Thematic r4d Project Awarded to Swiss TPH

24.02.2017 by Sabina Beatrice-Matter    

Swiss TPH was awarded a 6-year research grant worth CHF 2.6 million by the Swiss Programme for Research on Global Issues for Development (r4d programme) to study linkages of natural resource extraction and health. The project aims at generating evidence on positive and negative associations between natural resource extraction projects and health systems, including economic considerations and health impact indicators. The research results will then be used for facilitating national and international policy dialogue on current regulatory practices in engaging natural resource extraction projects to work towards health-related targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The inter- and trans-disciplinary research project will be carried out in four countries in Africa: Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mozambique and Tanzania.

Natural resource extraction projects, such as mining and petroleum development, have considerable potential to positively act on health systems and people's wellbeing in areas where they are implemented. The past has shown, however, that negative impacts on health determinants (e.g. access to water and overburdened local health systems) and health outcomes (e.g. HIV/AIDS and vector-related diseases) often prevail. Although as per legal requirement all countries worldwide do conduct environmental impact assessments prior to constructing a large infrastructure project, currently no country in Africa is actively promoting specific health impact assessments. Through this research project, Swiss TPH and its partners aim at tapping the full potential of impact assessment as a regulatory mechanism to support producer regions in working towards the SDGs in collaboration with natural resource extraction projects.

The project will be implemented from 2017 to 2022 under the lead of Mirko Winkler, Swiss TPH, together with researchers from ETH Zurich (Fritz Brugger), University of Health and Allied Sciences in Ghana (Fred Binka), the Research Institute of Health Sciences in Burkina Faso (Serge Diagbouga), the Manhiça Health Research Centre in Mozambique (Eusébio Macete), and the Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania (Fredros Okumu). The first part of the total funds (CHF ~1.6 million) has been granted in February 2017, while the remaining funds ( CHF ~1 million) will be released after a mid-term evaluation.

The Swiss TPH project is one of five new r4d projects that were selected out of 54 applicants to help close research gaps in Employment, Ecosystems and Public Health. ​The r4d programme is a joint funding initiative by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) aimed at solving global problems with a focus on least developed, low- and middle-income countries.

Mirko Winkler

Mirko Winkler

Associate Professor, PhD, DTM&H, MSc

Subscribe to our newsletter and get all the latest research news, project updates, course and event listings from Swiss TPH.