Migration and Health Research Fellowship

Back ground
Established in 1951, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is the leading international organization in the field of migration. Together with its partners in the international community, IOM acts to assist in meeting the growing operational challenges of migration management, to  advance understanding of migration issues, to encourage social and economic development through migration, and to uphold the human dignity and well-being of migrants.

Through the Migration Health Division (MHD), IOM seeks to promote evidence-informed policies and holistic integrated preventive and curative health programmes which are accessible and acceptable for migrants and mobile populations in spaces of vulnerability. IOM and its partners uphold the principle that promoting equal access of migrants and mobile population to health information and services confers benefits to migrants and mobile population as well as society as a whole.

Since 2003, IOM in Southern Africa implemented a programme titled Partnership on HIV and Mobility in Southern Africa (PHAMSA). From July 2010, the programme has been renamed Partnership on Health and Mobility in East and Southern Africa (PHAMESA), incorporating the addition of East and Horn of Africa countries. PHAMESA aims to contribute towards improved health standing of migrants by responding to their health needs throughout all phases of the migration process, as well as the public health needs of host communities. PHAMESA project supports governments to understand and address the social determinants of migration health, through four programme areas: Service delivery and capacity building; Research and information sharing; Advocacy for policy and legislative development; and Coordination within and between countries.

Research on Contemporary Migration and Health Issues

The PHAMESA research component aims to respond to the needs of governments, partner agencies, civil society and IOM for evidence-informed and disaggregated strategic information on migration health. Strategic information has been shown to be crucial for evidence-informed programming, as it could be a catalyst for effective advocacy, project development and policy dialogue, as well as resource mobilisation.

As part of the PHAMESA initiative, IOM would like to announce a Migration and Health Research Fellowship for students enrolled in a Masters programme at a recognized university in Kenya.

The Purpose of the Fellowship
The Migration and Health Fellowship is designed to promote and encourage multidisciplinary research on migration and health topics of pressing national and regional concern. The programme seeks to foster the development of a new generation of researchers who are interested in policyrelevant health issues of migrant and migration affected populations, and who are willing to undertake research based on priority areas of strategic importance to the IOM research agenda. It strives especially to promote a new level of intellectual cooperation between IOM and academic institutions in the region, and internationally, to train a new cadre of young researchers committed to advance global understanding of migration and health.

Individual support to students for field work and data collection is at the core of the Migration and Health Fellowship Programme. Thus, applications are welcome from students in advanced stages of their Masters studies. The objectives of the programme are to foster high quality research in public health, social sciences and related disciplines; to build new collaborative networks of researchers interested in migration and health; as well as generate new data and new data sources for research on migration and health in the region.

Area of Focus
Applicants are invited to submit proposals for research in public health, social sciences and related disciplines to provide information on health and access to health care for migrants in Kenya. Specifically, the applicant should be able to assess availability, accessibility, acceptability and good quality of health care services in migrant-populated areas; and service providers and migrants’ knowledge of the right to health of migrants and the means to advocate for and claim this right. Refer to IOM Kenya Strategic plan 2012 – 2014 and the IOM Health Strategy for Kenya 2011 – 2015 for guidance.

Proposed research methods should demonstrate the potential of the study to make important contributions to research, service delivery, advocacy and policy development. Thus, priority will be given to research projects that try to further our understanding of the dynamics of migration on migrant’s health and migration-affected communities.

Eligibility
This fellowship is competitive and is open to Masters Students in advanced stages of their programme of study at a recognized academic institution in the Kenya.

Fellowship Terms
Terms of the Fellowship are flexible and are designed to partially meet the field work needs of student researchers at advanced stages in their Masters studies. The programme will provide the student with up to USD 5,000 of partial support for field work during the Fellowship tenure. The Fellowship tenure will be continuous for a maximum of 3 months and must be concluded within 4 months of initial activation of the Fellowship.

The Fellowship is intended to partially support an individual student researcher during field work, regardless of whether that individual is receiving additional funding elsewhere. Fellows and applicants may hold another scholarship/fellowship/bursary in addition to the IOM Migration and Health Fellowship during the time of application or during the tenure of the fellowship. The successful applicant will be required to submit the completed research proposal through the ethics review board/committee at his/her university.

Deliverables:
TASK DEADLINE
STUDY PREPARATIONS:
Finalize study protocol and tools, obtain IRB approval, meet with stakeholders
for briefings on research objectives and timeline, and recruit field team.
Sept 15, 2013
STUDY IMPLEMENTATION:
Data collection, data entry, management and analysis.
Oct 15, 2013
WRITE-UP AND DISSEMINATION:
Write-up results in comprehensive report, 2 page summary of findings,
PowerPoint presentation and prepare thesis for submission.
Oct 30, 2013

Application Requirements
• Submit your CV together with a research concept note of not more than five pages with your application. Templates for writing the research concept note can be provided on request.
• Submit proof of current academic records and a letter of recommendation from the applicant’s academic department/programme, or the student’s academic advisor/research supervisor.
• The application deadline is 05 August 2013. Applications must be by email to migrationhealthnairobi@iom.int . Only short-listed applications will be contacted. IOM may require applicants to present their proposals in person to a selection panel. Final decisions are expected to be made by 12 August 2013.