Development Matters

Scholars from Africa and Asia shared their experiences regarding access to education, the quality of schooling, and educational outcomes at a major conference at the Institute of Education last November. Four of the researchers working with the Consortium for Research on Educational Access, Transitions and Equity (CREATE) consortium explored these issues for a special double bill of Development Matters.

Coinciding with World AIDS Day on 1 December, this episode explores the exceptionalism of the epidemic and the campaign to end stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS. Professor Peter Piot, former Executive Director of UNAIDS and the new Director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, highlights improvements in treatment, but warns against complacency in both the developed and developing world. He also outlines his ambitions for LSHTM and mentions sanitation and water as global health challenges.

The Millennium Development Goals are top of the agenda at the UN in New York this month as world leaders try to accelerate patchy progress. Listen to leading health economists Professor Anne Mills, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Dr Viroj Tangcharoensathien, of the International Health Policy Program, Thailand, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the goals. They stress the importance of equity, integrated approaches and capacity building in developing countries as they make interdisciplinary recommendations for future goal setting.

Dr Val Curtis, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, describes how the simple act of handwashing with soap could save one million lives a year. She explains her key role in the creation of Global Handwashing Day, held annually on October 15, and how major companies are working together with academics as part of this unusual public-private partnership.

Four vets describe the challenges affecting livestock within pastoralist communities in East Africa and explain an exciting project to monitor disease by using mobile phones.
Dr Ezra Saitoti and Dr Paul Chacha, both field vets for the charity Vetaid, discuss how this innovative technology will help improve animal health. Also, listen to Dr Musiany Kisipan, University of Nairobi, and Bev Panto, Royal Veterinary College, UK, talk about the benefits of online learning for veterinary students.

The challenges facing the education sector in Nigeria and potential ways of overcoming them are analysed in the second episode of Development Matters.

Emeritus professors Pai Obanya, of Ibadan University, Nigeria, and Lalage Bown, University of Glasgow, discuss the impact of politics, the importance of adult education, and the problems of aid dependency. They also share their experiences of Nigeria's independence celebrations and speak of their hopes for Africa's most populous nation ahead of its fiftieth birthday later this year.