5th International Course on Advanced Malaria Microscopy and Quality Assurance, Muscat, Oman, 6 September – 4 October 2012

The course will be held at the WHO Regional Centre for Excellency in Malaria Microscopy, Central Malaria Laboratory, and Department of Malaria Eradication in the Ministry of Health.

The course aims at providing the participants with the skills to internationally establish standards in advanced malaria microscopy – especially species diagnosis and quality assurance, laboratory management, establishment and maintenance of national malaria slide banks, programme planning, national and international networking, reporting and the latest education technology to enhance training and communication skills.

This course is open to technologists and those with programme responsibilities in malaria diagnosis and laboratory supervision. They must have:

• A good command of written and spoken English.
• Demonstrate consistency of diagnostic competence at high level of accuracy.
• Experience in supervising a National Malaria Laboratory.
• Experience in organizing and funning a national training in malaria microscopy at basic level.

The course will be conducted entirely in English. There will be a maximum of 12 participants. Of 4 weeks duration, with a minimum of 100 tutor hours, teaching will consist of short lectures, group and individual work based on problem solving, laboratory practice and field work.

Eligible candidates are invited to apply using standard WHO fellowship forms available from the respective WHO country office. Applications must be endorsed by the national authorities and sent to the WHO Regional Office of Eastern Mediterranean through the WHO country offices. Successful participants, meeting the required standard and attendance, will be awarded a Certificate of Achievement. 

14th International Diploma Course on Malaria Programme Planning and Management, Bandar Abbas, Islamic Republic of Iran,

15 December 2012 – 14 February 2013

This course is organized jointly by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Islamic Republic of Iran, the School of Public Health, Teheran University of Medical Sciences, National Institute for Health Research and the World Health Organization.

The Objectives of the course are for participants to gain sufficient knowledge and skills to be able to:

• Analyse the malaria situation and problem.
• Plan, implement, manage and evaluate antimalaria programmes.
• Develop a training programme for capacity building for malaria.

The course is designed for medical officers and scientists involved in disease control particularly malaria, who are presently or will be in future, responsible for antimalaria control activities. Candidates will be expected to have at least a medical degree or a PhD or MSc in medical parasitology, medical entomology or a related subject and to have good command of the English language for which evidence of proficiency may be required.

This intensive course will last for 9 weeks and is practically oriented (laboratory and field) with formal presentations kept to a minimum, and with emphasis on group work.

The course is fully residential (accommodation and all meals provided) at the Regional Malaria Training Centre located in Bandar Abbas.

This course has a maximum capacity of 24 places. Interested individuals should apply to the World Health Organization preferably through their governments. Candidates with independent means or fellowships granted by other agencies should apply directly to the WHO Regional Office in Cairo, Egypt. Those participants fulfilling the attendance requirements and reaching a satisfactory standard will receive the Diploma in Malaria Planning and its Control from Teheran University of Medical Sciences.