Checking El Niño’s impact

INCO-project CENSOR examined the effect of weather phenomenon El Niño on Latin American coastal zones. The project was recently featured on CORDIS – the EU’s community research website – for its achievement in mobilising scientific resources from Latin America and Europe.

Further information: http://www.censor.name/page/index.php?id=9

Study of indigenous Latin American cultures

A project that examined indigenous cultures in Latin American has been completed. The aim of the LATAUTONOMY study was to produce information that is relevant to civil society issues in both Latin America and Europe, such as conflict prevention in multi-cultural and multi-ethnic situations.

Further information: http://www.latautonomy.org/

Project saves precious African crop

The enormous potential of the Bambara groundnut has been realised, thanks to the BAMFOOD project. Researchers working in this INCO-DEV initiative have managed to re-invigorate the use of this indigenous African crop, and unlock its potential for growers in other parts of the world.

The project aimed to increase the productivity of the Bambara groundnut for sustainable food production in semi-arid Africa. Fieldwork was carried out in Botswana, Namibia and Swaziland.

Further information: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/tcru/BAMFOOD.pdf

Improving water management near the Dead Sea

Researchers from the Middle East and Europe worked together on a project that explored ways to put a stop to the degradation of the Dead Sea. The aim was to understand the hydrological system, how affected people experience the degradation, and to develop scenarios that render water management improvements feasible and valuable for different types of use in the region.

Further information:
http://www.deadseaproject.org/deadseaproject/
DeadSeaProjectProjectPage.htm

The QualityMaternityCare project has identified strategies that will increase the effectiveness and appropriateness of maternity services in three African countries – South Africa, Tanzania and Cape Verde.

The study was a collaborative effort which brought together European and African scientists, as well as national health authorities. The results have yielded new models and management tools for integrated maternity services that have either been piloted or – as is the case in Cape Verde – fully implemented country-wide.

Further information: http://cordis.europa.eu/data/PROJ_FP5/ACTIONeqDndSESSIO
Neq112122005919ndDOCeq238ndTBLeqEN_PROJ.htm

Harnessing renewable energy for water-stressed regions

A team of scientists from Europe and the Mediterranean region have come together to develop the potential of renewable energy-based desalination units.

The technology could be used to relieve water problems that afflict the more arid parts of the Mediterranean region. The ADU-RES project aims to breakdown the technical, economic and policy barriers that currently hinder the use of such units.

The multi-disciplinary project runs until September 2006 and includes partners from seven Mediterranean countries, along with institutes and SMEs from five EU countries.

Further information: www.adu-res.org

Rural health care financing in China and Vietnam

Recent health care reforms in China and Vietnam have placed greater emphasis on charging users, which has made it difficult for people from poor rural areas to access health care.

A new EU-backed project – Bringing health care to the vulnerable – developing equitable and sustainable rural health insurance in China and Vietnam – will analyse rural health insurance requirements in the two countries. Using a case-study approach, the project will select and study a number of existing rural health insurance schemes. The research team will then implement and test their own pilot schemes in those areas with the aim of meeting the needs of the local population.

The schemes will be monitored and evaluated to determine whether they offer equitable coverage, an efficient service and satisfy user needs. The project will also assess how these schemes influence poverty reduction and sustainability issues.

Results will be used to inform policies on rural health insurance in China and Vietnam, and other developing countries.