Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean April 2014

News / Calls and Awards / Recent and Upcoming Events / New Projects / Project Publications and Articles

“Latin American Report on Poverty and Inequality” analyzes high quality employment and territory

The launch of the “Latin American Report on Poverty and Inequality 2013: High Quality Employment and Territory” will take place in Santiago de Chile on May 5. The report, produced by RIMISP - Latin American Center for Rural Development, examines the unequal territorial distribution of opportunities to access high quality jobs in the region. The reports aims to contribute to a better understanding of the factors, characteristics and conditions that determine the generation of better job opportunities in some places rather than in others.

This study is financed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and IDRC.

Read report (Spanish) / Read Executive Summary (English) / Watch video (Spanish, 3’)

“Mucho macho, poco women” – Counting women's work in Mexico

Under the project “Counting Women’s Work” funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the IDRC, the Mexican research team will examine how much of women’s work goes unnoticed in the economy, how much this has changed in the last decade, and why.

This global project, which began in January 2014, will also involve teams in other Latin American countries (Costa Rica and Colombia), as well as in Asia (India and Vietnam), and Africa (Ghana, Kenya,

Senegal and South Africa).

Read more

IDRC meets Peru’s President

Photo credit: Presidencia Peru’s Photostream

https://flic.kr/p/mYfPXd

On Thursday April 10th 2014, IDRC President Jean Lebel met the President of Peru, Ollanta Humala Tasso, during his official visit to Canada. They spoke about the importance of strengthening human and institutional capacities to carry out applied research in Peru in the context of the development opportunities and challenges faced by the country.

IDRC has a long-standing history of support for Peruvian researchers. Since 1972, IDRC has funded more than 262 activities for an amount of CA$67 million.

Read the IDRC country profile for Peru.

Canada and Uruguay partnership to strengthen human resource capacity in extractive industries

In the framework of the “Building Human Resource Capacity in Uruguay’s Extractive Industry” project, a delegation travelled from Uruguay to Canada to meet with university officials and academic experts in the extractive industries field. This joint activity between IDRC and the National Research and Innovation Agency (ANII) of Uruguay will pave the way for the implementation of the project which will send approximately 10 professionals to study Master’s or Doctoral degrees in extractive industry related areas in Canada.

The group of Uruguayan academics, along with the Uruguayan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luis Almagro, who was on an official visit to Canada , also met with the President of IDRC, Jean Lebel, on April 11th 2014 to discuss this initiative as well as other areas of future collaboration.

Read more (Spanish)

Brazil - study reveals food with excessive sodium

An analysis developed by the Brazilian Institute for the Defense of the Consumer (IDEC) in the framework of the “The effectiveness of Brazilian public policies that address unhealthy diets” project, reveals that the objectives set in an agreement between companies and the government to reduce sodium continue to be too weak because they do not propose significant changes in the quality of industrialized foods.

Read the article (Spanish) / Read the Research results (Portuguese)

Canadian Members of Parliament visit Project in Grenada

Canadian Members of Parliament Hon. Devinder Shory and Hon. Isabelle Morin visited the IDRC project led by researchers from the Windward Islands Research & Education Foundation (WINDREF) at St. George's University in Grenada on April 22, 2014. The WINDREF Institute is leading a team of researchers and assistants in an effort to build local capacity in obesity research, assessing and addressing the obesogenic issues that face Grenada. This is a two year project which started on 2013.

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Adapting to climate variability and change in Chile’s Maipo basin

The Maipo river basin plays a vital role in Chile's economy. With government and community input, researchers are exploring adaptation options to sustain water resources—and the economic activities they support—in the face of growing demand and a changing climate.

Read article / Visit project website

World Health Day – Small bites, great threats

Several activities were developed in the region by IDRC and its partners to celebrate the World Health Day, which this year was dedicated to vector-borne diseases under the theme "Small bites, big threats"

In Lima, PAHO organized an event where successful experiences to combat dengue, Chagas y malaria, were presented. Elena Ogusuku (malaria researcher, Peru), Carlota Monroy (Chagas

researcher, Guatemala) and Fabián Méndez (dengue researcher, Colombia) presented the results of current ecohealth research projects in the region which are supported by IDRC.

The Santa Fe de Bogotá Foundation launched a recent interview to Dominique Charron, Director of the IDRC’s Agriculture and Environment Program, who explains what the Ecohealth approach is and its relevance;

The Tropical Diseases Program/WHO launched a new website with information on a joint TDR IDRC project to combat Chagas and dengue in Latin America and the Caribbean

IDRC joined the #Just1bite through a Storify platform featuring activities and research results on dengue, malaria and Chagas.

Video of the Month – Chagas disease in Bolivia

In Palmarito, Bolivia, the simple farming lifestyle has not changed much over the past centuries. Water is still collected and carried by hand, there is no electricity, and the homes are simple mud hut structures. People depend on chickens and pigs for food, and they keep them close by. However, this lifestyle is in danger from a small bug called a triatomine, or “el timbucu” as the locals call it, which transmits a parasite to animals and people.

This video is part of a project implemented by TDR in partnership with IDRC with work being conducted in 7 Latin American countries: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Uruguay.

Watch the video (6:50’)

Call for Expressions of Interest – Sustainable Public Procurement: a tool for a green economy

The project for “Sustainable Public Procurement: a tool for a green economy,” led by the Organization of American States (OAS) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), launches the following calls for expression of interest with the goal of identifying a researcher or a research institution for the drafting of the following research papers: “Sustainable Public Procurement and the Small and Medium Enterprise” and “Indicators for the Progress and Impact of Sustainable Public Procurement.”

Deadline: May 14, 2014

International Competition for Science Journalists

The World Ferderation of Science Journalists (WFSJ) will award eight journalists to attend and cover the Ecohealth 2014 Conference that will take place in Montreal, Canada from August 11-15, 2014. These scholarships are funded by IDRC.

Deadline: June 3, 2014Read more

Read more

Abr. 23-24, 2014 International Forum “Víctimas y guerra contra las drogas: Análisis para una política integral”, Mexico D.F., Mexico

Abr. 30, May 7 2014 “PEP Annual Conference : Inclusive Growth and Employment for Poverty Reduction ", PEP / INESAD, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia

Abr. 29, 2014 “Beyond Borders: Migration, ICTS and Health"May 6, 2014 Potenciando el vínculo entre think tanks y universidades, Quito Ecuador

IDRC IN THE NEWS

The FAO “AgroNoticias” magazine interviewed Julio Berdegué, coordinator of the “Territorial Cohesion for Development Program” which is carried out in eight Latin American countries with the collaboration of numerous national organizations.

The April issue of Conicyt’s “International Relations” magazine interviewed Jorge Gordin, who leads “The Architecture of Diversity: Institutional Innovation and Conflict Management in Latin America” project.

Sci.Dev published the article “Violencia y pobreza escalan en ciudades de A. Latina” that highlights the results of research carried out by Gloria Perdomo from the Laboratorio de Ciencias Sociales in Venezuela who recently presented her work at the World Urban Forum in Medellin.

The Brazilian TV program “Conexao Publica” interviewed Leonardo Damasio and Leonardo Secchi who comment on the results of the research project “Think Tanks and Public Policy Institutes in Brazil”. Interview by Gutieres Baron. (Portuguese)

Social and Economic Policy

¿Quién escribe más y sobre qué? Cambios recientes en la geopolítica de la producción científica en América Latina y el Caribe. Hernánez Asensio, R. IEP; Documento de Trabajo, 205. Serie Sociología y Política, 49, Grupo Faro, 2014.

“Los recursos naturales en la era China: ¿Una oportunidad para América Latina?, Serie Red Mercosur N° 24, Red Mercosur, 2014

“Relación entre think tanks y universidades en Paraguay”, Galeano, L.; García, D.; González, I.; Mancuello, M. ; CADEP; Documento de Trabajo; 2014

“Alcaldías Indígenas, diez años después de su reconocimiento por el Estado” Ochoa, F.; ASIES, 2013

Global Health Policy

“Moito sal ainda”, Revista do IDEC, Revista N°186 - Abril 2014

International Development Research Centre (IDRC)Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean Avda. Brasil 2655, 11300 Montevideo, UruguayTel: +598 2 7090042 / Email: lacro@idrc.ca / www.idrc.ca /lacro

Comments or suggestions write to lacro@idrc.ca