December 2021 | Issue 4

BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health (JPGSPH) NEWSLETTER

December 2021 was a significant month as it marks the second year since the passing of Sir Fazle Hasan Abed KCMG (1936-2019), in addition to the 50th Anniversary of Bangladesh’s victory in the Liberation War of 1971.

Under the leadership of Sir Fazle Hasan Abed KCMG, BRAC JPGSPH was founded in 2004 to address the unmet public health challenges particular to Asia, Africa and South America. Sir Abed’s vision for BRAC University included the provision of education of the highest quality in the field of public health. Through the combined resources of BRAC and other similar institutions and partners, this vision became a reality through the establishment of the BRAC JPGSPH.

BRAC JPGSPH builds capacity and contributes to Public Health by creating innovative public health leaders and solutions through cutting-edge, experiential Education, Training, Research and Advocacy. The aim is to enable public health leaders, practitioners, critical thinkers, researchers, advocates, and stewards in order to enable concrete changes to improve the lives of disadvantaged populations locally, regionally and internationally.

This newsletter covers activities between October-December 2021

Key Highlights of 2021

Education

Master of Public Health Programme (MPH) & Diploma in Midwifery Programme (DMP)

17^th Master of Public Health (MPH) Cohort:
19 International and 24 National Students

Developing Midwives Project (DMP):
225 Students Enrolled and 231 Graduated in 2021

Training

Centre for Professional Skills Development in Public Health (CPSD)

38 Skills Building Seminars and Workshops

600+ Professionals Trained

Research

Bringing Evidence to Practice

30 New Multi-Country Research Projects Undertaken

85 Peer-Reviewed Publications and 3 Book Chapters Published

Advocacy

To Influence Programmes and Policies

126+ Active Engagements with Stakeholders to Influence Programmes and Policies

68 News Articles and 10 Blogs.

IN THE NEWS

Toolkit Available: Participatory Health Research with two methodology case studies from ARISE Bangladesh | BRAC JPGSPH colleagues as contributors

BRAC JPGSPH colleagues and ARISE Bangladesh representatives Wafa Alam, Assistant Coordinator; and Imran Hossain Mithu, Research Associate, have co-authored two methodology case studies in this toolkit put together by different projects at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), including ARISE Hub.

Date: November 2021

Learn More >

Webinar on Gender & COVID-19 Research Agenda Setting in the Asia Pacific: Vaccinations

As part of the Gender and COVID-19 Research Agenda-setting process, the Gender & Health Hub at the United Nations University International Institute for Global Health (UNU-IIGH) and the School of Public Health at the University of the Western Cape (SOPH-UWC) hosted a webinar on Gender & COVID-19 Research Agenda Setting in the Asia Pacific: Vaccinations.

Date: 21 October 2021

Learn More >

Violence against young women and girls with disabilities: An everyday affair

Worldwide, young women and girls with disabilities face up to 10 times more violence than women and girls without disabilities, and Bangladesh is no exception.

Date: 10 December 2021

Learn More >

Bangladesh Health Watch (BHW) in collaboration with Bloodman develops a video addressing the psycho social well being of school children due to the COVID-19 lockdown

Date: November 2021

Learn More >

Paper by BRAC JPGSPH Researchers from a Rohingya research project awarded with the Outstanding Paper Award.

The paper titled 'Ethics and Methods for Collecting Sensitive Data: Examining Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs of and Services for Rohingya Refugees at Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh' was featured in the Spring 2020 issue (volume 4, number 2), of the International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion (IJIDI).

Date: 8 December 2021

Learn More>

Conflict, extremism, resilience and peace in South Asia; can covid-19 provide a bridge for peace and rapprochement?

This peer-reviewed article talks about a new 4-point approach for promoting peace in South Asia, using COVID-19 as an opportunity. Dr Mushtaque Chowdhury, Founding Dean of BRAC JPGSPH, is one of the authors.

Date: 15 November 2021

Learn More >

Announcements

Professor Zahidul Quayyum selected as a member of Country Core Group (CCG) of National Coordination of Pandemic Responses Collaborative

Professor Zahidul Quayyum, Director, Research and Co-Director, Centre of Excellence for Urban Equity and Health (CUEH), BRAC JPGSPH has been selected as a member of Country Core Group (CCG) of National Coordination of Pandemic Responses Collaborative under Bangladesh Joint Learning Network for Universal Health Coverage (JLN) and the Health Systems Strengthening Accelerator project.

Professor Malabika Sarker chosen as an Evaluation Advisory Committee Member of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

Professor Malabika Sarker, Associate Dean and Director, Centre of Excellence for Science of Implementation and Scale-Up (CoE-SISU), BRAC JPGSPH has been appointed as a member of the Evaluation Advisory Committee (EAC) of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, effective from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2023.

Blog by Professor Syed Masud Ahmed featured in Feedspot Top 20 Bangladesh Health Blogs on the web

The blog Bangladesh Health Scenario, by Professor Syed Masud Ahmed, Director of Centre of Excellence for Health Systems and Universal Health Coverage (CoE-HS&UHC), BRAC JPGSPH has been selected by feedspot.com as one of the Top 20 Bangladesh Health Blogs on the web.

Learn More >

Education
| Master of Public Health (MPH) Programme & Diploma in Midwifery Programme (DMP)

The Master of Public Health (MPH) Programme at BRAC JPGSPH is a one-year full-time programme that offers transformative public health learning to develop next-generation public health leaders for 21st century public health challenges. The locus of the MPH programme is its experiential community immersive teaching through rigorous urban and rural fieldwork. Since its inception in 2005, there have been over 562 MPH graduates from 34 countries.

17^TH MPH COHORT ONLINE CLASS OF 2021

13 Countries around the world

19 International and 24 National Students

3 Modules Completed Online between October-December 2021

MPH 541: Environment, Health and Climate Change
Respectful Maternity Care (Solution Project under 'MPH 660: Gender Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights' Module)
MPH 700: Summative Learning Project (SLP)

Learn More about the Modules For More Information on the MPH Programme, Click Here

HIGHLIGHTS

"Online learning has ushered in even more innovations to the class. It’s fun to be in a class with people attending from different time zones."

Dr Tahmeed Ahmed

Executive Director, icddr,b

"I always enjoy teaching BRAC JPGSPH MPH students, even through the online format. Their diverse experiences and perspectives bring so much richness to the course that the students are as much the teacher as I am!"

Ashley Styczynski

Infectious Disease Fellow, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, California
Guest Resource Person, Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases, BRAC JPGSPH

BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health (JPGSPH) NEWSLETTER

Key Highlights of 2021

Education

17th Master of Public Health (MPH) Cohort: 19 International and 24 National Students

Developing Midwives Project (DMP): 225 Students Enrolled and 231 Graduated in 2021

Training

38 Skills Building Seminars and Workshops

600+ Professionals Trained

Research

30 New Multi-Country Research Projects Undertaken

85 Peer-Reviewed Publications and 3 Book Chapters Published

Advocacy

126+ Active Engagements with Stakeholders to Influence Programmes and Policies

68 News Articles and 10 Blogs.

IN THE NEWS

Toolkit Available: Participatory Health Research with two methodology case studies from ARISE Bangladesh | BRAC JPGSPH colleagues as contributors

Webinar on Gender & COVID-19 Research Agenda Setting in the Asia Pacific: Vaccinations

Violence against young women and girls with disabilities: An everyday affair

Bangladesh Health Watch (BHW) in collaboration with Bloodman develops a video addressing the psycho social well being of school children due to the COVID-19 lockdown

Paper by BRAC JPGSPH Researchers from a Rohingya research project awarded with the Outstanding Paper Award.

Conflict, extremism, resilience and peace in South Asia; can covid-19 provide a bridge for peace and rapprochement?

Announcements

Professor Zahidul Quayyum selected as a member of Country Core Group (CCG) of National Coordination of Pandemic Responses Collaborative

Professor Malabika Sarker chosen as an Evaluation Advisory Committee Member of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

Blog by Professor Syed Masud Ahmed featured in Feedspot Top 20 Bangladesh Health Blogs on the web

Education | Master of Public Health (MPH) Programme & Diploma in Midwifery Programme (DMP)

17TH MPH COHORT ONLINE CLASS OF 2021

13 Countries around the world

19 International and 24 National Students

3 Modules Completed Online between October-December 2021

HIGHLIGHTS

"Online learning has ushered in even more innovations to the class. It’s fun to be in a class with people attending from different time zones."

Dr Tahmeed Ahmed

"I always enjoy teaching BRAC JPGSPH MPH students, even through the online format. Their diverse experiences and perspectives bring so much richness to the course that the students are as much the teacher as I am!"

Ashley Styczynski

BRAC JPGSPH featured as One of the Top Six Public Health Schools in the region by World Health Organization in 2007

In 2020 the School was featured by Johns Hopkins University's newsletter as one of the Top Schools in the Region

Transformative Competency-based Public Health Education for Professional Employability in Bangladesh’s Health Sector

DIPLOMA IN MIDWIFERY PROGRAMME (DMP): ONLINE 2021

393 Students from 6th and 7th batches of the Midwifery programme are continuing with their studies

231 Midwives successfully graduated in 2021

DMP Activities between October-December 2021

Enrollment of new batch of DMP students: Welcome Ceremony and Commencement of Academic Activities

Faculty Development Training

Session on Professionalism and Self-Care with the students of 6th DMP batch

Anti-Bullying Workshop with 8th DMP batch

Observing the 16 Days of Activism

Observing International Universal Health Coverage Day 2021

TRAINING | Centre for Professional Skills Development in Public Health (CPSD)

17 Skills building training and workshops conducted between October-December 2021

HIGHLIGHTS

Workshop on the lessons learned from the “Synthesis and Translation of Research and Innovation in Polio Eradication” project

Training on Safeguarding and, Protection against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA)

Training on the World Health Organization (WHO) Package of Essential Non-communicable Diseases (PEN) Interventions in Cox’s Bazar

Training on Behavioural Change Communications (BCC)

Skill Development Training of Writing Opinion Columns

Participatory Workshop conducted on Social Innovation Monitoring and Evaluation

CENTRE FOR PROFESSIONAL SKILLS DEVELOPMENT (CPSD) AIMS TO PROVIDE

RESEARCH | Bringing Evidence to Practice

30 New Multi-Country Research Projects Undertaken

8 Multi-Country Research Projects between October-December 2021

5 Research Centres of Excellence

The Centre of Excellence for Gender, Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (CGSRHR)

The Centre of Excellence for Health Systems and Universal Health Coverage (CoE-HS&UHC)

The Centre of Excellence for Urban Equity and Health (CUEH)

The Centre of Excellence for the Science of Implementation and Scale-Up (CoE-SISU)

The Centre of Excellence for Non-Communicable Diseases and Nutrition (CNCDN)

Humanitarian Research Hub

RESEARCH AT THE SCHOOL FOCUSES ON

RECENT RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

Clinical Impact and Economic Features of a Community Health Worker-Led Low-Sodium Salt Intervention to Reduce Blood Pressure at the Population Level in Rural Bangladesh: A Cluster-Randomized Trial

Capacity Strengthening of Urban Health System Actors under the Community-led Responsive and Effective Urban Health Systems (CHORUS) Project

Operational Research Report submission under 'Disrupting Cross Border Trafficking in Jashore' Project

Consultation Meeting on Package of Essential Non-communicable Diseases Interventions for Primary Health Care Providers in Cox's Bazar District

Feasibility of implementing Trauma Registry and Trauma Systems Improvement Programme in four District Hospitals of Bangladesh with high road traffic injury (RTI) burden

Meetings at the office of the Secretary of the Ministry of Food and the office of the Director-General of The Food Planning and Monitoring Unit (FPMU)

85 Peer-Reviewed Publications, including 3 Book Chapters between January-December 2021

14 Peer-Reviewed Publications, including 1 International Book Chapter between October-December 2021

PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS HIGHLIGHTS

Food system concepts and definitions for science and political action

17^th Master of Public Health (MPH) Cohort:
19 International and 24 National Students

Developing Midwives Project (DMP):
225 Students Enrolled and 231 Graduated in 2021

Education
| Master of Public Health (MPH) Programme & Diploma in Midwifery Programme (DMP)

17^TH MPH COHORT ONLINE CLASS OF 2021

393 Students from 6^th and 7^th batches of the Midwifery programme are continuing with their studies

TRAINING
| Centre for Professional Skills Development in Public Health (CPSD)

RESEARCH
| Bringing Evidence to Practice

ADVOCACY
| To Influence Programmes and Policies