Ajaya Dixit MSc (Engineering), BSc (Civil Engineering) Nepal

Major Research Interests: Water and environmental resource management in relation to climate change adaptation, technological choice and social change Affiliation: Nepal Water Conservation Foundation Website: [Moderator update – In November 2022, this link no longer available: nwcf[dot]org[dot]np] Sponsor: Professor Gabriele Bammer Policy brief: Implementing clean energy pathways for adapting to climate change in Nepal (476KB PDF) Case study: Hydropower policy change through informed contestation (415KB PDF) 12 Month Follow-up: Building upon the case study and policy brief that he developed during the course, ISET Nepal, an organisation that Ajaya directs, organised the Nepal Science Policy Dialogue on Climate change in Kathmandu. Ajaya also used his new-found skills to moderate a discussion on the role of International NGOs in Nepal. Organised by the Nepali Association of International NGOs, the forum brought together participants from government departments, political parties, and civil society representatives.

Fasihuddin MB BS, MA, LLB Pakistan

Major Research Interests: Criminology, child protection, counter-terrorism Affiliation: Police Service of Pakistan, North-West Frontier Province Sponsors: Professors Rod Broadhurst and Peter Grabosky Policy brief: Improving the capacity of law enforcement agencies  to counter terrorism effectively in Pakistan (125KB PDF) Case study: Developing juvenile justice in Pakistan (2MB PDF) 12 Month Follow-up: Soon after returning to Pakistan from the course, Fasihuddin was appointed to a new position as Director of the Federal Investigation Agency in Peshawar and had a preliminary meeting about his policy brief with Minister for the Interior. He has now taken up the position of Director General, Human Rights, Police Sevice of Pakistan, KPK Province. On the basis of his field practice and research he is developing the concept of Human Rights Friendly Policing. He also continues to be active in promoting juvenile justice-related activities in his country. He continues as President of the Pakistan Society of Criminology and has promoted course materials to members of this professional association.

Macu Guterres Nursing Timor-Leste

Major Research Interests: Child and maternal health Affiliation: Fundasaun Alola Sponsor: Dr Ilse Blignault Policy brief: Implementing maternity packs to attract pregnant women to deliver at health facilities (441KB PDF) Case study: Mothers Support Group (MSG) program evaluation (737KB PDF) 12 Month Follow-up: Upon returning to Dili, Macu presented her policy brief to her organisation and to the Ministry of Health, and commenced a round of consultations with other stakeholders with a view to gaining support for the implementation of the project—this was successful. The maternity packs project, on which she worked during the course, is now proceeding well, with recent meetings resulting in donors agreeing to continue its funding in 2011 and 2012. Her current work includes developing new health promotion materials about infant and young children's nutrition and she recently completed a UNICEF train-the-trainer course in Jakarta on this topic.  

Budi Haryanto PhD, MSc, MSPH, BSPH, BSc Indonesia

Major Research Interests: Effects of pollution on population health Affiliation: Faculty of Public Health, University of Indonesia Sponsor: Professor Terry Hull Policy brief: Adapting to the impact of climate change on Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) in Indonesia (563KB PDF) Case study: Protecting humans from disease related to indoor air pollution in Jakarta (696KB PDF) 12 Month Follow-up: Budi continues his work on environmental health research, policy support and program implementation. As an expert advisor for the Ministry of Environment and UNEP in developing Fuel Economy Impacts Analysis he has had direct influences on policy in this area. He makes much use of the mass media, for example numerous radio interviews in Jakarta and Bandung raising public awareness of drinking water quality for the Ministry of Health. His interest in knowledge brokering that was stimulated by the course led to him giving a presentation on ‘Engaging in Knowledge Brokery’ at the Indonesian Ministry of Health International Symposium on Global Health Equity Network.

Fidel Malbas DVM, MPH Philippines

Major Research Interests: Zoonotic disease control and prevention; laboratory animal production / antivenin production Affiliation: Research Institute for Tropical Medicine Website: ritm.gov.ph Sponsor: Dr Mahomed Patel Policy brief: Combatting the increasing incidence of rabies in dogs in the Philippines (949KB PDF) Case study: Regulating the use of laboratory animals in research (544KB PDF) 12 Month Follow-up: Fidel conducted a training program for his colleagues based on the course and has continued his work in the areas of zoonotic disease control and prevention. His policy brief preparation contributed to his ongoing work in surveillance of diseases in animals, including a major initiative titled ‘Surveillance of infection on Japanese Encephalitis Virus and other viral agents of zoonotic diseases in swine in Northern Luzon, Philippines’. His core responsibilities in building national laboratory capacity in support of animal and human infectious disease research and control continue.  

Sara Pereira B.Teaching, BA, PGCert in Eye Care Timor-Leste

Major Research Interests: Ocular health Affiliation: The Fred Hollows Foundation New Zealand Sponsor: Dr Ilse Blignault Policy brief: Overcoming the lack of basic eye care services in rural Timor-Leste (with Irim Tolentino) (950KB PDF) Case study: Development of the National Eye Health Strategy in Timor-Leste (with Irim Tolentino (927KB PDF) 12 Month Follow-up: Sara and her colleague Irim Tolentino made a number of presentations based on their policy brief and action plan, including to their colleagues in Timor-Leste, the Fred Hollows Foundation NZ International Program Manager from Auckland and the Cabinet of Health Research and Development in the Ministry of Health. The last two presentations were influential in the implementation of the action plan. In particular, the Foundation approved funding for three additional motorbikes to extend the eye health activities to three more districts of Timor Leste and the Ministry has been active in supporting this and other eye health activities. Sara now maintains links with the program from Sydney where she has enrolled in the Master of Public Health/Master of Health Management program at The University of New South Wales. She presented her work at the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology 2011 meeting in Sydney, co-authored a substantial Letter to the Editor in the journal Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology (on the 2009 vision and eye health survey conducted in Timor Leste primary schools to determine whether vision screening should be included in the national Healthy Schools project) and is working on an additional publication.  Sara reports that the ANU course has been of great assistance and that she looks forward to contributing to the development of the Timor-Leste health system after she returns to her homeland.  

Irim Tolentino Diploma III (English) Timor-Leste

Major Research Interests: Ocular health Affiliation: The Fred Hollows Foundation New Zealand Sponsor: Dr Ilse Blignault Policy brief: Overcoming the lack of basic eye care services in rural Timor Leste (with Sara Pereira - see above for the PDF) Case study: Development of the National Eye Health Strategy in Timor-Leste (with Sara Pereira - see above for the PDF) 12 Month Follow-up: Irim and her colleague Sara Pereira made the follow-up presentations reported in Sara’s follow-up together. Particularly noteworthy is feedback from Dr Zoe Hawkins, Advisor to the Ministry of Health on the presentation by the three Timor-Leste alumni to the Ministry: “The presentations were all excellent. We were extremely impressed with the quality of the information, the confidence of the speakers, and their in-depth understanding of the subject. This is exactly the kind of work that all NGO and Ministry departments should know about and be doing. … Fred Hollows and Alola are very lucky to have such impressive staff working for them. I also want to congratulate [the course faculty and sponsors] involved in organising … the course. Thank you all very much!” Towards the end of 2010 Irim left the Fred Hollows Foundation. She is now working for World Visions' Bobonaro Area Program undertaking monitoring and evaluation in the areas of maternal and child health, nutrition, food security and early childhood education.  

Makiva Tuni MPH, GradDip (Applied Parasitology & Entomology), GradCert (Malariology), BSc Solomon Islands

Major Research Interests: Malaria control Affiliation: Solomon Islands Ministry of Health and Medical Services Sponsor: Dr Ilse Blignault Policy brief: Reducing the high rate of tobacco smoking among youth in the Solomon Islands (121KB PDF) Case study: Reducing barriers to the control of malaria in pregnancy in the Solomon Islands (481KB PDF) 12 Month Follow-up: Makiva presented his policy brief to his Director and the Under-Secretary for Health and developed a series of workshops on Solomon Islands’ new tobacco policy that incorporated material from the policy brief. The national government has taken action on the research policy paper that he submitted to the Ministry of Health regarding the development of a national tobacco control program. A high level National Tobacco Control Strategy Committee has met with the Solomon Islands’ Attorney-General, and is now developing new tobacco control regulations. During World No Tobacco Day the Minister for Health and Medical Services announced that enforcement of regulations surrounding the Tobacco Bill will come into effect on January 1, 2012. The current emphasis involves informing key stakeholders about the new policy, particularly the police who will enforce the new regulations.  

Yanping Zhang BM, MPH China

Major Research Interests: Zoonotic disease control and prevention Affiliation: Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention Sponsor: Dr Mahomed Patel Policy brief: Developing policy for hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) control and prevention in China (557KB PDF) Case study: Implementing leptospirosis control in Henan Province, China (341KB PDF) 12 Month Follow-up: Yanping continues his work investigating outbreaks of infections diseases; work that entails careful negotiations with diverse stakeholders, including affected communities. He has applied the insights learnt from the course in rapidly and effectively developing proposals for government action. In the last year the diseases investigated included severe fever with thrombocytopenia, an outbreak of Chikungunya fever, a Norovirus-related outbreak of diarrohea, and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. Advice was provided to, and adopted by, the Ministry of Health in Henan province and local governments in Guangdong and Sanxi provinces. In addition, Yanping and his sponsor Mahomed Patel are collaborating on a publication on hand, foot and mouth disease.