Adaptations To Strengthen Healthcare Delivery and Resilience To Extreme Weather Events In Southern Africa (ASTRA)
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FOR THE NIHR PHD FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMME BASED AT ZAMBART (ZAMBIA)
Introduction
This PhD programme will provide contextually relevant PhD training to three African nationals to be based at the Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI) in South Africa, Zambart in Zambia, and Aurum Institute (Fundação Aurum), in Mozambique.

The programme has assembled an excellent interdisciplinary research team that will facilitate personal development and relevant career opportunities for the PhD fellows. The fellowships will be attained at two Universities, the University of Witwatersrand and the Kwazulu Natal University.

This call for applications is for the PhD fellow that will be based at Zambart in Zambia, but registered with either the University of Witwatersrand or the University of Kwazulu Natal. The fellow will have two supervisors and will access various training opportunities to enable them to make significant career progress during the three years of their fellowship. The fellow will also benefit from support and mentorship from senior members of the research team based at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and University of Sussex. The fellow will also be the ASTRA study coordinator at Zambart.

Background to ASTRA Project.
The fellowship will be nested within an NIHR funded project titled “Adaptations to Strengthen Healthcare Delivery and Resilience to Extreme Weather Events In Southern Africa (ASTRA)”. Climate change is projected to further increase the number and severity of heat waves, floods and droughts, causing disproportionate increases in injury, illness and death in underprivileged populations already burdened with wide-ranging health conditions. Future health risks will be determined not just by the hazards created by a changing climate, but also by the (in)ability of healthcare services to meet the needs of different population groups. While much is understood about the direct impact of extreme weather events (EWEs) on ill-health, less is known about indirect routes, such as population displacements and damage to infrastructure which could equally impact the health of vulnerable populations through interrupting access to or hindering health service provision. ASTRA aims to engage and involve stakeholders, including the community, to co-design and deliver research that proposes, prioritizes and evaluates interventions to strengthen community and health system resilience to EWEs on vulnerable populations living with HIV and/or tuberculosis in Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia. These three Southern African countries have comparable contexts concerning exposures to EWEs, health systems structures and public health priorities, but have differing capacities in the ability of their health systems to respond to EWEs.

The study is being implemented in South Africa, Mozambique and Zambia: KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Province, Sofala Province, and the Southern Province, respectively.
The study will employ mixed methods data collection and analysis, enabling the research team to better understand community and health systems vulnerabilities, collaboratively co-create interventions with various stakeholders, and evaluate the economic cost of EWEs non-action, among other things. Rapid qualitative and health system vulnerability and adaptive capacity assessments will be used as baseline following a stakeholder mapping process. Data from these activities will be analyzed in a series of stakeholder and expert workshops to inform the co-development of interventions as well as the evaluation approach.

The PhD fellowship

The aim of the PhD fellows is to contribute to the body of knowledge on the experiences of strengthening healthcare delivery and resilience to extreme weather events in southern Africa. The PhD topic area will be determined by the candidate but must fit within the broader aim of the ASTRA study. Topic areas to be covered may include but are not limited to:
• Factors that increase vulnerabilities or capabilities in people with HIV and/or tuberculosis.
• The preparedness of healthcare facilities to provide services during EWEs informed by special frameworks proposed by the WHO.
• The role of other health-determining sectors in contributing to health system resilience in the face of EWEs/ climate change.
• Health systems and vulnerability assessments in relation to provision of TB/HIV services in the context of EWEs/ climate change.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must be Zambian nationals and must be suitably qualified to enter a PhD programme at the Universities of Witwatersrand and Kwazulu Natal. In addition, applicants must have:

1. MSc in in any of the following areas: environmental health, environmental justice, health systems, public health, health policy, sociology, social anthropology, psychology, or epidemiology – completed within the last 5 years
2. At least 5 years of experience in health research and/or climate change studies.
3. Experience and strong background in social  science research (quantitative skills are an added advantage)
4. Fluent in English and at least two local languages (fluency in Tonga is an added advantage)
5. Applicants should be eligible to work at Zambart in Zambia.

Experience in research coordination including obtaining ethical approvals, protocol training, and stakeholder engagement is desirable.

Application
Interested candidates must submit the following:
1. Completed Application Form (see link/ attachment. Guidance on how to complete the application form is contained in the application form itself.)
2. Letter of Motivation (maximum 1 page)
3. Supporting Letter from Academic Referee (maximum 1 page).

Deadline for Applications: 11th October 2024

Please send the filled form together with the letter of motivation and any supporting academic referees to: jobs@zambart.org.zm

Selection of Candidates
Applicants will be shortlisted by a multidisciplinary panel comprising senior research staff in ASTRA and LSHTM, and human resource personnel based at Zambart. All applicants who met the application criteria will receive feedback, and those shortlisted will be invited for an interview.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for interviews by mid-October

Successful candidate
Successful applicants will receive provisional confirmation of our intention to award them the PhD Fellowship funding. This does not mean that they have been accepted into the PhD programme at the University of KwaZulu-Natal or Witwatersrand University. Applicants must separately apply with the help of ASTRA project and Zambart, and be accepted to study at these universities.

The fellowship will cover fees, transport (air tickets), a stipend for three years and research costs.