University of Michigan/Fogarty International Center Southern Africa Program in Environmental and Occupational Health

Principal Investigator

Thomas Robins

Co-Principal Investigators

Stuart Batterman, Rajen Naidoo, Mohamed Jeebhay

Funding Sources

Fogarty International Center, NIH

About this Project

Our group has been continually funded by the Fogarty International Center since 1996 to strengthen capacity through training and research in Environmental and Occupational Health (EOH) in the 14-nation Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region. The major strategy for sustainable capacity building is to leverage regional strengths in South Africa to support the development of academic research and training Centers of Excellence in EOH in Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. Methods of capacity strengthening include funding students in Masters and doctoral degree programs at the University of Michigan and at South African universities, delivery of in-country short courses, direct funding of research projects, assistance with curriculum development, development and dissemination of web-based distance learning modules, and sponsoring regional conferences. Examples of research projects that have been developed through or associated with the program include:

• An Assessment of the Quality of Water Supplies in The Rural Western Cape with regard to Agrichemical Pollutants.

• Occupational Allergy Associated with Saltwater Bony Fish Processing in South Africa.

• The Respiratory Health of South African Coal Miners

• Environmental Mercury Contamination And Health Risk Assessment In KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

• Reproductive Health Effects Of Long-Term DDT Exposure On Male Malaria Control Workers In South Africa.

• The Impact of Pesticide Exposure on the Health Status of Women and Children in Small Scale Agriculture.

• Exposures and Health Effects from a Large Sulfur Fire in South Africa.

• Occupational Health of Women Fruit Farmers in the Western Cape.

• Acute Respiratory Effects of Exposure to Air Pollutants among Children Residing in the South Durban Industrial Basin.

• Development of exposure characterization for pesticides in the Western Cape province, South Africa.

• Occupational allergy and asthma among bakery workers in the Western Cape province, South Africa.

• Description of indoor air quality of selected residences and schools of children living in the south Durban industrial basin, South Africa.

• Measured road tunnel air concentrations used to verify mobile source emission factors in the IPIECA toolkit.

• Epidemiological and genetic risk factors associated with asthma among children in Durban, South Africa.

• Work related asthma associated with endotoxin exposure in dental workers, South Africa.

• Occupational health and safety in the informal small scale gold miners in the Kwekwe area of Zimbabwe.

• Occupational health risks associated with mercury use in the small scale mining sector of Manica province, Mozambique and Manicaland province, Zimbabwe.

• Characterisation of pesticide exposure on flower farms in Northern Tanzania.

These research projects provide opportunities for University of Michigan students ample opportunities to be part of global health research studies in environmental and occupational health.