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Research conducted by LSHTM has informed the delivery of a 30-year WHO strategy aimed at reducing the devastating burden of liver cancer in Africa and least developed countries in other regions. Studies evaluating the effectiveness of the Gambia Hepatitis Intervention Study (GHIS) - the only randomised trial of a hepatitis B vaccine with a disease endpoint in Africa - have shaped current WHO policy recommendations for vaccinations against the virus, enabling WHO to advise against the need for a booster programme, and protecting governments in the less developed world from significant additional expenditure.
Research in West Africa by LSHTM and partners has shown that monthly treatment with effective antimalarial drugs during the rainy season provides children with a very high degree of personal protection against malaria, can be delivered on a large scale by community health workers at moderate cost, and with no serious side-effects. Based on this research, WHO now recommends that children living in Sahel areas where malaria is a major problem should receive such `seasonal malaria chemoprevention' (SMC) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine plus amodiaquine. Ten countries have incorporated SMC into their strategic plans for malaria control.
Research conducted by the Centre for the Study of Poverty and Social Justice (CSPSJ) led to a new way of assessing child poverty in developing countries. This novel method (termed the Bristol Approach) resulted in the United Nations General Assembly's adoption, for the first time, of an international definition of child poverty (2006). It also underpinned UNICEFs Global Study on Child Poverty and Disparities (2008-10), which was run in over 50 countries. In the last ten years, the CSPSJ's work has put child poverty at the centre of international social and public policy debates. Its researchers have advised governments and international agencies on devising anti-poverty strategies and programmes that specifically meet the needs of children, and have significantly influenced the way child poverty is studied around the world. The Centre has developed academic and professional training courses for organisations like UNICEF on the issues of children's rights and child-poverty. Our work has also spurred NGOs such as Save the Children to develop their own child-development indices, and so has had a direct and profound impact on the lives of poor children around the planet.
Professor Mary Kaldor convened a study group that proposed a new human security doctrine for the European Union at the request of its High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy. This doctrine defined a new approach for EU involvement in situations requiring a security and defence response, with special attention to conflict and disaster in developing countries. It has influenced security and defence policy at the EU and country member levels, and has proved to dramatically reduce violence and contribute to peacekeeping efforts and a return to civil society when applied in conflict-ridden contexts such as Chad, Somalia, Iraq and Libya.
Buckley's research on the relationship between art and conflict has led to the establishment of the Artraker Fund. The Fund was established in 2012 and awards art that helps raise awareness, communicate, stimulate debate and transform our understanding of war, violent conflict and social upheaval. It is intended to show how art can play a central role in transforming our understanding and experience of war, violent conflict and social upheaval. Buckley's research on the role of art in the co-creation of `experiences of freedom' has helped to show why such a fund is necessary, and to distinguish it from other art prizes. It stresses the potential of art to co-create experiences of freedom when they are most needed and least accessible.
This research, commissioned by UNICEF between September 2010 and December 2012, and led by Professor Mario Novelli, University of Sussex, examines the role of education in peacebuilding in conflict-affected states. The findings were directly employed by UNICEF to create a Dutch government-funded, four-year, $200 million, Peacebuilding, Education and Advocacy Programme (PBEA) now operating in 13 countries (2012-16). The findings successfully challenged the UN's approach to peacebuilding, which prioritises investment in security, democracy and economic reforms, making a strong case for greater investment in education programming in post-conflict settings. The findings form part of a paper commissioned by the UN Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO), where it is stated that the social sectors, including education and health, require a bigger role in peacebuilding operations. Both the UNICEF PBEA programme and the shift in UN Peacebuilding strategy are likely to make a positive long-term impact on children's and adolescents' lives in conflict contexts.