CONTENTS
| Board Members |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Networking Chapters Publications International Conference Meetings |
|
|
|
|
|
|
SOMA-Net Board Members 1996/97
SOMA-Net Board Members |
||
 Prof. J.K. Wang'ombe Chair |
||
 Dr. Wilson Kisubi Vice-Chair |
 Dr. Jane W. Muita Treasurer |
 Dr. David Mwaniki Secretary |
 Dr. Linda Ethangatta Assistant Treasurer |
 Mr. Elly Oduol Assistant Secretary |
|
|
|
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome readers to our fourth Annual Report covering the calendar year 1996.
During this period, SOMA-Net witnessed a steady growth both at the programme and management levels. This growth was largely facilitated by the two main grants acquired during the year from the Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY), and from the Academy for Educational Development (AED)/Sustainable Appraoaches to Nutrition in Africa (SANA). |
|
Prof. J. K. Wang'ombe -
Chair, SOMA-Net |
The CCNY grant on the one hand was used to establish a Desktop Publishing (DTP) unit, fund the preparatory activities for the 1996 Third Biennial Scientific Conference, and support the core activities of the secretariat. The AED grant on the other hand went to supporting a new programme-related initiative in nutrition research and training in Africa.
This collaborative nutrition initiative between SOMA-Net and AED/SANA entails providing technical assistance to teams of health and social scientists and nutrition programme managers in Africa, by offering them training in consultative research methods in nutrition. After training, the teams are then provided with funds to improve the implementation of existing nutrition programmes in their respective countries, using the skills and knowledge acquired during the training.
The Desktop Publishing (DTP) Unit which was established at the Secretariat early in the year has reduced publication production costs tremendously. This is in addition to providing an income-generating function at the Secretariat which is expected to enable the office to support some of its running costs. The unit is currently being used for the production of in-house publications. The unit which is expected to be self-sustaining in the near future is already making headway in penetrating the DTP market in Nairobi, by taking on jobs from other institutions and individuals.
On the networking sphere, 1996 saw SOMA-Net enter into dialogue with various groups working in the area of social sciences and health, with the aim of working out modalities for collaboration. Of particular interest to the Network during this period was the enhancement of partnerships that would ensure the success of the planned 3rd International joint conference whose theme will be: Africa Health in the 21st Century: Social Science and Health Approaches, that will be held in Harare, Zimbabwe starting July 20-24,1997.
The Secretariat on its part has worked tirelessly in coordinating the numerous activities of the Network. And although for example, the scope of the secretariat's activities has grown extensively in the past year, the secretariat has continued to make the best use of presently limited space and personnel until its various income-generating activities are self-supporting.
Finally l would like to thank all our development partners, friends and members of SOMA-Net whose financial and moral support have been invaluable. On the whole, this overwhelming support has enabled us to achieve many of our objectives in the past year. The progress realized during this period would not have been possible without the joint efforts of all concerned.
Prof. Joseph Wang'ombe
Chairperson
The Social Science and Medicine Africa Network (SOMA-Net) was established in 1990 with a mission to promote and advocate interactive social and health sciences approaches in improving health by enhancing closer collaboration between social, medical and biomedical scientists.
During its six years of existence, SOMA-Net has identified Networking, Research and Training, and Advocacy for Social Sciences in Health (SSH) as priority areas.
To achieve its objectives, the Network has put in place several mechanisms which include convening biennial international conferences, constantly updating and circulating the directory of scientists and institutions working in SSH in Africa, producing regular newsletters, annual and grant reports, and establishing country chapters.
In the past, SOMA-Net has convened two biennial international conferences. The third conference is planned for Harare, Zimbabwe in mid-1997.
In order to strengthen its capacity, SOMA-Net has been developing its members' skills in developing proposals which can attract donor funds, as well as in preparing technical and scientific papers which can compete for the limited space in international journals.
In 1995 for instance, SOMA-Net organized workshops aimed at strengthening members' skills in Transdisciplinary (TD) Research, the result of which was five proposals developed by teams from Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. SOMA-Net is considering different approaches to ensure that these proposals are implemented.
Still in the planning stages is a small grant scheme to support project models with specific interventions focusing on reproductive health and nutrition, and a protocol for enhancing utilization of research findings in programmes.
SOMA-Net believes that advocacy in SSH should help overcome the obstacles in promotion of the use of social science in the search for solutions to health problems in Africa. To this end, SOMA-Net with the support of Carnegie Corporation of New York has not only been able to form country chapters and formulate strategic plans for initiating SSH activities in those countries, but has also consolidated the Network's secretariat by securing funding for permanent staff and establishing an effective communication system. SOMA-Net Chapters now exist in Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Tanzania and Ethiopia.
Though SOMA-Net publications have continued to attract considerable interest from regional and international agencies and libraries, inadequate capacity in documentation and editorial skills significantly slowed down the Network's ability to document and disseminate SSH information to partners and stakeholders in 1996.
However, during the same period, SOMA-Net produced the second edition of the directory of scientists and institutions working in the field of Social Sciences and Health (SSH) in Africa. A computerized data base of scientists and institutions working in SSH has now been set up.
During the period under review, sustainability of the Network has became a major concern to both the secretariat and the country chapters. Various proposals were put forward however, with one such proposal being the hiring of a consulting firm to develop a workable marketing strategy for the Network. The SOMA-Net evaluation workshop planned to be held during the third conference will definitely shed more light in this area.
Meanwhile, the main objective during the third phase
of SOMA-Net's growth, will be to stimulate further growth of the organization,
and facilitate the development of sustainability strategies that will
ensure long-term viability of human and fiscal resources. It is further
hoped that in addition to continued facilitation and implementation of
the current Network activities, income will be generated by conducting
rapid assessment of the SSH training and programme needs among health
NGOs with a view to developing specific programme activities for implementation
for the same. This will also enable the NGOs improve their programmes.
These strategies should lead to a strengthened secretariat with specialised
services to sell.
Networking
During 1996, the SOMA-Net continued to strengthen its networks by participating in various SSH-related fora, with the Network's members using the fora as entry points for sensitizing scientists on among other things, the importance of transdisciplinary research.
In January 1996 for instance, SOMA-Net was represented at the Essential National Health Research (ENHR) African Network meeting, held in Harare, Zimbabwe. The objective of the meeting was to bring the ENHR networks together in an effort to build closer co-ordination in health research. SOMA-Net was represented at this meeting by the Network's Coordinator. Participants in this meeting recommended that the networks:
1. promote and initiate networking between key SSH players such as the ministries of health, universities, research institutions and non-governmental organizations;
2. document and disseminate information about individual country's experiences in mobilizing resources for health research, and in their setting priorities for health research for development, and the network experiences in involving students in health research;
3. assess their information technology (IT) needs and research management for ENHR;
4. plan a joint training workshop in response to the assessed needs;
5. review the existing national health agendas with a view to using them as a starting point for exploring the relevance of regional research agenda; and
6. organize a task force to draw up an agenda for action
regarding the involvement of students in health research.
By the year ending 1996, SOMA-Net had established national Networks of Social Sciences in Health (SSH) in 12 African countries. All countries began with the basic steps of identifying social scientists working in health which is a preliminary process of bringing them together for the purposes of networking.
These Chapters include Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Tanzania and Ethiopia. All the Chapters have since developed plans for initiating Social Science in Health activities in their countries based on their respective health priorities. The Chapters' goal is to initiate transdisciplinary collaborative programmes that encourage participatory development while working in close conjunction with local communities and policy-makers in identifying health problems and solutions.
The major challenge for the networks is to be able to solicit ample funding to implement their proposed activities. While the secretariat is committed to supporting the growth of these Chapters, members at the ground level will need to continually develop strong proposals that would attract funding to support the country efforts. Unfortunately, most Chapters have not succeeded in this, and have therefore continued to rely on the secretariat for support.
Other set-backs that mar the growth of the Chapters include:
· high cost of postage, fax and telephone services in Africa;
· lack of clear-cut incentives for Chapter leaders who have to put in many hours of their time to accomplish their network's tasks;
· lack of motivation in francophone Africa;
· members often find themselves belonging to other organizations whose mandates include
 |
Member countries (listed alphabetically) 1 - Algeria 2 - Benin 3 - Botswana 4 - Cameroon 5 - Cote D' Voire 6 - Ethiopia 7 - Ghana 8 - Kenya 9 - Lesotho 10 - Mali 11 - Nigeria 12 - Senegal 13 - South Africa 14 - Sudan 15 - Tanzania 16 - Togo 17 - Uganda 18 - DRC "Zaire" 19 - Zimbabwe |
Member Countries of the Social Sciences Medicine Africa Network
social science input in health, and which also compete for credibility and support from the same donors as SOMA-Net.
In the past, SOMA-Net publications have attracted considerable interest from a number of regional and international agencies and libraries. As a result of the publications for instance, SOMA-Net has been identified as a focal site for the African Index Medicus (AIM) project. The idea of the AIM project is to focus on local documentation or `gray literature' on health which does not get sufficient visibility because they are not identified in the worldwide indexing and abstracting data bases such as MEDLINE.
Other institutions that have requested copies of SOMA-Net publications are: World Health Organization Library in Geneva, Switzerland; University of California, Berkeley, which is compiling a handbook on research networks and organizations in Africa; Institute for Scientific Information which produces print and data base indexes designed to provide easy access to the current literature on social sciences, arts and humanities; and the Library of Congress.
The second edition of the Directory of scientists and institutions working in the field of Social Sciences and Health in Africa, and who are members of SOMA-Net, was published in September 1996.
SSH Directory
The aim of producing the directory was to provide a database of human resource that can be harnessed to promote the development of health in Africa through the exchange of information, sharing of experiences and application of scientific methods in decision making on health issues. A computerized data base has now been set up and every effort will be made to publish the directory every four years.
The directory is also intended to provide a practical and convenient basis for a variety of users, from governments and non governmental organizations to researchers, planners and donor agencies - who require a rapid and convenient identification of available skills and resources in SSH.
In 1996, plans to produce the organization's bi-annual
newsletter and the institution's inventory did not materialize due to
the heavy workload at the secretariat, and also because these publications
were not budgeted for. In an effort to overcome this situation in the
future, SOMA- Net will change its approach and focus on producing quarterly
reports instead of newsletters, which at the end of the year will be put
together to form the annual report. In addition, these publications will
be sold at a marginal fee to cover the production and postage costs.
Running international conferences with good interpretation involving the Francophone and Lusophone countries and production of bi-lingual publications not only strengthens networking but also breaks language barriers.
In the past, SOMA-Net has held two biennial conferences in different venues within Africa. The first such conference on `Africa Health and the Economic Recession of the 1990s' was held in August 1992, in Nairobi, Kenya. In October 1994, SOMA-Net members convened for the Second Social Science and Medicine International Conference in Douala, Cameroon. The conference whose theme was `African Health in Crisis: Which Way out', attracted 86 scientists from 18 African countries. Four countries outside Africa were represented.
The Third Social Science and Medicine International Conference is planned for Harare, Zimbabwe between July 22-25,1997. Earlier scheduled for 1996, the third conference was postponed to 1997 for lack of adequate funds to hold the meeting. The theme of the third conference will be, `Solving African Health Problems: Interactive Social and Health Sciences Approaches'. The Network plans to use this conference as a forum for sharing experiences in SSH training. For the first time, the Lusophone African countries will be participating in the conference.
The Conference will be co-hosted by the SOMA-Net Zimbabwe Chapter and the University of Zimbabwe. It will be jointly organized by SOMA-Net, COHRED and World Health Organization (WHO)/Health Systems Research (HSR) Programme. Among the key areas that the conference will address are:
1. Health sector policy 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
SOMA-Net 2nd International Conference Douala, Cameroon Participants
6. Control and prevention of substance abuse
7. Strengthening essential drug programmes
8. Gender health and development
9. Community participation for sustainable health and development
10.Enhancing capacity in social sciences in health.
During the conference there will be a special panel discussion with other groups in Africa which have similar activities as SOMA-Net. These groups will discuss the depth and extent of collaboration, linkages and modalities of involving medical scientists and institutions in their activities.
The panel will specifically:
· strategize and work out mechanisms for improving networking in SSH in Africa;
· decide on whether there is a need for further situation analysis of existing organizations i.e their capacity and capability in SSH in an effort to identify the strengths that must be solidified and gaps that must be filled as a pre-requisite to the strategic planning session;
· brainstorm on means of providing support for existing SSH efforts;
· identify core institutions and key personalities for collaboration;
· clarify relationships and involvement of Dar es salaam University and University of Nairobi health behaviour groups.
During the Conference, the Africa region steering committee of IFSSH will also meet to review the activities of the past six years and plan activities for the following three years. SOMA-Net on the other hand will hold its General Assembly meeting scheduled for July 24, 1997. The General Assembly is expected to among other things, address the organization's constitution and management. Specifically, the General Assembly meeting will deliberate on:
i) the amended constitution (this constitution was circulated to members and responses received);
ii) the nomination selection/election of new leadership (in order to build linkages it has been suggested that in addition to ensuring regional representation, the other like-minded institutions and donors such as those from WHO, IFSSH and COHRED should be represented in the governing council of SOMA-Net.
iii) SOMA-Net activities and the proposal for the following three-year period, specifically the one to Carnegie Corporation of New York.
In addition to convening biennial international conferences, SOMA-Net has continued to establish new linkages and consolidate the existing ones with other regional and international bodies that share similar objectives. To this end, SOMA-Net participated in the Second African Essential National Health Research (ENHR) Network in Harare in August 1995 and in January 1996. A subsequent ENHR meeting was held between September 29 and October 4, 1997 in Kampala, Uganda.
SOMA-Net was also represented at the 14th Annual Joint Scientific Conference (14th AJSC) of the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), which was held in February 1996 in Arusha, Tanzania. The objectives of the Arusha conference were to enable researchers in and outside NIMR to collaborate with other researchers by sharing their research findings and making recommendations on their utilization of findings as well as identify priority problems requiring further research in their areas. Attended by the 130 participants, the conference also accommodated a seminar on Epidemiology and Control of Human Helminthiases, and a satellite workshop on malaria research priorities in Tanzania.
In view of the increasing problem of resistance to anti-malarial drugs, the Malaria satellite workshop reviewed the regimen used for chemotherapy and chemoprophylaxis for malaria in the country. The workshop recommended that the present regimens remain unchanged until adequate data become available from resistance monitoring sites throughout the country. Furthermore, the workshop developed three proposals namely i) comparative Efficacy with the anti-malarial drugs, chloroquine, Fansidar, Metakelfin and Artesunate Rectocap including its pharmacokinetics; ii) Epidemiology of Urban Malaria in Tanzania: Vector Ecology and Alternative Control Strategies; and iii) influence of the Health Sector Reform on Malaria Control at the District Level.
The main objective of the Training and Research activity at SOMA-Net is to enhance the social science base and capacity of institutions to initiate and foster SSH efforts in Africa
A significant gap however, that has been identified by SOMA-Net in the area of Training in SSH is the scarcity of professionals available to offer tutelage to the less experienced, mid-career scientists. Such mid-career scientists end up lacking in skills useful when developing proposals for mobilizing research funds and are also unable to adequately compete for publication space in respectable journals.
Recognizing this challenge, SOMA-Net has been instrumental in organizing workshops aimed at strengthening the capacity of these scientists. The workshops initiate common methodological approaches linking up different health and social science disciplines. Teams of scientists from different professional backgrounds gain skills in conducting transdisciplinary research and are expected to initiate projects in their own countries.
In 1995 when the TD skill development training project commenced, it was intended that teams in Eastern, Southern and Central Africa targeting five countries per region and four research scientists in each country would receive training. At the end of the project, a total of 60 scientists would have been trained and the development and implementation of 15 research projects would have been completed. After the projects implementation, a data analysis and report preparation workshop was planned for these teams.
The other activity planned under training was to develop the skills of NGOs and other agencies' staff to enable them incorporate SSH in improving their programmes.
Although 19 scientists from five East African countries were trained in proposal development in 1995 when the project started, little progress was made in these activities in 1996. None of the five proposals developed either has been implemented. This shortcoming is mainly attributed to disparities in the assumptions made about the process and resources required to realize these targets.
TD workshop Machakos 1995
It was for example assumed that resources would be available to take these teams through the whole training process. On the other hand, the proposals developed could not attract funding because the scope of the proposals with respect to operations and budget was too wide for a training activity. This may have resulted from the fact that no budget ceiling was earlier established, nor were research questions discussed with possible funding agencies before embarking on the process of developing full proposals.
Transdisciplinary Research (TD research) is an extension of multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary research. TD research however cuts across disciplines through use of a common conceptual framework to address a common problem blending together disciplinary-specific concepts, theories and approaches. Through this approach, representatives of different disciplines are encouraged to transcend their conceptual, theoretical and methodological orientations in order to develop a shared approach to research. Such frameworks can be used to define, analyze and interpret the research problem and develop new approaches for health care that brings into play all conditioning factors which influence the extent of health problems.
In response to the identified need to improve skills required in strengthening the application of SSH, SOMA-Net has identified the TD approach as an innovative strategy for human resource development in Africa.
An evaluation carried out in 1995 after the first SOMA-Net workshop for East African scientists on TD skill development for example indicated that the participants gained sufficient knowledge and acquired key concepts to enable them to develop transdisciplinary research proposals. The objective of the workshop was to improve the skills and knowledge of multi-disciplinary teams of researchers in conducting operations using TD approaches. SOMA-Net hopes to establish a small grant programme which would support projects functioning as models with specific interventions focusing on reproductive health and nutrition.
A protocol for enhancing utilization of research findings in programme development was also planned. These two activities have not been realized as yet.
On the same breath, early in the year SOMA-Net held a TD workshop for the Network's board members. The objectives of the workshop were to:
· define TD research and its applications;
· determine the process of achieving TD research and establish some indicators for TD research; and
· establish some mechanism of SOMA-Nets' approach to TD research.
At the end of the workshop, the board members agreed to develop materials that would be used as guides by research and health workers who want to initiate TD research studies.
During the third phase of SOMA-Net's growth, the major activity planned under training and research will be to control the training process already initiated and start small scale grant projects in reproductive health and nutrition. The scope of the proposals developed during the training workshops will be scaled down so that they can conform to the standard short term training projects and be submitted to specific donors. This, in addition to expanding the donor base will result in five case studies from Eastern Africa region and publications in peer review journals. The goal will be to spearhead and establish SOMA-Net into a centre of excellence in SSH which other health promoting organizations can draw lessons from.
One of the major achievements associated with SOMA-Net has been its successful initiation the promotion of social science in health perspectives, a rationale that has been widely endorsed in the region. On the global scale, SOMA-Net has strengthened linkages with regional and international bodies that share the Network's objectives. Early in the life of the organization for example, SOMA-Net played host to the first African Regional Taskforce (ARTF) meeting of the International Forum for Social Sciences in Health (IFFSH) held in Nairobi in January, 1994.
The main aim of this meeting was to develop strategies and a programme of activities for implementing the "minimal agenda" for the African region. During this meeting, SOMA-Net was mandated to implement the Forum's activities in the region.
Commissioning of case studies on the state-of-the-art of social sciences and health is also another proposal that emerged from this meeting. Consequently, SOMA-Net jointly with the AFRTF in 1994, commissioned case studies on the state-of-the-art in SSH in the region. The studies, which were expected to provide an insight into the SSH status in the different African countries and on specific areas of concern, were presented during the SOMA-Net's Second International Conference held in Douala, Cameroon in October 1994. The papers presented also served an integrative function among and within the different regions by bringing scientists together to plan, discuss, evaluate the studies, and carry out the necessary interventions.
Currently, SOMA-Net is planning for an external evaluation and essays aimed at sensitizing students on SSH and on SOMA-Net activities.
The continued collaboration between SOMA-Net and the IFSSH is expected to overcome obstacles in the promotion of use of social science in the search for solutions to health problems in Africa. The collaboration is also expected to promote and tap the available skills and resources among SSH professionals, disciplines and institutions.
In 1996 for example, SOMA-Net and IFSSH worked closely together in soliciting 15 case studies and selecting two African nominees who presented those studies in the 7th International Conference on the Social Sciences and Medicine in Scotland. SOMA-Net also helped rank the Asia Pacific Network (APNET) case studies.
The case studies received from Uganda, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Zaire, Kenya and Malawi were critiqued by SOMA-Net and a comprehensive report written for each case.
The two selected best case studies were :
· Representing HIV\AIDS concerns in Lyantonde, Uganda : The Genogram as compliment to qualitative and quantitative evidence by N. Ssewankambo. et . al - Uganda; and,
· Therapy choice, Utilization and satisfaction in Kinshasa by L. Dimomfu - Zaire.
These case studies and those from other parts of the world are currently being compiled into a Best Case Study Book.
AED/ SANA Project:
Capacity Building in Qualitative
Research Methods for Nutrition
The Sustainable Approaches to Nutrition in Africa (SANA) Project is a three-year co-operative agreement between the Academy for Educational Development (AED) and the Africa Bureau of USAID to support programme-related research and training for nutrition in Africa. The project was developed in response to the 1994 Bellagio Meeting, Declaration and Global Initiative to improve the effectiveness of nutrition programmes by re-examining nutrition training and research requirements.
The purpose of this project is to strengthen the capacity of SOMA-Net to respond to regional needs for technical assistance by training teams of health and social scientists and implementors working in nutrition or related programmes. The teams will be trained in consultative research methods and be provided with seed funds to improve the existing nutrition programme efforts.
The proposal preparations for this project started in January 1996 with a meeting between the SOMA-Net Coordinator and the AED Project Director at the Essential National Health Research (ENHR) meeting held in Zimbabwe. SOMA-Net subsequently developed a draft proposal for AED. Follow-up discussions and exchanges were made with the SANA Project Director during which the proposal was revised severally before finalisation.
The training preparations carried out in conjunction with the AED Field Advisor included drawing a tentative agenda and terms of reference for the resource persons' and planning logistics for the implementation of a Training Package Design workshop (TPD). This workshop was planned for January 25, to February 1, 1997 and its aim was to produce a user-friendly training package and make preparations for a three-week proposal development workshop planned for later in 1997. The resource persons came from WHO supported Health Systems Research, University of Nairobi, Applied Nutrition Program, University of Ghana, Legon, Kenya Institute of Education and Ministry of Health, Uganda.
Participants for the proposal development workshop will include three person teams from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Individuals who attended the workshop on Training and Research to improve nutrition in the Eastern and Southern Africa Region (ESAR) in Nairobi in April 1996 were requested to identify participants for the workshop.
During the period under review, the secretariat continued to implement and supervise SOMA-Net's activities in the African region as well as to solicit further support for the Network. In a period that saw non-profit making organizations witness a dwindling in donor funding, donors continued to express confidence in SOMA-Net by pledging contributions. With strong support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York for instance, SOMA-Net was not only able to form country chapters and formulate plans for initiating SSH activities in those countries, but was also able to consolidate the Network's secretariat by securing funding for the positions of Co-ordinator, who is a technical person, an Administrative Secretary and Administrative Assistant.
Although wherever necessary, French expertise was contracted on part-time basis, the intention of establishing a bilingual secretariat with French capacity in 1996 was not realized. This was because of unavailability of a competent person for hire for a one year period as dictated by the available funds. Consequently, Chapters in the francophone countries could not be established, bilingual publications and general networking with SSH practitioners among the francophones remained sub-optimal.
Through funding from the same partner, the secretariat has also been able to establish an effective communication system which has enhanced the Network's contact with the rest of the world. The availability of fax and electronic mail services for instance has greatly enhanced communication between members and the Network. Connection on the e-mail on the other hand, has had the advantage of reducing the cost of communication, especially during the planning of conferences and other networking activities.
In the past, SOMA-Net has relied heavily on external funding for its activities. Several strategies have been suggested on the issue of sustainability. During the period 1994 to 1996, SOMA-Net had planned to start generating income for sustaining the Network. Some of the strategies included bidding for consultancy services on behalf of members and acting as a conduit for research funds for its members. However, these developments did not come to fruition due to inadequate contingency plans and ineffective marketing strategies.
One proposal put forward last year, to ensure the organization's effectiveness is the possibility of hiring a consulting firm to develop a workable marketing strategy for the Network.
Desktop Publishing Unit (DTP)
One of SOMA-Net's key achievements in 1996 was the organization's acquisition of a DTP facility. One the tools in the unit include a power macintosh computer with graphical user interface that is supplied with a multi-display monitor, a keyboard and mouse. A typewriter was also included as part of this unit because of the numerous letters and official forms which need to be typewritten. The colour printer has enabled production of publications and reports with good and high quality illustrations. The scanner on the other hand has become a useful tool when working with photographs and diagrams, especially for illustration of documents. In addition, the unit has a binding machine and guillotine which are used for trimming and binding small reports and proposals that are not widely distributed.
In the near future the DTP facility may increase the workload at the secretariat, and this may necessitate the need for hiring an extra person in the unit. However, since this unit is expected to be self-sustaining in the long run, it is hoped that the person would be remunerated from the proceeds accrued from the unit.
While initially the DTP facility was used to clear the backlog of publications such as annual reports and conference materials, it has now started taking on small graphic design jobs from other started taking on small graphic design jobs from other institutions and individuals. In future, there may be need to purchase printing equipment so that all printing jobs are completed in-house, instead of sub-contracting them to commercial printers. This is expected to further lower publication production costs.
1990
-
SOMA-Net is founded and a steering committee is formed.
1991
-
Collection and compilation of the first directory of SSH practitioners.
-
Draft constitution is prepared.
1992
- The first directory of SSH is produced.
- The first international conference is organized.
- SOMA-Net is registered as a society in the Republic of Kenya.
1993
- Proposal to establish a regional secretariat for SOMA-Net and establish
country chapters is developed. The first grant of US$ 150,000 is received
which covered the grant period April 1993 to March 1996.
- The report for the period 1990-1993 is compiled and produced.
- Proceedings of the 1st conference are published.
1994
- A functional secretariat is established with full-time staff.
- The 2nd international conference is convened.
- SOMA-Net chapters in Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, South Africa, Lesotho,
Botswana and Zimbabwe are established.
- The first SOMA-Net Newsletter "The Circle" and a
revised brochure are published.
- The 1994 Annual Report is produced.
- First task force meeting of the IFSSH is convened.
- Meeting with Deans of schools of medicine in five African countries
was convened in Douala.
- The second Task force meeting is held in Douala.
- The second grant of US $200,000 covering the period June 1994 to May
1996 is received.
- Facilitated selection of 13 state-of-art papers for forum.
1995
- Three more Chapters are established in Cameroon, Ghana and Nigeria.
- The 2nd Newsletter is produced.
- The 1995 Annual Report is produced.
- Updating and revision of the directory is started.
- The first TD proposal development workshop is conducted.
- An e-mail service is established.
- Development of draft TD training guide.
1996
- The twelfth Chapter is established in Tanzania.
- Planning of the Third International Conference.
- A DTP service is set-up.
- The revised SOMA-Net directory is published.
- 1996 Annual Report is compiled
- The Constitution is revised and circulated to members.
- A TD workshop for developing a conceptual TD frame-work paper is held.
- The Third grant of US $200,000 covering the period June 1996 to November
1997 is received.
- A USAID grant for US$ 270,000 covering the period July 1996 to September
- 1996 is received for strengthening SOMA-Net's capacity to develop
members' skills in nutrition research.
- Selection of regional case studies for the FORUM is facilitated.
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