Project Supervisors: Prof. Daniel Tarantola and Prof. Anthony Zwi.

Dr Khabir Ahmad attended the Khyber Medical College in Peshawar, Pakistan and received a MBBS in 1996 followed by a MSc. in Community Eye Health from the Pakistan Institute of Community Ophthalmology in 2000. In 2003 he received a MSc. in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Aga Khan University and then went on to be the Senior Instructor in Research & Community Ophthalmologist at this same university.

 

Under a grant award from The Fred Hollows Foundation, the Postgraduate Research Scholarship explores Rights-based approaches to blindness and cataract care services in Pakistan andother developing countries. The project aims to explore cataract-related policies, servicesand outcomes in Pakistan from the perspective of equality/non-discrimination, participation, and accountability. It also examines cataract care from the perspective of availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of health facilities, goods and services./p>

 

 

Project Supervisors: Prof. Daniel Tarantola and Dr Zachary Steel

People living with HIV and a mental disorder often face social isolation and high levels of stigma. They experience discrimination of their basic rights such as the right to employment, education and health care and can be deprived of their civil rights in the absence of any legal protection from improper treatment.

 

Whilst the expansion of HIV programs has provided an opportunity for integrating mental health care into such programs in high income countries, very limited studies or interventions have been carried out within Asia to determine the prevalence and linkage between HIV and mental disorders such as anxiety or depression or the current capacity and response to manage such illness.

 

This research program will bridge this gap by determining the prevalence of mental health disorders among people with HIV and provide recommendations for policy and programmatic interventions for the target group. International and national human rights standards will be used to incorporate a moral dimension to public health solutions and help ensure people living with HIV and mental disorders can access the highest standard of physical and mental health in such a manner that they are protected from discrimination and afforded their individual dignity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Project Supervisors: A/Prof. Heather Worth and Prof. Daniel Tarantola.

 

In1992, Jinmei Meng completed a Degree of Master in Law from China University of Political Science and Law and from 1992 to 2007 worked as a full time Law Lecturer and a part-time lawyer.

 

This project aims to explore the decriminalisation of sex work in China in the context of human rights and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemics. The conceptual framework for the study draws from both the theory of universality of human rights and the theory of HIV and human rights reflected in the UNAIDS International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights. The study combines qualitative research and legal research methodologies.

 

 

 

 

Dr. Mohammad Shamsul Arafeen has received a Degree in Medicine from Dhaka University and also a Master in Public Health from the University of Wollongong.

The basic concept of this project was developed sinceDr. Mohammad Shamsul Arafeen's enrolment as a MPH student. For every 100,000 live births taking place in Bangladesh, 380 mothers lose their lives as a result of pregnancy. The candidate is investigating the roles played by psychological, social and cultural factors in this highly adverse outcome. To this end, concepts and tools were drawn from existing epidemiological and public health research, models for integrated perinatal care and a health and human rights framework.The project has two phases. Phase One will include mapping and analysing existing maternal and child health care systems; defining the epidemiology of mothers and child mortality and morbidity in the study population; and evaluating current policies and programs relevant to perinatal maternal and child care within a health and human rights framework. Phase Two will develop and test a locally relevant, culturally suitable and potentially sustainable system of perinatal psychosocial assessment and referral.

 

 

 

 

 

For more information on post-graduate research opportunities at UNSW and how to enrol, visit The Graduate Research School.