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Education University of Groningen Summer Schools

Promoting Sustainable Health Systems in Africa

Challenges And Opportunities at the Intersection of Governance and Law

The African continent faces various challenges and opportunities for improving the sustainability of health systems, as well overall public health through measures of health prevention. How can better law and governance address new and existing health challenges and improve long-term sustainability of health systems? Examples of key challenges and opportunities include: improving equitable access to medicines; sound health system management; maternal and child health; preventing non-communicable diseases (e.g. nutrition, unhealthy diets, smoking, tobacco, alcohol); infectious diseases; environmental health and climate change; mental health; good governance and human rights.

How do existing global and local governance arrangements respond to challenges in resource constrained settings? What is the role of the World Health Organisation (WHO)? What are the government's and other actors’ legal duties and responsibilities to ensure good health? Which opportunities exist to improve sustainability of health systems through interdisciplinary and systems approaches? Learn more about these topics and more by participating in our joint winter school in Tanzania, land of the Mt Kilimanjaro, Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater This year the school takes place in Arusha, the seat of the African Court of Human and People’s Rights and East African Court of Justice.

This school is taught jointly by interdisciplinary experts from the Groningen Center of Health Law of the University of Groningen and Mzumbe's School of Public Administration and Management (SOPAM) and Faculty of Law. It is designed to offer participants with a comprehensive understanding of the role of law and governance in improving health systems and public health outcomes in African countries. The school will focus on sustainability of health systems and on preventive approaches rather than mere treatment of disease, and include a strong focus on the right to health.

Over the course of five days, academics and (inter)governmental experts will introduce participants to key themes,  such as key challenges in African health systems, including health worker migration, unequitable access to medicines, or lessons from the COVID pandemic for infectious disease management; the role of the WHO, international guidelines and right to health – and their translation into local contexts and resource constraint settings; and the need for interdisciplinary approaches to health governance, in light of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Through various interactive lectures and hands-on group assignments, participants will delve deeper into various themes and topics of each day (see below). We also plan to pay a visit to the African Court of Human and People’s Rights.

Overall, participants in this school will gain insights into recent developments in key global health law and governance arrangements, such as the WHO, international human rights treaties, and Pandemic Treaty; as well as the challenges and opportunities of building sustainable health systems in African domestic contexts, keeping in mind structural challenges such as resources, or impacts of climate change. On Thursday afternoon we will offer several (parallel) skills-development workshops, e.g. writing MA or PhD research proposals in the area of health; human rights and legal skills; interdisciplinary research and policy design; career advice and CV writing. The offer may depend on the background and interests of the participant group.

In addition to opportunities for social interaction throughout the week, participants can sign up for the optional full day group visit on Friday, to the amazing Ngorongoro National Park, the UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the northern part of Tanzania. This park is renowned for the Ngorongoro Crater, the world's largest inactive, intact, and unfilled volcanic caldera. The Ngorongoro park is also filled with many other attractive scenic features such as Wildlife, Maasai Culture, the Olduvai Gorge and beautiful landscapes. The tour promises an enriching experience filled with adventure, culture, education, and inspiration. The staff of the programme will join the participants on this social outing.

Practical information
Dates

27 - 31 January 2025

Location

Tanzania, Arusha

Level

Advanced undergraduate students / Master students / PhD students / postdocs / policymakers / non-profit practitioners / health practitioners. People from all disciplines are encouraged to apply; the course is interdisciplinary across law, human rights, governance, health system management and health science and stimulates mutual learning.

Fees

This fee includes lunches / evening teas / social dinner.

No scholarships or fee waivers are available for this programme.

€ 225 (600,000 Tsh) for participants from Africa
€ 275 for non-African participants.

Additional cost for optional social event to Ngorongoro National Park (incl. entry, transport and meals): internationals € 275; nationals € 75 (200,000Tsh).
Academic coordinators

Marlies Hesselman (Faculty of Law)

Idda Lyatonga (School of Public Administration and Management)

Contact

Marlies Hesselman and Idda Lyatonga
GlobalHealthSchoolTanzania rug.nl

Requirements

This course is designed for Master students, post-graduates students and policy or civil society practitioners with a background in law, health governance, public health or health science. Advanced under-graduate students may apply.

Participations should have a sufficient command of the English language to actively participate in the discussions and to present their own work in English. A basic level of (international) law, public law, public (health) administration and/or health science is highly recommended. Preparatory materials are provided before class.

Learning outcomes

After this course you will be able to:

● Explain key public health and health systems challenges confronting African countries, with emphasis on health systems, communicable and non-communicable diseases, sustainability, and specific vulnerable groups (e.g. maternal and child health, climate change, access to medicines, digital health)

● Understand how current international law and governance frameworks inform health systems management in Africa, with emphasis on relevant international health treaties, human rights, SDGs and WHO

● Discuss realities, challenges and opportunities for improving sustainable health systems administration and governance in African countries, in local contexts and resource constrained settings

● Develop skills to approach health systems management and public health through an interdisciplinary, sustainability and equitability lens – at intersections of law, human rights, governance, management, and public health science.


Workload

Preparation: 5  hours
Lectures and assignments: 24 hours
Workshops: 3-4 hours

Upon successful completion of the programme, the school offers a Certificate of Attendance that mentions the workload of 32 hours (28 hours corresponds to 1 ECTS). Students can apply for recognition of these credits to the relevant authorities in their home institutions, therefore the final decision on awarding credits is at the discretion of their home institutions. We will be happy to provide any necessary information that might be requested in addition to the certificate of attendance.

Lecturers

●        Prof. Brigit Toebes

●        Prof. Albert-Jan Tollenaar (tbc)

●        Dr. Marlies Hesselman

●        Dr. Natalie Abrokwa

●        Ms. Dominique Mollet

●        Mr. Gabriel Armas-Cardona

●        Dr. Idda Lyatonga

●        Dr. Mackfallen Giliad

●        Dr. Godfrey Kacholi

●        Dr. Hanifa Massawe

●        Dr. Ntuli Kapologwe

●        Mr. Martine Massawe

●        Ms. Agness Mchome

Course schedule

Download the preliminary course schedule below.

Application procedure

To apply, kindly fill out the online application form. Please note that you will be asked to upload the following documents:

  • Curriculum Vitae (max. 2 pages)
  • Motivation letter, clearly stating why you want to join this summer school, what you will bring to the school and what you hope to learn (max. 1 page)

Selection takes place on a rolling basis (visa application is own responsibility).

Partners

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Last modified:17 September 2024 2.15 p.m.