6th January 2014
Last Friday I was a guest speaker at an event to help UK company Diageo launch their “Shoom Shufair”/ Don’t Drink & Drive Campaign. This aims to encourage anyone planning to drink alcohol to appoint a designated driver (who abstains from alcohol) to take them home afterwards. Similar Diageo campaigns elsewhere in the world have been very […]
31st December 2013 New Delhi, India
2013 has been quite a year for the UK Science and Innovation Network and our partners in India. In January, we took part in the visit of UK Health Minister, Anna Soubry. Health was a major theme of our work this year, which covered medical devices, regulations, an MoU signing, and preparations for workshops on […]
30th December 2013 Havana, Cuba
In July 2011 in a ‘Declaration on Bilateral Co-operation’ the British and Cuban governments agreed that human rights are a ‘priority for co-operation’. Both countries have recently been elected by the UN General Assembly to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) for a three year term beginning on 1 January 2014. The HRC is the […]
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2nd December 2013 Havana, Cuba
As I travel around Cuba talking to people about the United Kingdom, I am constantly surprised by how little many Cubans really know about my country. This blog is an attempt to put that right. Here are nine things you probably don’t know about the UK: 1. There is free education in the UK. The large […]
22nd November 2013
Last July, London hosted the historic 2012 London Summit on Family Planning, which reestablished family planning as a top global health priority. Last week 3000 advocates, researchers, health professionals and political leaders from over 100 countries came to Addis Ababa for the third International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP). The theme was “Full Access, Full […]
11th October 2013 San Francisco, USA
Scientific research may sometimes be portrayed as a series of breakthroughs, but in fact it is a gradual and labour-intensive process, especially when it comes to developing new drugs. However, this week’s announcement of an exciting result from Leicester University in the UK may well represent a turning point in the fight against degenerative brain […]
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16th September 2013 Montreal, Canada
I’ve noticed a fascinating trend in my neighbourhood. The streets are home to more and more sidewalk containers branding the logo – Free Food – (“Nourriture à Partager, Servez-vous!”) where fresh vegetables, fine herbs and small fruits are free for the taking…
13th August 2013 Havana, Cuba
I met the Ambassador of the Solomon Islands a few weeks ago. The Solomons (Honiara is the capital) are in the Pacific Ocean over 13,000 km from Cuba and they only have a few embassies around the world so you might wonder why they have recently opened one in Havana. The Ambassador, Simeon Bouro, explained to […]
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6th June 2013 New Delhi, India
Health and disease was one of the major areas identified for collaboration between the UK and India at the Indo-UK Science & Innovation Council last year, and it’s been a regular topic on this blog ever since. Here’s Himangi Bhardwaj, our Health Adviser in New Delhi, bringing the latest news on Indo-UK Health… 19th May […]
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26th April 2013
Yesterday I met the members of Project Harar’s Surgical Mission to Ethiopia. It was really inspiring to learn about the project’s efforts to transform the lives of many young Ethiopian people with facial disfigurements – enabling them to smile, eat and lead normal lives, often for the first time. Many will be surprised to hear […]