nominated delegate" member shall have one vote.

(e) Any interested donor or other agency may send a neutral monitor to the General Assembly.

ARTICLE 16 - VOTING PROCEDURE

(a) At the General Assembly and before the elections are called out by the incumbent chairman shall call the Assembly to order and declare all posts vacant and the presiding officer shall take charge.

(b) Any person who is eligible for election for any post shall have to be proposed by one person and seconded by one person and in person shall be proposed for more than one post except the Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer of the Executive Board who shall also sit at the Governing council.

(c) The posts shall be filled in order as follows: President; General Secretary; Vice-Presidents representing the various regions being East, West, Central and South regions; the Chairman of the Executive Committee followed by the posts of Treasurer, the Secretary to the Executive Committee and five members.

(d) In the event that there is a tie for a single post as between votes of two or more candidates, the elected President shall cast the deciding vote and if the tie is for the post of the President there shall be a ran up between the two candidates.

(e) The Chairman, Secretary and the Treasurer shall be elected from the five elected members of the governing council.

(f) Each proposed candidate shall be allowed not more than five minutes to introduce himself or herself to the present delegates and the Ballot papers shall then be distributed to the members.

(g) Any person is eligible to be elected in absentia but the proposer shall take the responsibility of introducing him/her to the General Assembly.

(h) All elections of SOMA-Net at the General Assembly shall be conducted between the hours of 1000 hours and 1800 hours

ARTICLE 17: SOMA-Net BALLOT PAPER

 

	NAME	COUNTRY
PRESIDENT
SECRETARY GENERAL
	CENTRAL
VICE -PRESIDENT
	EASTERN
	SOUTHERN
	WESTERN
CHAIRPERSON
TREASURER
SECRETARY
3 MEMBERS

The presiding officer will not be a member of SOMA-Net

ARTICLE 18: FUNDS

(a) Funds of SOMA-Net shall be raised through membership fees, subscriptions, donor funding or any other source deemed necessary and may only be used for the following purposes:-

(i) to meet the objects of SOMA-Net contained in articles 4 , 5, and 6

(ii) acquisition of office equipment, supplies and services for SOMA-Net,

(iii) rates, rents, utilities and all other outgoings as authorized by law,

(iv) subsistence allowance and salaries for employees on SOMA-Net duty and all such other purposes incidental thereto.

(b) All monies shall be received and paid to the secretariat and shall be deposited in the name of SOMA-Net in any Bank approved by the Executive Board.

(c) No payments shall be made out of the Bank account without a resolution of the Executive Board authorizing such payment and all cheques on such bank accounts shall be signed by office bearers of SOMA-Net who shall be appointed by the Executive Board.

(d) A sum not exceeding the limit set by the Executive Board may be kept by the Chief Executive for petty disbursements of which proper accounts shall be kept.

(e) The Executive Board shall have power to suspend any office bearer who it has reasonable cause to believe is not properly accounting for any of the funds or property of SOMA-Net and shall have power to appoint another person in his place. Such suspension shall be reported to the Governing Council which shall have full power to decide what further action should be taken in the matter.

(f) The financial year of SOMA-Net shall be from 1st January to 31st December.

ARTICLE 19: INSPECTION OF ACCOUNTS AND REGISTER OF MEMBERS

All books of accounts and all documents relating thereto under register of members of the organization shall be available for inspection at the registered office of SOMA-Net by any officer or member of SOMA-Net on giving not less than 14 days notice in writing to SOMA-Net.

ARTICLE 20: AUDITORS

(a) An auditor shall be appointed biennially by the General Assembly. All the SOMA-Net accounts, records and documents shall be open to the inspection of the auditor at any time.

(b) The Treasurer shall produce an account of his receipts, payments and statements of assets and liabilities made up to date, which shall not be less than six weeks and not more than three months before the date of the General Assembly. The auditor shall examine such annual accounts and statement and certify whether they are correct, duly vouchered and in accordance with the law.

(c) A copy of the auditor's report on the accounts and statements together with such accounts and statements shall be furnished to all members at the same time as the notice convening the General Assembly is sent out.

(d) An auditor may be paid such honorarium for his duties as may be resolved by the General Assembly appointing him and or the Executive Board.

(e) No appointed auditor shall be an office bearer or a member of the Executive Board.

ARTICLE 21: AMENDMENTS TO THE

CONSTITUTION

Amendments to the Constitution of SOMA-Net must be approved by at least a two thirds majority of nominated delegates attending the General Assembly or Special General Assembly of SOMA-Net, whichever comes first.

ARTICLE 22: DISSOLUTION

(a) SOMA-Net shall not be dissolved except by a resolution passed at a General Assembly of members by a vote of two-thirds of the members present. If the quorum is not obtained, the proposal to dissolve SOMA-Net shall be submitted to a further General Assembly which shall be held a month later. Notice of this meeting shall be given to all members of the meeting. The quorum for this meeting shall be the number of members present.

(b) When the dissolution of SOMA-Net has been approved legally, no further action shall be taken by the Executive Board or any office bearer of SOMA-Net in connection with its aims other than for liquidation for cash, all the assets of SOMA-Net.

(c) Subject to the payment of all the debts of SOMA-Net, balance in each thereof shall be distributed to charitable educational and any other institutions whose sole purpose is the improvement of human welfare in any of the member countries of SOMA-Net or shall be distributed in such other manner as may be resolved during the meeting at which the resolution for dissolution is passed.

ARTICLE 23: TRUSTEES

(a) All land, buildings and other immovable property and all investments and securities which shall be acquired by the SOMA-Net shall be vested in the names of not less than 3 trustees who shall be members of the SOMA-Net and shall be appointed at the General Assembly.

(b) Any vacancies occurring for such trustees by removal, resignation or death, shall be filled at the same or next General Assembly.

(c) The trustees shall pay all income received from property vested in the trustees to the Treasurer. Any expenditure in respect of such property which in the opinion of the trustees is necessary or desirable shall be reported by the trustees to the General Assembly which shall authorize expenditure of such moneys as it thinks fit.

ARTICLE 24: ORGANIZATIONAL CHART FOR SOMA-Net

COMMENTS RECEIVED FROM MEMBERS

1. Voting procedures at the election of office bearers for the Governing council and Executive Board of Management.

2. The Constitution is not explicit on the role and position of Chapters. SOMA-Net will work through Chapters in each country.

3. Article 1

Name: Should reflect the focus on Health and not Medicine. Suggested names so far:-

- Social Sciences in Health Africa Forum (SHEAF)

- Social Sciences and Health Africa Network (SOHA)

4. Secretariat should rotate.

5. The CEO position should be strengthened.

6. Which 2 members from the country where the SOMA-Net is based should be included in governing council.

7. Members requisitioning the special assembly - 2 or five.

8. Article 7

C.ii) Terms of office bearers

9. Article 12d

12c - Quorum for general assembly 2/3 or 1/4 or 1/3 of nominated Chapter delegates.

10. Article 23

Organogram Should there be 2 treasurers or one who is both at Governing council and Executive Board of Management.

11. Article 11(a) ?

12. Article 8(d)

Should this be done by the Treasurer and the CEO, what are the logistical problems of this?

13. Article 9(c)

Should only the Treasurer, Secretary and Chairman be members of executive Board or all the 6 members?

How is Executive Board of Management formulated - elections during the general council.

ARTF African Regional Task force

IFSSH International Forum For Social Sciences in Health

CCNY Carnegie Corporation of New York

DTP Desk-top Publishing

NGO's Non governmental Organizations

RU Resource Unit

SOMA-Net Social Science and Medicine Africa Network

TD Transdisciplinary approaches

WHO World Health Organization

HSR Health Systems Research

AED Academy for Educational Development

SSH Social Science in Health

ENHR Essential National Health Research

IT Information Technology

AIM African Index Medicus

COHRED Council on Health Research for Development

AJSC Annual Joint Scientific Conference

NIMR National Institute for Medical Research

TOF Training of Facilitators

SANA Sustainable Appraoaches to Nutrition in Africa

USAID United States Agency International Development

TPD Training Package Design

ESAR Eastern and Southern Africa Region