Four (4) Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Degree Scholarships in Infectious Diseases of
Poverty
For ECOWAS students resident in Africa
The program
In sub-Saharan Africa, poverty is a major factor affecting exposure to infectious diseases,
access to treatment and, ultimately, health outcomes. Despite scientific and technological
developments, infectious diseases of poverty (IDPs) persist. A significant reason for this is the
lack of research capacity, in particular, interdisciplinary capacity that can integrate knowledge
and facilitate the identification and translation of technical solutions into interventions that are
embedded within populations and health systems.
The Institute for Infectious Diseases of Poverty/ Institut de Recherche sur les Maladies de la
Pauvreté (IIDP/IRMP) is a consortium of Anglophone and Francophone multidisciplinary West
African Institutions: University of Ghana (Ghana), University of Ibadan (Nigeria), l’Université de
Bamako (Mali), Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola (Nigeria) and l’Institut
Universitaire d’Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire). Funded by the Wellcome Trust, it has the mission to
develop the intellectual, regulatory and physical infrastructure required for the production of the
high quality interdisciplinary science necessary to address the problems of IDPs. A core goal of
IIDP/IRMP is to produce interdisciplinary research in infectious diseases of poverty that
supports regional disease control programmes.
IIDP/IRMP has a strong core of interdisciplinary researchers in biological, clinical and sociocultural aspects of infectious diseases of poverty. Disciplinary areas include: (i) Applied social
sciences (medical anthropology, health geography, health economics and social epidemiology);
(ii) Clinical and biological aspects of infectious diseases (parasitology, pathogenesis, molecular
and cellular biology, vector biology and control); (iii) Pharmacology, including the development
of novel therapeutics and diagnostics; and (iv) Public health, epidemiology, parasitology and
implementation research in tropical disease control.
Four PhD Research Scholarships in Infectious Diseases of Poverty are available for candidates
in the above research areas in the University of Ghana (Ghana), University of Ibadan (Nigeria),
University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako (Mali) and in Modibbo Adama
University of Technology, Yola (Nigeria).
Interested candidates can submit proposals on any of the following research interest:
i. Diminished response and drug resistance
ii. Implementation research for community based interventions
iii. Implications of co-morbidities and /or co-infection
iv. Current knowledge and understandings of vectors,
v. Pharmaceuticals
vi. Treatment seeking,
vii.
viii.
Compliance and health Outcomes
Other areas of IIDP that require interdisciplinary approaches.
Students will be based, and will conduct their research in one of the 4 universities mentioned
above.
The scholarship covers tuition, stipend, accommodation and research support. The scholarship
package may reach twenty six thousand Pounds Sterling (26,000) for the doctoral program (36
months) depending on research topic, budget and other factors.
In addition, all PhD degree students will receive a mandatory interdisciplinary training in
infectious diseases of poverty through a bespoke series of postgraduate courses developed and
delivered by experts. This interdisciplinary training will be a short residential course offered in
Ghana in August-September 2012. The cost of these courses will be provided by IIDP.
Requirements
Successful candidates are expected to ensure they meet the following minimum conditions:
 Be an ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) student resident in
Africa.
 Have an MSc/Mphil degree
 Have evidence of research experience/interest
 Have the motivation to use the skills acquired during the PhD in sub Saharan Africa
 Be available for full-time training for a period of three years in one of the four institutions.
 Meet the criteria of the host institution
 Be fluent in English and/or French
 Confirmed and accepted admission to a PhD degree program at one of IIDP
participating institution will be an advantage: School of Public Health, University of
Ghana (Ghana); University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako
(Mali); Modibbo Adama University of Technology (Nigeria); University of Ibadan
(Nigeria).
 Submit with the application a summary of the planned research for the PhD on infectious
diseases of poverty of concern in West Africa.
Selection criteria
Applications will be reviewed by a selection committee for:
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Relevance of the proposal: 3 points;
Quality of the proposal: 3 points;
Availability of home and/or overseas supervisors: 2 points;
Adequacy of facilities for the proposed work: 2 points;
Evidence of publications and or participation in research endeavors: 1 points.
2 Recommendations letters (one should be from academic): 2 points

Availability of third-party funding for research proposals that cannot be completed with
the IIDP bursary.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and may be required to attend a selection
interview.
How to apply
Interested candidates should complete online the application form that includes a letter of
interest, CV, the dissertation summary and contacts of possible supervisors as well as referees.
The application form can be found at www.riidp.org.
Closing date: 15 of June 2012. Applications received after this date will not be considered.
It is the responsibility of candidates to ensure that they have read and understood the
application procedure and requirements.