Creation of network in Social Sciences and Humanities in the Pasteur Network

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Within the framework of the REPAIR program (International Pasteurian Research Programs in Response to Coronavirus in Africa), linvolving ten members of the Pasteur Network in Africa, a workshop was organized on January 21, 2022, to evaluate the feasibility of developing a network of expertise in Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) applied to health within the Pasteur Network. It’s a milestone event launching the creation of this new network, by bringing together researchers from Ivory Coast, Guinea, Madagascar, Morocco, Niger, and Tunisia, presenting their different disciplines such as geography, sociology, anthropology, education sciences, and communication.

This online workshop, organized by the Institut Pasteur de Tunis with the Institut Pasteur of Madagascar, CERMES Niger and the support of the Pasteur Network, gathered 17 participants. This workshop is a follow-up to an assessment made by the Directors of the Pasteur Network' members in Africa, indicating the need to strengthen the contribution of SSH in their institutes to respond more effectively to the challenges related to research in public health.

It was an opportunity to initiate the first dialogue between researchers regarding their research themes  (maternal health, response to epidemics, etc.) and the methodologies used in SSH research (semi-structured interviews, focus groups, mapping, etc.). The participants also discussed the strategy of structuring research teams, as well as collaborations with national and international institutions.

This workshop also revealed the necessity to promote the specific methodologies and to increase awareness about the complementarity of SSH research. Multidisciplinarity was highlighted as a structuring element of research in this field, Collaborations are created within the institutes and/or with the support of external resources, and the diversity of funders implementing research in SSH.

 

The participants also emphasized the need to improve national expertise in SSH, which is currently inadequate. They noted that the formalization of research in SSH raises difficulties for researchers in this field within their structure. For example, they have to adapt their methods, schedules, and activities to the practices of the other biomedical disciplines. This is the case for the protocol design, the time needed for data collection…

 

In line with the creation of this new network within the Pasteur Network, several workshops are planned. Their main objectives will be to structure this new network and create more opportunities to enhance the value of the research, by creating a dynamic and stimulating environment for scientific exchanges on common issues.

 

More information:

About REPAIR project
Funded by the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, REPAIR is a multidisciplinary research investigation program of the Pasteur Network in response to the Coronavirus pandemic in Africa. REPAIR engages a consortium of 10 Pasteur Network members on the African continent.
REPAIR

About Pasteur Network
Pasteur Network is a worldwide network of 33 members, united by common Pasteurian values, which include humanitarianism, universalism, perseverance, transmission and free access to knowledge.
This unique model of cooperation in health brings together, beyond the independent public or private structures that constitute the network, a human and scientific community mobilised on both local and international health priorities in a logic of solidarity.
Pasteur Network members share the missions of biomedical research, public health, training and innovation and technology transfer.
Present in 25 countries worldwide within numerous endemic areas, the Pasteur Network has demonstrated time and time again its role as a major player for the benefit of global health through the One Health approach, actively contributing to improving human health.
Pasteur Network

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