THE BUILDING EFFECTIVE TOBACCO CONTROL ADVOCATES IN AFRICA(BETA) PROJECT: CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FOR THE ONLINE TOBACCO INDUSTRY MONITORING COURSE

Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU) Africa Centre for Tobacco Industry Monitoring and Policy Research (ATIM) and the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) is proud to announce an online capacity-building training course on tobacco industry monitoring as part of the project ‘Building Effective Tobacco Control Advocates in Africa (BETA)’. The project aims to support African tobacco control stakeholders in target countries, specifically through offering a training course on tobacco industry monitoring and strategies for countering Tobacco Industry Interference (TII) with health policies.

Background
The Building Capacity for Effective Tobacco Control Advocates in Africa (BETA) Tobacco Industry Monitoring Course is an online course developed by Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU) Africa Centre for Tobacco Industry Monitoring and Policy Research (ATIM) in collaboration with world renowned tobacco control experts and support from the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF). The course aims to build the capacity of African tobacco control stakeholders in tobacco industry monitoring.  The course will take you through the theoretical and practical approaches to tobacco industry monitoring and countering industry interference.

The training course is structured to provide participants with knowledge and skills in relation to the following:

  • Understanding the developments with regards the WHO FCTC and implementation guidelines and the evidence-base, specifically highlighting regional and in-country developments in implementation in Africa.
  • Mechanisms to monitor tobacco industry interference activities, including methods such as documents research and identifying new tactics and modes of tobacco industry interference.
  • Using various techniques to develop and implement an effective advocacy strategy, including sharing of best practices to counter industry interference.

The course is targeted at anyone interested in tobacco industry monitoring and response including but not limited to; tobacco control advocates, journalists, researchers, academics and government officials or policy makers. We would like to invite you to register for the online course. The course is available in both English and French. The BETA online course is self-paced and will open from 01 June to 31 August 2021 for this current round.

Training Outcomes

The course is comprised of 12 modules which are self-paced.

By the end of this training participants will be able to:

  • Counter and respond to Tobacco Industry Interference and tactics
  • Search Industry documents
  • Identify tobacco industry, their front groups/allies and to monitor them
  • Draft effective tobacco control policies and implementation
  • Draft effective and efficient advocacy strategies for your organization or country

EXPECTATIONS

Note: Participation in the course forms part of a comprehensive capacity building process

  • Participants need to have access to a computer and reliable internet.
  • Participants need to dedicate at least 2-3 hours per week to go through the course modules
  • Complete all 12 Modules within the duration of the period (01 June 2021 to 31 August 2021) to increase chances being considered for the face-to-face BETA training workshop.
  • Participants will be given access to the BETA information sharing platform upon completion of the course.
  • Participants will be linked with Africa Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA) to join other country Tobacco Industry Monitoring teams to advance tobacco industry monitoring and response initiatives.

Participants will receive a certificate of completion after completing all 12 modules. Participants who complete the 12 Modules may be invited to apply for the follow up Face-to-Face training.

To register for the BETA online course, click on the link below

Register Here

Enquiries can be sent to:

Kgomotso Kali- kgomotso.kali@smu.ac.za

Tidimalo Makhura- tidimalo.makhura@smu.ac.za

Petronella Chirawu- Petronella.chirawu@smu.ac.za