FK-KMK UGM. Research and Training in Tropical Diseases or TDR Program is a special postgraduate scholarship program based on implementation research organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) Southeast Asia and Western Pacific Region. This program is co-sponsored by UNICEF, UNDP, the World Bank, and collaborates with selected institutions in the region.
This program’s vision is to improve the skills of research leaders to improve the health and welfare of communities burdened by infectious diseases through research and innovation. Implementation research skills can support the identification of bottlenecks in the health care system and provide appropriate approaches to address these problems so that the research can reach people who need it.
Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) is the only institution in Indonesia selected to participate in this special TDR postgraduate scholarship program scheme and is based at the Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing (FK-KMK). Apart from UGM, there are 9 other world institutions participating in this program.
FK-KMK UGM has been involved in this program since the beginning of the program in 2015. The initiation of this program was coordinated by Prof. dr. Yodi Mahendradhata, M.Sc, Ph.D, FRSPH, Dean of FK-KMK UGM. This involvement includes aspects of developing teaching materials and organizing virtual training for researchers in certain regions. The virtual training provided was developed in the form of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to enable researchers from regions such as Nepal and Myanmar to participate in the program.
Alumni of the TDR postgraduate scholarship program at FK-KMK come from various countries, including Ezra Valido from the Philippines and Tilak Chandra Nath from Bangladesh. Ezra Valido is a postdoctoral researcher at Swiss Paraplegic Research. Valido focuses on infectious diseases and leads public health programs such as tuberculosis, smallpox, dengue fever, and chikungunya in the Eastern Philippines. Valido stated that the TDR postgraduate scholarship program helped him build interdisciplinary capabilities in public health-based disease management.
Meanwhile, Nath is an associate professor in the Department of Parasitology at Sylhet Agricultural University (SAU). Nath focuses on parasitic diseases that are prevalent in Bangladesh. Through the TDR postgraduate scholarship program based at FK-KMK, Nath can improve the ability to investigate and implement solutions to tropical diseases with a one health approach.
This initiative is one of the efforts being taken to accomplish the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly number 1 No Poverty, number 3 Healthy and Prosperous Lives, number 4 Quality Education, and number 17 on Partnerships to Achieve the Goals. This effort is reflected in the TDR scholarship programme, which demonstrates a strong commitment to implementation research in global health, with a focus on solutions that can be implemented to improve the health and well-being of communities affected by infectious diseases in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific region. (Writer: Fauziah)
