Glasgow Centre for International Development

Building foundations for monitoring viruses at the interface of wildlife and indigenous communities in Peru. Led by Jocelyn Ginette Pérez Lazo, the main goal of this project was to create new and strengthen recent collaborations, as well as build a network of researchers and Peruvian public-health authorities, to study and monitor viruses in the interface between wild animals and neglected indigenous communities in the province of Condorcanqui, Peru.

Bringing young people back into agriculture: developing a South-South partnership to collaboratively address generational renewal. Led by Marcela Ramos, this project facilitated South-South collaboration and knowledge exchange activities, identified a research agenda and a clear pathway to academic and non-academic outputs in relation to three key global challenges: sustainable food production capacity, gender equality and technology adoption in agriculture.

Human reservoirs and behaviours fuelling Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense transmission in Malawi. Led by Walt Adamson, this project enabled collaboration with Kamuzu University of Health Sciences and the Malawian Ministry of Health to investigate two key issues in relation to a Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense outbreak: the extent of infection and the attitudes and behaviours of people related to sleeping sickness in affected communities.

Empowering women and girls through collaborative filmmaking. Led by David Archibald, this project established a pilot to connect feminist activists in four historically-related cities (Havana and Matanzas in Cuba, Glasgow and Vilanova i la Geltrú in Europe), which sought to utilise affordable AV technologies to develop creative conversations amongst the activists and, consequently, empower women and girls.

Exploring the relational impacts of gambling among Tanzanian families: a pilot study. Led by Chris Bunn, this project explored the public health approach to gambling harms, an overview of the emerging literature on gambling and gambling harms in sub-Saharan Africa and exploration of the knowledge gaps in the field generally, as well as Tanzania specifically.

Living with Rabies: Reality and response on the ground. Led by Anna Czupryna, this project collected baseline data on the prevalence of dog culling activities and associated costs and interviewed livestock officers regarding the motivations behind dog culling activities. The team established a network linking human and animal health workers in Arusha, Meru, Monduli, Manyara and Karatu Districts. Human and animal health workers were registered and trained on using an IBCM mobile application for entering suspected rabies exposures. The team trained 50 health workers on the collection of rabies exposure data and linked them to the respective animal health workers in their district to facilitate the investigation of suspected rabies cases. They also trained 20 livestock and animal health workers on the collection of rabies samples from suspected rabid animals and the collection of associated data.  

Filling the gap, training the next generation of African parasitologists in spatial biology. Led by Alex Girard, this project provided specialized training in advanced transcriptomics and histology to two early-career researchers from the DRC and Uganda. This not only equipped them with the skills required to analyse the skin samples they had collected but also laid the groundwork for the transfer of these cutting-edge technologies to their home institutions. Second, the team used formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples reveal host immune responses to parasite colonisation of the skin. 

Learning for Informal and non-formal educators in refugee settings in Lebanon and Jordan (LINEs). Led by Maria Grazia Imperiale, this project  worked with teachers of refugees in Lebanon and Jordan to understand, articulate and develop the factors which strengthen their identity and agency. They used arts-based workshops, and participatory methodologies that include the voices of the whole community: teachers, children, parents and NGO representatives.

Revitalising Rwanda's 'silent hills' through co-creating sustainable cultural heritage eco-tourism initiatives: A pump-priming project. Led by Erin Jessee, this project completed a series of pump-priming activities with a new partner, the University of Rwanda’s Center of Excellence in Biodiversity & Natural Resource Management (CoEB) and an existing partner, the Rwanda Cultural Heritage Academy (RCHA). The activities included a capacity strengthening workshop, a collaborative scoping study on indigenous knowledge of culturally significant plants, animals, and fungi and creation of an archival resource that is being used by the CoEB to develop audio and video materials to enhance its efforts to revitalise the National Herbarium of Rwanda and related initiatives.

Sustainable Cities: Indigenous Histories of Mayan Garden Cities and the Future of Urban Growing. Led by Julia McClure, this project expanded understanding of the possibilities for sustainable cities and food sovereignty by broadening and deepening historical knowledge about food sovereignty practices and historic urban agriculture in the Maya region of Chiapas and extended analysis to under-researched regions in Oaxaca, namely the Mazateca and the Chimalapas. This built upon previous research on the plan de vida (life plan) in the Lacandon, and developed new research into these different regions, and established a new dialogue between the people of the Lacandon and the people of the Chimalapas. 

A water quality testing laboratory for rural Cameroon. Led by Mark Symes, this project equipped Research and Development Without Borders with key pieces of equipment to enable water quality monitoring in Cameroon.

Resilience and adaptation to climatic and non-climatic factors: Role of large dams in India. Led by Cecilia Tortajada, this project explored resilience and adaptation of local communities to extreme events such as floods.