ICRH Belgium Newsletter
18th of June, 2010
ICRH Belgium Activity Report 2009
The 2009 Activity Report of ICRH Belgium has just been released.
The report gives an overview of the evolution ICRH went through in 2009. In addition to a brief presentation of all 34 ICRH Belgium projects, the report contains among others a list of publications, an account of the establishment of ICRH Global, and some information on human resources and environmental issues.
The 2009 Activity Report can be downloaded at http://www.icrh.org/files/ICRH%20Activity%20Report%202009.pdf
More information: dirk.vanbraeckel@ugent.be
PROJECTS AND EVENTS
ICRH at the Shanghai World Exhibition
On August 27 2010, ICRH organizes a seminar in Shanghai on “Working together for better health tomorrow: findings from collaborative research projects between EU and China in the field of reproductive health”. 
The aim of this seminar is to share and transfer knowledge between researchers, and to better understand the added value and the challenges of the EU funded projects in China. The main results from three research projects will be presented: PAFP (Post Abortion Family Planning services in China); CHIMACA (China Maternal Health Care in rural areas); and YOLAMI (Young Labour Migrants in China). In addition, two speakers, one from Belgium and one from China will share their experiences on working together in EU-funded projects in China. This seminar is organized in collaboration with Fudan University and will take place from 2:00 to 3:30 pm, on Friday, 27th August in the Belgian Pavilion. A day ticket for the Shanghai Expo will be offered by Ghent University to the participants in the conference.
More information: weihong.zhang@ugent.be
CERCA Kick-of meeting
From May 4th until 6th, the CERCA project (Community-Embedded Reproductive health Care for Adolescents) had its kick-off meeting in Managua, Nicaragua.
All partners that participate in the CERCA project attended the kick off meeting in Managua: South Group (Bolivia), University of Cuenca (Ecuador), Kaunas University of Medicine (Lithuania), University of Amsterdam (Netherlands), Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios de la Salud (CIES-Nicaragua), Instituto Centro Americano de la Salud (ICAS-Nicaragua) and ICRH. During the meeting, each organization introduced itself and the coordinator (Peter Decat) gave a detailed description of the project. All partners presented the work packages under their responsibility and the proposed methodologies were discussed within the whole team. During the last day, a visit was arranged at a public health Centre in Managua. By the end of the kick-off meeting, a time schedule had been elaborated and the CERCA consortium had grown into an enthusiastic group of partners.
For more information: Peter.decat@ugent.be and SaraA.demeyer@ugent.be or http://www.icrh.org/projects/cerca-communityembedded-reproductive-health-care-for-adolescents-in-latin-america
CERCA Community Advisory Board
On June 4th 2010, the CERCA project organized a Community Advisory Board (CAB) at ICRH offices in Ghent.
The CERCA project invited various individuals and organizations working in the field of Latin America and/or sexual and reproductive health (care) for adolescents to participate in a Community Advisory Board meeting. The following organizations were represented: FOS, Sensoa, Nationaal verbond van Socialistische Mutualiteiten, Plan Belgium and the Department of Public health of the university of Ghent. The aim of the meeting was to establish a new network in which experiences related to SRH and adolescents (in Latin America) can be exchanged and future co operations can be elaborated. The meeting of June 4th resulted in a wide range of new ideas and suggestions for additional stakeholders that could be of interest for the CERCA project.
More information: Peter.decat@ugent.be and SaraA.demeyer@ugent.be
PUBLICATIONS
Sexual behaviour and the spread of HIV – Statistical and epidemiological modelling applications.
Wim Delva’s PhD thesis, which he has successfully defended on May 10, 2010, has been published.
Central in the work are six papers describing the sexual behaviour of populations at increased risk for HIV infection as well as opportunities for HIV prevention. The first two papers investigate the sexual behaviour and contraceptive use of youth in the Balkans. The third paper discusses the conditions required to unlock the potential of HIV prevention through sport-based programmes, while the fourth paper is a case study of the impact of the AIDS awareness and prevention project of the Mathare Youth Sport Association in Kenya on risky sexual behaviour of youth in Mathare. In the final two papers, epidemiological models are developed to investigate role of concurrent partnerships in the spread of HIV. Additionally, an individual-based stochastic model (SIMPACT) is developed to study the impact of HIV prevention interventions in sexual networks characterised by concurrency and complex age mixing patterns. Wim’s thesis has been published in the series ‘ICRH Monographs’.
More information: wim.delva@ugent.be
Bridges
“Bridges” is the name of the new quarterly publication of the Health and Legal Rights Programme’ of ICRH Kenya. The first edition has just appeared.
The Health and Legal Rights Programme (HLRP) was inaugurated in November 2009 under the Interventions Unit of the International Centre for Reproductive Health, Kenya (ICRH-K). It is linked to the Research & Evaluation and the Community Liaison Units with the aim of developing a concrete advocacy, legal and policy based programme that promotes health as a Human Right. The programme has moved ICRH-K to a new level of rights based work, squarely addressing legal and Human Rights related issues that perpetuate poverty, disempowerment, HIV /AIDS, violence and marginalization. It focuses on developing training programmes and conducting community education on SGBV and related rights .It also takes actions to defend the sexual and reproductive health rights of vulnerable groups. These groups include but are not limited to women, children, adolescents, male and female sex workers, Men having sex with men (MSM), persons living with HIV (PLHIV) and injecting drug users (IDUs).
The programme works closely with the Gender Based Violence Recovery Centre (GBVRC) at the Coast Province General hospital (CPGH) in a bid to ensure the integration of legal services into the hospital based clinic hence ensure access to comprehensive services for survivors of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV).
The “Bridges” newsletter will appear four times a year.
For more information and subscriptions, please contact info@icrhk.org