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University of Strathclyde

The Strathclyde Malawi Programme is a valuable illustration of the University's contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals, spanning student activities, research ad impactful knowledge exchange. Over 20 years, Strathclyde has established a secure and expanding network of partners in Malawi, spanning universities, local and national government agencies, businesses and third sector organisation.

Project 1: Distributed pumped hydro for transforming energy and water access

This mid-stage energy catalyst project focuses on the integration of smaller-scale, pumped storage hydroelectric systems to provide power for local communities.

Area of work: Renewable Energy, Water
Location of work:
Mulanje Region

Project lead:
Dr Douglas Bertram
Contact details:
douglas.bertram@strath.ac.uk

Partner organisation: BASEFlow Malawi
Contact details:
info@baseflowmw.com

Funding:
Innovate UK and in partnership with Water Powered Technologies Ltd
More information:
https://www.waterpoweredtechnologies.com/

Description of project

Details of project partnership and subcontractors are currently under review.

Key successes and outcomes so far

In the first three months, we have selected two sites, one in Malawi in the Mulanje region, and a second site in Uganda. We are working with local community and academic partners to support developing these pilot sites and hope to roll out wider installation in due course. Community engagement is progressing well and my colleagues have visited Malawi and Uganda for the first round of commissioning talks.

As of October 2019, the project has been put on hold for 6 months to resolve contractual issues in Uganda. Once resolved, the project will progress with site development.

Future and ideas for partnership development

We would be keen to work with wider community partners in water engineering, agriculture, renewable energies and power generation, water resource management, policy, economic and governance to explore future opportunities.

We are also keen to work with new communities and NGOs to identify future sites for development.

Project 2: Closing the Inequality Gap in Children’s Educational Attainment in Malawi

Improving educational attainment for children in disadvantaged schools in Malawi.

University of Strathclyde 2

Area of work: Education
Location of work:
Central Malawi

Project lead:
Dr Edward Sosu
Contact details:
edward.sosu@strath.ac.uk

Partner organisation: Lilongwe University of Agriculture & Natural Resources
Partner contact:
Dr Felix Maulidi

Funding: University of Strathclyde SFC GCRF funding
More information:
https://pureportal.strath.ac.uk/en/projects/evidence-into-action-promoting-equitable-access-to-quality-peaq-e

Description of project

Children in Malawi face significant challenges of equity and access to quality education. Crucially, benefits of educational improvements are not equitably distributed. For instance, children from more advantaged backgrounds outperform their peers from low-income households, those in urban areas do better than rural schools, and resource allocation preferences continue to inhibit educational outcomes for girls. Addressing these challenges requires sustained attention to generating high quality research to inform education policy making, and development of structures to support evidence-informed educational policy making

This project aims to address these challenges through the development of an interdisciplinary network of academic and non-academic partners in the UK Malawi to:

  1. carryout research examining the nature of inequalities in educational access, experiences and outcomes
  2. enhance research capacity and expertise in the generation of robust policy relevant research evidence
  3. consolidate an active network of key stakeholders necessary for enabling research evidence into policy and practice;
  4. develop and pilot intervention to improve educational attainment for children attending schools with low progression
Key successes and outcomes so far

A research dissemination conference “Closing the Inequality Gap in Children’s Educational Attainment” was held in Malawi on 2nd April 2019. The event brought together key stakeholders from various organisations (e.g., Ministries of Education; Civil Society; Universities; NGO’s; and the media). The findings presented focused on the role of multidimensional poverty as well as social, cultural and policy barriers to children’s educational attainment. The dissemination event was extensively covered by national newspapers (daily nation), radio and television in both countries:

https://allafrica.com/stories/201904030191.html

http://www.luanar.ac.mw/luanar/news_detail.php?id=592

Participants discussed solutions and ways of improving attainment for these children. Among other things, there was a commitment from staff from the Ministry of Education to ensure that issues such as inability to pay examination fees is not a basis for preventing children from attending lessons.

Future and ideas for partnership development

Our findings indicate that, barriers to educational attainment for children from disadvantaged backgrounds cuts across various sectors. There is therefore an opportunity for collaboration with other organisations involved in issues related to school building, nutrition, transportation, and economic empowerment

The next stage of this work will involve the development of an intervention protocol based on our findings aimed at improving educational attainment in these schools.

Project 3: Tsogolo Langa Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Programme

The overall programme aims to increase the use of sexual and reproductive health services by all women, including underserved women, youth, adolescents and people with disabilities.

Area of work: Health, Sexual & Reproductive Health
Location of work:
Chikwawa, Chiradzulu, Dedza, Mangochi, Mchinji, Mwanza, Nkhata Bay, Phalombe

Project lead:
Dr Tracy Morse
Contact details:
tracy.thomson@strath.ac.uk

Partner organisation: Population Services International (PSI), Centre for Reproductive Health at the University of Malawi, WASHTED Centre at the University of Malawi

Description of project

This is a 5-year implementation project to improve sexual and reproductive health rights in Malawi. Led by PSI Malawi, the University of Strathclyde are leading the research component which will focus on identifying gaps in current provision of service and developing innovative methods for service delivery and uptake to improve sexual and reproductive health rights in Malawi.

Key successes and outcomes so far

To date this programme has developed a research agenda hand in hand with project partners and stakeholders to ensure that the work being undertaken is addressing specific concerns for Malawi and SRH sector.

The research team have undertaken an extensive desk review of SRHR related to adolescents and have extensive experience to share in this area with other partners.

Future and ideas for partnership development

The project began in July 2019 and will continue to November 2023. The team is currently completing the development of the research agenda with partners and will be focussed on undertaking specific research over the next four years with a focus on adolescent sexual and reproductive health services.

Project 4: Driver of Antibiotic Resistance in Uganda and Malawi (DRUM) 2018 - 2021

This grant provides funds for formative research to understand the factors that may be contributing to antimicrobial resistance in Malawi and how day to day environmental interactions are contributing to this.

University of Strathclyde 3

Area of work: Health, Water, Hygiene, Research
Location of work:
Blantyre, Chikwawa

Project lead:
Dr Tracy Morse
Contact details:
tracy.thomson@strath.ac.uk

Partner organisation: Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (WASHTED Centre), Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust

Funding:
MRC

Description of project

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an internationally recognized threat to human health, with the greatest burden of drug resistant infections predicted to occur in low and middle income countries (LMICs). In Malawi and Uganda there is already a high incidence of severe bacterial infections from bacteria that are resistant to first and second line antibiotics. Given the limited availability of reserve antibiotics, these infections are often untreatable, and it is therefore essential to identify the drivers of AMR that are responsible for these drug resistant infections.

Exposures associated with WASH are integral to enteric bacteria and AMR transmission. This is affected by a lack of feces management and multiple uses of water, meaning AMR transmission, and must be considered across multiple exposure pathways. The overall DRUM programme is looking to understand and identify the critical areas which could be targeted to reduce both the development and spread of antimicrobial resistant bacteria in urban and rural settings in Malawi.

Specifically, the work that UoS are engaged in with partners, is looking to assess

  • how WASH practices and infrastructure may be contributing to the spread of AMR bacteria in the environment
  • where we find these AMR bacteria within household and institutional/communal settings
Key successes and outcomes so far

Data collection from this project has been completed and we are now undertaking extensive data analysis to understand the risks and pathways by which AMR can spread in Malawi (and Uganda). Publications relating to this work can be found here.

Future and ideas for partnership development

We are keen to work with anyone with an interest in working at the nexus between WASH and antimicrobial resistance. The field work for this study in Malawi is now complete data analysis and next steps are under planning. It is hoped that by understanding the context and setting in which this transmission is occurring the next stage will be to develop trial interventions to reduce exposure pathways.

Project 5: Sanitation and Hygiene Applied Research for Equity Consortium 2015-2020

The consortium aims to research current gaps in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector with a focus to meet SDG 6 clean water and sanitation for all.

Area of work: Hygiene, Sanitation
Location of work:
Chikwawa, Mangochi, Blantyre

Project lead:
Dr Tracy Morse
Contact details:
tracy.thomson@strath.ac.uk

Partner organisation: WASHTED Centre at the University of Malawi

Funding:
SHARE Consortium (UKAID)
More information:
www.shareresearch.org

Description of project

National programme for capacity development, research uptake and national research priorities including main study on impact of community-based WASH and food-hygiene interventions on diarrhoeal disease incidence in children under 5.

SHARE is a consortium led by London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. University of Strathclyde entered into the consortium at Stage 2, leading the main research as PI and the national programme of capacity building, research uptake and further research. Additional research has informed policy gaps (menstrual hygiene management) and has provided the basis (formative work) for future and existing extension studies (e.g. fishing communities, early childhood development centres, food safety, etc.) This programme has also funded PhD scholarships at UoS.

Key successes and outcomes so far

We have conducted a successful intervention study to reduce the incidence of diarrhoeal disease in children under the age of 5 years. We are happy to share all materials and information from this study (currently under development for publishing).

Research in MHM has helped to inform the development of a national framework (draft) and ensure inclusion of MHM in the National Sanitation and Hygiene Strategy (2018 – 2024)

Research in fishing communities has support the development of further funding applications to address sanitation and hygiene in these marginalized populations.

We have undertaken capacity building within the Polytechnic and our partners and graduates through this programme to strengthen research in the WASH sector in Malawi.

Future and ideas for partnership development

All field work is now completed and we are completing data analysis and research uptake activities. We are happy to share the learning from these studies with interested parties.

Project 6: Interdisciplinary Network for Addressing the Barriers to Sanitation and Hygiene in Fishing Communities around Africa’s Great Lakes 2018 - 2020

This is an initial stage programme to develop a regional network to understand the contexts affecting WASH in fishing communities.

Area of work: Hygiene, Sanitation, Water
Location of work:
All districts with lake access

Project lead:
Dr Tracy Morse
Contact details:
tracy.thomson@strath.ac.uk

Partner organisation: WASHTED Centre at the University of Malawi, Mzuzu University, WESNET, Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Health

Funding:
GCRF Networking Grant

Description of project

Building on previous research under the SHARE consortium, we identified a specific need to examine the neglected populations around the Great Lakes. This 5 country network has undertaken policy and spatial assessments (under preparation for publications) and is now developing multi-country proposals to understand specific needs of these populations in relation to WASH and food safety.

Key successes and outcomes so far

We have demonstrated the value of bringing together a range of disciplines who touch upon fishing communities to examine and discuss the best way forward to research and address WASH in these populations. This wide range of perspectives has shown both the similarities and discrepancies across disciplines and countries affected.

Future and ideas for partnership development

The initial project comes to an end in 2020 and will be seeking further funding for future work. This will include more in depth ethnographic research and development of WASH interventions. Reports and papers from the policy and spatial assessments are currently under development. We are happy to work with a range of disciplines and organisations who are working in either sanitation or fisheries as we move forward with this group.

Project 7: Development of Simple Methods to Improve Assessment of Air Pollution Exposure and Cardiorespiratory Health of Women and Children in Rural Malawi (2018-2019)

Monitoring air quality at household and population level to provide a baseline and understanding of the current levels and potential impact on health.

Area of work: Health, Air Quality, Pollution
Location of work:
Blantyre, Chikwawa

Project lead:
Tara Beattie
Contact details:
t.k.beattie@strath.ac.uk

Partner organisation: WASHTED Centre at the University of Malawi
Partner contact:
Dr Tracy Morse
Contact details:
tracy.thomson@strath.ac.uk

Description of project

Continuing previous work in Malawi and led by Dr Beverland, this formative study is developing a novel method for measuring the health impact of personal exposure to cooking stoves in rural Malawi. The study also explores the social, economic, and cultural issues contributing to exposure, and will provide the basis of a larger future funding application to extend this work and method.

Key successes and outcomes so far

Successfully used a range of air quality monitoring equipment to measure exposure while working hand in hand with health workers in Chikwawa. Also built capacity at WASHTED to conduct air quality monitoring. Field work is completed and now being written up.

Future and ideas for partnership development

Results of our work will be published in due course, and have led to development of larger funding grants. There are a number of organisations now working in air quality and we are seeking to network them more effectively to benefit Malawi.

Project 8: Rural Energy Access through Social Enterprise and Decentralisation (EASE)

Reducing energy poverty and fostering economic development through deployment of off-grid solar PV and District Energy Officers

Area of work: Renewable Energy
Location of work:
Dedza, Balaka

Project lead:
Damien Frame
Contact details:
damien.frame@strath.ac.uk

Partner organisation: United Purpose Malawi, Community Energy Malawi, WASHTED

Funding:
The Scottish Government
More Information:
https://ease.eee.strath.ac.uk/...

Description of project

The Rural Energy Access through Social Enterprise and Decentralisation (EASE) project focuses primarily on SDG7 progress in Malawi and runs from October 2018 to March 2023 with £1.3m funding provided by the Scottish Government. EASE aims to increase access to sustainable energy for rural communities in Dedza and Balaka, thereby enabling economic development and improved livelihoods.

Key successes and outcomes so far

Through EASE, two solar microgrids have been installed in Dedza district, generating and distributing power for local domestic and productive customers in rural villages. The systems are owned and managed by United Purpose Malawi through a social enterprise framework, ensuring a reliable service is offered to the community.
A solar PV energy hub and solar powered irrigation has been installed in Balaka District, offering refrigeration for farmers to store produce and other productive uses of energy, enabling increased incomes and economic development for rural farmers and businesses. Another Energy Hub, focussing on education facilities as an anchor customer, is in the process of being implemented in Dedza.
Staff at Community Energy Malawi have been piloting District Energy Officers, raising awareness and building capacity with rural communities around renewable energy, while gathering data through Energyscaping activities to inform energy policy in Malawi through collaboration with the Ministry of Energy.
Findings from EASE have been disseminated through research papers, webinars and policy briefs to inform the Malawian energy access ecosystem.

Future and ideas for partnership development

Experience has proved the significant socio-economic impact that can be achieved through the deployment of off-grid solar PV infrastructure and the benefits to long-term sustainability of adopting a social enterprise business model. However, challenges remain in establishing business models that balance income for operations with ability to pay of rural customers.
Further work will involve integration of larger agricultural productive uses onto the microgrids, ongoing business model development for energy hubs and microgrids, and sharing data, analysis and recommendations with government, academia and the private sector to progress SDG7 in Malawi.

Project 9: Sustainable Plastic Attitudes to benefit Communities and their Environments (SPACES)(2021 – 2024)

NERC funded programme led by University of Stirling with Malawi and Tanzania to understand the public health risks and environmental impact of plastic pollution in developing countries, and to explore which interventions, policies and regulations best mitigate these risks.

Area of work: Environmental health, plastics, research
Location of work:
Blantyre

Project lead:
Dr Tracy Morse
Contact details:
tracy.thomson@strath.ac.uk

Partner organisation: University of Stirling, Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (WASHTED Centre), Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust, University of Durham. This project always works with partners in Tanzania.

Funding: NERC

Description of project

This 4 year project will use mixed methods approaches to understand what socioeconomic and political obstacles exist for incentivising governments to remove plastic waste and increase sustainable waste disposal. Novel strategies for intervention, mitigation and sustainable adaptation by local communities will be co-developed using extensive behavioural economics and anthropological methods in tandem with environmental, biological, epidemiological and geographical approaches. Working with a range of local recycling associations and entrepreneurs, together with local government and council leaders, the SPACES project will provide both the evidence and incentives that will allow individuals, communities, business leaders and national decision-makers to foster a sustained change in attitudes for tackling the challenges of plastic waste in the environment. In turn delivering a step change towards enabling a cleaner, more resilient and more productive environment.

Between 400,000 and 1 million people die each year in LMICs due to diseases related to mismanaged waste. Waste management is, however, a complex area, which affects multiple stakeholders, such as manufacturers, distributors, retailers, households, the recycling industry, informal waste pickers and local governments, and therefore requires an integrated approach. In Malawi the consumption of plastics has exploded in the last decade, making it an important case-study because of the recent governmental responses to plastic bags. Plastic wastes, and plastic bags in particular, block urban drainage systems. During rain events this leads to localised flooding, with an increased risk of human exposure to raw sewage and the spread of waterborne pathogens within highly populated areas. Plastic waste can also act as a transient receptacle for rainwater and thus provide a larval habitat for mosquitoes. Therefore, the negative impacts of plastic pollution on human health can include the spread of pathogens such as cholera and typhoid, and the provision of transient receptacles for breeding mosquitoes that can carry diseases. In parallel, the consequences of living with significant levels of environmental plastic pollution can negatively affect mental health and well-being.

Key successes and outcomes so far

To date (Sept 2022) this project has developed novel methods for measuring waste characterisation and mapping waste management and risk to health from waste in Blantyre.

Future and ideas for partnership development

The project began in 2021 and will continue to 2024. The team is currently undertaking the formative research which will inform the future interventions in the field. We are keen to work with anyone who has an interest in waste management, plastic reduction and the informal economy in Malawi.

Project 10: Improving Hygiene in Guardian Waiting Shelters and Communities in Malawi: an intervention development and feasibility study (2021 – 2023)

This programme aims to understand how we can use existing infrastructure in hospitals to improve hygiene practice both at an institutional and domestic level.

Area of work: Hygiene, healthcare settings, research
Location of work:
Balaka, Blantyre, Chikwawa, Chiradzulu, Machinga, Mangochi, Mulanje, Mwanza, Nsanje, Thyolo, Phalombe, Zomba, Neno

Project lead:
Dr Tracy Morse
Contact details:
tracy.thomson@strath.ac.uk

Partner organisation: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (WASHTED Centre)

Funding: Reckitt Global Hygiene Initiative

Description of project

Guardian Waiting Shelters (GWS) are temporary residential homes at healthcare facilities that provide dormitory type accommodations for caregivers (parents, relatives, carers) whose relatives have been admitted to hospitals. GWS have limited environmental services, variable infection prevention and control protocols, and are overcrowded – creating significant risk for communicable disease transmission. These risks are particularly pronounced within the context of COVID-19, which has resulted in high rates of hospitalisation – increasing the use of GWS while COVID-19 transmission dynamics create high risk of transmission among GWS residents and increase the risk of transmission to the home and community.

In the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the GWS at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) in Blantyre, Malawi was identified as one of these high risks, yet unsupported areas. Between April and September 2020 (1st peak of COVID-19), the WASHTED Centre (University of Malawi – The Polytechnic) and University of Strathclyde worked hand in hand with the Ministry of Health and Chira Fund to develop a bespoke programme for the GWS. This programme included a daily hygiene education programme focussed on transmission reduction through hand washing, mask wearing, physical distancing, and maintaining behaviours whilst at the GWS and when returning home. While preliminary and informal data suggest the GWS intervention has been well received, a comprehensive research initiative is required to inform the adaption, implementation, and evaluation of these novel interventions to promote hygienic behaviours. Furthermore, this will inform future programme and policy level interventions at the national and district level.

The proposed research will address two key areas: how to maintain adequate infection prevention and control standards within GWS and how to utilise the GWS intervention to improve hygiene behaviours after returning from the health care facilities to the home environment – a particularly critical window for preventing and reducing the risk of infectious disease.

Key successes and outcomes so far

The research has currently completed a rapid assessment of the sanitation and hygiene conditions in the guardian waiting shelters from across the Southern Region. A paper and policy brief will be available soon on our findings.

Future and ideas for partnership development

We are now undertaking formative research to support design of the hygiene intervention with expectant and new mothers using these facilities.
We welcome insights and engagements from organisations working with and within the healthcare system in Malawi and those interested in expanding hygiene education and behaviour through new opportunities.

Project 11: British Colonialism, Marine Sciences, and Fisheries Governance: Lessons from Lake Malawi in the Mid-Twentieth Century (2022-2023)

Continuing with our previous work around fisheries in Malawi, this project examines the impact of colonialism on current marine sciences and fisheries on Lake Malawi.

Area of work: History, colonialism, research, environmental science
Location of work:
Salima

Project lead:
Dr David Wilson
Contact details:
david.wilson.101@strath.ac.uk

Partner organisation: Mzuzu University

Funding: AHRC

Description of project

Funded by the AHRC Hidden Histories of Environmental Science Research programme this project is co-led by UoS between Dept of History and CEE with collaborators at Mzuzu University. This project addresses this largely hidden history by exploring the parallel development of two distinctive fisheries management regimes in Lake Malawi in the mid-twentieth century; one imposed by the British colonial government and the other by Chief Msosa, who implemented a new chief-regulated fishery in Mbenje Island, Salima District. This case study provides unique opportunity to explore the principles and ideologies underpinning these regimes, considering how colonial fisheries management embedded specific values based on dominant ‘scientific’ principles that neglected and subjugated local knowledge and socio-economic realities in comparison to the chief-regulated fishery that was grounded in existing community norms and practices. Today, Mbenje Island is celebrated as a productive and sustainable fishery at a time when most fisheries in Lake Malawi, which fall under a national fisheries governance regime that developed directly from the colonial regime, are overexploited and unsustainable.

Key successes and outcomes so far

Field work is being undertaken both through archival searches, and through engagement and sampling at the study sites in Salima District

Future and ideas for partnership development

This is an exciting new partnership for us with Mzuzu University and provides a wonderful interdisciplinary team from across history and science expertise. We welcome engagement from any individual or organisation interested in colonial history and it’s impact on Malawi’s current status and processes.

Project 12: Global Health Research Group on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing (2022-2026)

This collaboration will provide a wide ranging platform for research around adolescent health and wellbeing in Southern and Central Malawi

Area of work: Health, Adolescents, Research, SRHR, WASH
Location of work:
Mchinji, Blantyre

Project lead:
Dr Tracy Morse
Contact details:
tracy.thomson@strath.ac.uk

Partner organisation: Kamuzu University of Health Sciences and Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (WASHETD Centre)

Funding: NIHR

Description of project

Our research will focus on the health and wellbeing of adolescents in Malawi from 2022 to 2026. We will work hand in hand with adolescents (10–14 years old) from rural (Mchinji) and urban (Blantyre) backgrounds to understand their lived experience, and the challenges they face in their day to day lives. We will then work with adolescents, parents and guardians and other interested parties to develop promising approaches to improve their health and wellbeing. These interventions will focus on three areas (1) gender, sexual and reproductive health rights, (2) aspirations and wellbeing including mental health, and (3) water, sanitation and hygiene. Work in these areas will be supported by research on the policy and economic environment in which adolescent health and wellbeing sits.

This is a collaboration between the University of Strathclyde (UK), Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (Malawi) and the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences. The research will be transdisciplinary, meaning that our team of researchers from different disciplines (social care, education, sexual and reproductive health, environmental health, mental health, health economics, and health systems), and will work hand in hand with adolescents, family and community members, health workers, policy makers, and other organisations to design, implement and evaluate the research.

We are focussing on adolescent health and wellbeing because the United Nations estimate that there are more young people (10-24 year olds) alive today than at any other time in human history, the majority of which live in low and middle income countries such as Malawi. Within these settings, adolescence is affected by several health and wellbeing burdens that are worsened by poverty. However, adolescents are often the most neglected group in health care service provision, particularly those in early adolescence (10–14 years), a time considered critical in shaping their future lives. In Malawi, despite efforts to prohibit child marriage, and expand youth-friendly health services, there has been limited progress towards meeting the needs of adolescents. For example, rates for completion of primary school remain low (44% male; 37% female), and pregnancy rates for adolescents remains high. These factors have worsened because of the COVID-19 pandemic which has affected both schooling and health access.

We hope that our approach will bring immediate benefits to adolescents, as well as benefits throughout their future adult lives and for the next generation of children. We aim to identify new approaches that will ensure more effective peer, parental and multisectoral support to enable young people to maximise their life chances.

Key successes and outcomes so far

This project started in August 2022

Future and ideas for partnership development

This project will look to partner and engage with organisations working across adolescent health and wellbeing in Malawi.

Project 13: SUNRISE International Study of Movement Behaviours in the Early Years: Canada, Malawi, India, Brazil

In 2019 the WHO recommended that for optimal growth, health, and development 3-4 year olds should spend at least 3 hours per day in physical activity, no more than 1 hour per day on screen time, and 10-13 hours sleep. The optimum combination of time spent in physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep is unclear however, and may differ by outcome and by setting.

Area of work: Public Health, Child Health
Location of work:
Balaka, Blantyre, Chikwawa, Chiradzulu, Machinga, Mangochi, Mulanje, Mwanza, Nsanje, Thyolo, Phalombe, Zomba, Neno

Project lead:
Tawonga Mwase-Vuma, Prof John J Reilly
Contact details:
john.j.reilly@strath.ac.uk

Partner organisation: Centre for Social Research, Zomba, Malawi, Healthy Active Living & Obesity Research Institute, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario

Partner contact: Tawonga Mwase-Vuma, Professor Mark S Tremblay
Contact details: tamowase@gmail.com, tawonga.mwase-vuma@strath.ac.uk, mtremblay@cheo.on.ca

Funding: Canadian Institutes for Health Research, 2022-2025

Description of project

The optimum combination of time spent in physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep is unclear however, and may differ by outcome and by setting. This grant therefore aims to:

  1. identify the optimal combination of time spent in physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep for a range of health and child development outcomes (physical and mental health e.g. overweight and obesity, quality of life; cognitive and educational outcomes e.g. school readiness; child social and emotional development)
  2. test whether associations between time spent in the behaviours and outcomes varies significantly between outcomes, between countries, and between settings (e.g. urban vs rural).

Progress to Date

New project, just awarded July 2022, starts November 2022.This new project builds on the project ‘ Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour, and Sleep in Early Childhood in Malawi’ by doubling the sample size and permitting the testing of associations between time spent in the movement behaviours (physical activity, screen time, and sleep) and child health and development outcomes.

Key successes and outcomes so far

Project not underway until November 2022.

Future and ideas for partnership development

This project, combined with the concurrent project ‘Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour, and Sleep in early Childhood in Malawi’ will form the basis of future work co-developing interventions with stakeholders in Malawi (e.g. families, health and educational professionals, policymakers) which aim to improve time spent in physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep with a view to improving child health and child development.

Project 14: Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour, and Sleep in Early Childhood in Malawi.

In 2019 the WHO recommended that for optimal growth, health, and development 3-4 year olds should spend at least 3 hours per day in physical activity, no more than 1 hour per day on screen time, and get 10-13 hours sleep.

Area of work: Public Health, Child Health
Location of work:
Balaka, Blantyre, Chikwawa, Chiradzulu, Machinga, Mangochi, Mulanje, Mwanza, Nsanje, Thyolo, Phalombe, Zomba, Neno

Project lead:
Prof John J Reilly & Dr Xanne Janssen
Contact details:
john.j.reilly@strath.ac.uk

Partner organisation: Centre for Social Research, Zomba, Malawi.

Partner contact: Tawonga Mwase-Vuma
Contact details: tamowase@gmail.com, tawonga.mwase-vuma@strath.ac.uk

Funding: Sir Halley Stewart Trust, 2021-2024

Description of project

The Strathclyde researchers are involved in a global study ‘Sunrise’ to test whether non-adherence to these guidelines is common globally, and to build global capacity in what is a relatively new public health topic of great importance to several SDGs. Findings from SUNRISE pilot studies in 41 countries suggest that less than 20% of young children meet all the guidelines (Okely et al., 2021), confirming that this is a widespread but unacknowledged problem for child health and development, even in the poorest countries of the world. This grant therefore aims to:

  1. find out if not meeting the WHO guidelines is a problem in Malawi;
  2. identify risk factors for not meeting WHO guidelines in (poverty or wealth, age, gender, urban versus rural residence, season/time of year);
  3. test whether simple parent-questionnaires measure the behaviours accurately, or if sophisticated devices (activity monitors) are needed to measure the behaviours.
Progress to Date

Initial study outcomes are that objective, device-based, methods (accelerometry) are necessary to measure the behaviours with high accuracy and precision. The work was delayed by COVID-19 and again by Storm Ana, but a successful pilot study was completed in 2022 and data collection is underway for the main study.
Key successes and outcomes so far

The methodological study showing the need for device-based measurement is a major success, is likely to be published soon, and will be presented by Tawonga Mwase-Vuma at the International Congress on Physical Activity & Health (ISPAH), Abu Dhabi, October 2022 (funded by a highly competitive ISPAH Travel Grant).
See also the expansion of the project funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research from 2023.

Future and ideas for partnership development

The work will expand from 2023, by the funding of a new study which will test the extent to which not meeting the WHO guidelines predicts adverse outcomes for child physical and mental health, and key developmental milestones.

Project 15: Development and Validation of Global Child and Adolescent Physical Activity Assessment: 14 Country Study Across 6 Continents.

No more than around one-third of all children and adolescents globally meet WHO guidelines for time spent in physical activity.

Area of work: Public Health, Child Health, Adolescent Health
Location of work:
Balaka, Blantyre, Chikwawa, Chiradzulu, Machinga, Mangochi, Mulanje, Mwanza, Nsanje, Thyolo, Phalombe, Zomba, Neno

Project lead:
Tawonga Mwase-Vuma, Prof John J Reilly
Contact details:
john.j.reilly@strath.ac.uk

Partner organisation: Centre for Social Research, Zomba, Malawi. Univ Lethbridge, Canada & Healthy Active Living & Obesity Research Institute, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario.

Partner contact: Tawonga Mwase-Vuma, Dr Richard Larouche, Professor Mark S Tremblay
Contact details: tamowase@gmail.com, tawonga.mwase-vuma@strath.ac.uk, richardlarouche@uleth.ca, mtremblay@cheo.on.ca

Funding: Canadian Institutes for Health Research, 2022-2025

Description of project

Inadequate levels of physical activity harm current and future health of children and adolescents, undermine efforts to prevent Non-Communicable Diseases and many of the Sustainable Development Goals, and restrict access to a fundamental biological need and human right (the right to play). Despite the importance of achieving adequate levels of physical activity, global public health surveillance (monitoring) of child and adolescent physical activity is very limited at present, in part because there are no practical and low-cost measures which can be used globally and which have been shown to be valid. This grant therefore aims to:

  1. Develop new methods of measuring physical activity accurately-from early childhood to late adolescence- which are practical for public health surveillance in children and adolescents in Malawi.
  2. Validate these new methods against the ‘gold standard’ method of measuring physical activity (accelerometry) in children and adolescents in Malawi.
Key successes and outcomes so far

Project not underway until November 2022.

Future and ideas for partnership development

This project should lead to new methods of monitoring physical activity globally, across childhood and adolescence.