Prof. Dr DE BROUWERE Vincent, Jacques, Gérard, Walthère,
Richard
Professional address: Public Health Department
Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical Medicine
Nationalestraat, 155
2000 Antwerpen
Tel.: +32 3 247 62 86; Mobile: +32 474 617 074
Email:
Vincent De Brouwere, MD, DTM&H, MPH, PhD is Professor of Public Health at the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp (ITM-A). He has a field experience of 15 years in Developing Countries (7 years in ex-Zaire where he worked as leprosy program manager and district medical officer; then 5 + 3 years in Morocco first as WHO civil servant (P5), then as Research Director at the Institute of Research for Development, in support to the National School of Public Health-ENSP, Rabat) and worked in short term visits in a variety of countries in Africa and Asia. His main field of research is the health care system, with a particular focus on maternal health and access to health services (including quality of care and the management of human resources required for the good functioning of health systems). He developed his expertise in the domain of maternal mortality reduction partly through his research work and partly through the elaboration and evaluation exercise of reproductive health strategies in support to ministries of health in LMIC. As a lecturer he is involved in different training programs at the ITM and ENSP (mainly in safe motherhood, basic concepts in public health and management & evaluation of health programs, elaboration of projects).He is author/co-author of 107 peer-reviewed articles or book chapters, 31 research reports, papers and books or book chapters, 47 international consultations, 121 abstracts or presentations at workshops and is PhD promoter of 14 PhD (6 completed).
1. Professional experience
From October 2010 till now. Professor (Hoogleraar) since 1st July 2009 at the Department of Public Health of the ITM-A; Head of Maternal & Reproductive Health Unit (July 2011); Coordinator of the ITM Woman & Child Health Research Centre (since 2012).
¨ Research and scientific guidance of development projects
Team Leader of the Ipact Consortium in charge of the independent evaluation of the Canada supported H4+ grant in five countries (Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Zimbabwe) (2012-14). The H4+ CIDA initiative is the first country level collaboration among the H4+ (UNFPA, WHO, UNICEF, World Bank, UNAIDS, UNWomen) in support of the implementation of the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health. Through providing support to five countries, the H4+ intends to facilitate the achievement of the country commitments to the Global Strategy and in the process, accelerate progress towards maternal and newborn health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The goal of the initiative is to assist countries in accelerating the implementation of the commitments already made to the Global Strategy, in order to demonstrate progress towards MDGs 4 and 5, as well as to the women and children’s health aspect of MDG 6 in selected countries. This initiative is aimed to be catalytic and to accelerate country level efforts through identification of implementation bottlenecks and gaps, and prioritization of interventions and innovations
Maternal Death and Near Miss Review (MDNMR), FIGO-LOGIC Project on Maternal and Newborn Health Initiative (funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation). Member of the advisory group and coach of the SOGOC for the development and scaling up of MDNMR in Cameroon (2012). Elaboration of a training curriculum and guidelines for conducting MDNMR sessions.
FEMHealth European Union funded research project (coordinated by the University of Aberdeen): Evaluation of the impact of free C-section policy in Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Morocco (2011-13). Coordinator of the ITM collaboration to the project.
AUDOBEM EU INCO project (coordinated by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, 2007-11): Assessment of the effectiveness of facility-based audits to improve the responsiveness of West African district hospitals to obstetric emergencies: a three-country cluster randomised controlled trial in Burkina, Benin and Niger. Coordinator of the ITM collaboration to the project.
National Reproductive Health Strategy in Yemen. Team leader for the definition and writing of the strategy in 2010 (UNICEF consultation).
PhD research co/promoter currently in the following domains:
- Gestational diabetes in LMIC
- Maternal postpartum morbidity in Morocco
- Role of diabetic patients associations in improving empowerment and outcomes of diabetic patients, in Morocco
- Maternal death surveillance system in Morocco
- Long-term follow up of women after obstetric fistula repair in Guinea: recurrence of fistula, reproductive health and quality of life
- Health seeking behaviour of pregnant adolescents in Bangladesh and Nepal
- Social accountability in maternal health services in India and Nepal
- Impact of cutaneous Leishmaniasis on quality of life, Morocco
¨ Institutional support
In Morocco, institutional collaboration with the National Institute in Health Administration (INAS) (funded by the Belgian Cooperation under the Framework Agreement 3) (2008-13): scientific support and capacity building of the staff through PhDs (5 PhDs are on-going).
¨ Lecturing
Master’s Courses: at ITM (Master’s in Public Health for managers and decision makers from developing countries), responsible for the module ‘Safe Motherhood’, the “Management and Evaluation of health Programmes” sessions in the Master in Disease Control and Reproductive Health (MPH), the module Formulation of Health Programmes in the two MPHs.
National Course nurses & midwives: Public Health module
Postgraduate course in Tropical Medicine and International Health: Module Maternal Health
Guest Professor at ENSP, Rabat (Management & Evaluation of Programs), Nagasaki University, Japan, and Mondlale University, Maputo, Mozambique (Safe Motherhood)
October 2007 – September 10: On sabbatical leave; Research Director, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, based at the Institut National d’Administration Sanitaire, Rabat, Morocco.
¨ Research and scientific guidance of development projects
- At INAS, WHO funded research on the role of Maternity Waiting Homes in increasing the coverage of institutional deliveries and decreasing maternal morbidity and perinatal mortality.
- With ONDH, study on disparities in access to health care including maternal health
- With the Directorate of Hospitals and Ambulatory Care and in collaboration with the National Committee of Experts on Confidential Audits, setting up of a nationwide maternal death surveillance system from conception to the elaboration of the first national report (WHO consultancy).
- Coach of a PhD candidate on postpartum maternal morbidity in Marrakech.
¨ Lecturing
- lectures at ITM (MPH and postgraduate) in Safe Motherhood and Formulation of Health Programmes.
- Leader organiser and teacher of the Ipact international short course on Monitoring and evaluation of maternal and neonatal mortality reduction programmes (January 2008 in Morocco and April 2009 in Kampala).
1994 – September 2007: Research fellow, lecturer and senior lecturer at the Department of Public Health, ITM.
¨ Research and scientific guidance of development projects
Audit of «near miss» cases as a tool for improving quality of obstetrical care (Morocco, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali).
Interface flow process audits in Brussels, Belgium (using patient’s career as a tracer of quality of care and of system organisation).
International Technical Partner Leader of IMMPACT (Initiative of Maternal Mortality Programme Assessment), an international research programme to improve the evidence-base for decision-makers on effective and cost-effective safe motherhood intervention strategies.
Capacity building strategies of the Stewardship function of health systems in 6 developing countries.
In Tunisia, scientific guidance to the national programme of health district development (quality of care at first line health service, community participation and district team capacity building).
In Morocco, Chad and Congo Brazzaville, analysis of the factors influencing the referral system; in Morocco (Ouarzazate and Zagora): scientific guidance to the two district teams.
¨ Institutional support
In Burkina Faso, scientific support to Centre Muraz, Bobo-Dioulasso. Collaborative research on maternal health (IMMPACT and micronutrients).
In Morocco, scientific support to the National Institute in Health Administration (INAS) and capacity building of the staff. Research on strategies to follow up the INAS MPH graduates and on scientific guidance of district teams.
¨ Networking
Network «Unmet Obstetric Need”: co-ordination of the implementation of the UON approach (supported by the European Commission, DG8) in about ten countries (Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina, Cambodia, Haiti, Mali, Niger, Morocco, Pakistan, Tanzania). The goal of the UON Network is to improve the pregnancy outcome by providing countries with tools and methods that can help them to change maternal health policy, to strengthen their capacity to tackle maternal health and to create a favourable political environment (http://www.uonn.org).
Network ‘Women Health’ (Launched by the MOFA, France): Co-operation programme aiming at improving quality and access to emergency obstetric care in developing countries. It led to the AQUASOU project (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Senegal).
Network Human Resources and Stewardship: Analysis and definition of human resources and institutional capacity building strategies in order to deal with new public health challenges in health systems. The network comprises 7 countries (Burkina Faso, Haiti, Mali, Morocco, CAR, DRC, Tunisia).
¨ Lecturing
Master’s Courses: in the ICHD (Master’s in Public Health for managers and decision makers from developing countries), responsible for the modules Research, Management and Planning of Human Resources for Health; participation in the lecturing of: Analysis of First Line Health Services (maternal health), Health Information System, Methods for Health Problems Analysis. In the Master’s in Disease Control and Reproductive Health: modules Public Health and Management & Evaluation of Health Programmes.
National Course nurses: Public Health module
Guest lecturer at Catholic University of Louvain, summer course in Reproductive Health (maternal health and project development).
August 1989 to December 1993. Health Education Specialist at the National Institute of Health Administration (INAS) in Rabat, Morocco. Civil servant, World Health Organization, EMRO, (P5)
¨ Comprehensive technical assistance to the management and the orientation of INAS. Member of the core team of INAS.
¨ Participation in the curriculum development: development of a curriculum for a 2 year Master’s course, continuing evaluation of INAS activities and of lecturing.
¨ Organization of research and scientific support to research project carried out by INAS. Spatial analysis of obstetrical interventions carried out in ’89 in the whole country; analysis of utilization and perception of the health system by children and their families; analysis of dysfunctions between hospital and health centres; evaluation of the Health Services Development Project.
¨ Responsibilities related to WHO post: Acting as WHO Representative 2 months/year; participation in different committees in which WHO was involved.
July 1988 to August 1989. Tutor of the International Course in Health Development, Public Health Department, ITM A.
February 1983 to July 1987. Kasongo Project Team member, director of the hospital. Belgian Co-operation.
¨ Responsibilities in research and training.
¨ Responsible of the paediatric ward and Intensive Care Unit in the hospital. As medical staff of hospital, weekly medical audit using the gate to gate approach (review of patient file). Director of the Referral Hospital (1985-87).
¨ Responsible of disease control programs (a. o.: tuberculosis, leprosy, trypanosomiasis, EPI, chronic diseases) and of the maternal health program.
December 1980 to December 1982. Leprosy expert and Pawa health district team staff member (Haut-Uele, DRC). Volunteer for Damian Foundation.
1979-1980. General practitioner in Belgium and free assistant at the Department of Public Health in the ITM A (part-time)
2. Education:
DOCTORATE in PUBLIC HEALTH (PhD), Université Catholique de Louvain, School of Public Health, Belgium (1994-1997).
Subject of research: «Les besoins obstétricaux non couverts: la prise de conscience de la problématique de la mortalité maternelle au Maroc» [Unmet obstetric needs: the realization of the magnitude of the maternal mortality issue in Morocco]
MASTER IN PUBLIC HEALTH, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, with ‘Excellence’ (1987-88).
Subject of research: “Human African Trypanosomiasis: would integration be an appropriate strategy?”
DIPLOMA IN TROPICAL MEDICINE, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, with Magna cum laude, graduated first in my year (1979-80).
MEDICAL DOCTOR, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium, with ‘distinction’ (Facultés Notre-Dame de la Paix, Namur 1972-75; UCL 1975-79).
3. Other
Languages
Language
/ Reading / Speaking / WritingFrench / Mother tongue / Mother tongue / Mother tongue
English / Fluent / Fair / Fair
Dutch / Fair / Basic / Basic
Professional membership
§ Belgian Royal Academy of Overseas Sciences
§ International Union for the Scientific Study of Population
§ Be-Cause Health
§ Belgian Public Health Association
§ European Public Health Association, section epidemiology and section Public Health and Health Policy
§ Belgian Order of Medical Doctors
4. Publications (selection on the themes reproductive and maternal health, clinical audits and Maternal Death Reviews)
Utz B, De Brouwere V. 2015. Tackling obesity: challenges ahead. The Lancet, [Letter] 386, 739-740.
Delamou A, Delvaux T, Utz B, Camara BS, Beavogui AH, Cole B, Levin K, Diallo M, Millimono S, Barry TH, El Ayadi AM, Zhang WH, De Brouwere V. 2015. Factors associated with loss to follow up in women undergoing repair for obstetric fistula in Guinea. Tropical Medicine & International Health doi: 10.1111/tmi.12584
Assarag B, Dujardin B, Essolbi A, Cherkaoui I, De Brouwere V. 2015. Consequences of severe obstetric complications on women’s health in Morocco: Please, listen to me! Trop Med Int Health, accepted on 17 July 2015
Utz B, Kolsteren P, De Brouwere V. 2015. Screening for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: Are Guidelines From High-Income Settings Applicable to Poorer Countries? Clinical Diabetes Journals, 33 (3), 152-58. DOI: 0.2337/diaclin.33.3.152
Delamou A, Dubourg D, Delvaux T, Kolie JS, Barry TH, Camara BS, Eddinton M, Beavogui AH, De Brouwere V. 2015. How the free obstetric care policy has impacted unmet obstetric needs in a rural health district in Guinea? Accepted in PLoS One 10, 6, e0129162. 10.1371/journal.pone.0129162 [doi];PONE-D-15-00027 [pii]
Shahabuddin A.S.M., Delvaux T., Abouchadi S., Sarker M., De Brouwere V. 2015. Utilization of maternal health services among adolescent women in Bangladesh: A scoping review of the literature. Trop Med Int Health, in Press
Delamou A., Diallo M., Beavogui A. H., Delvaux T., Millimono S., Kourouma M., Beattie K., Barone M., Barry T. H., Khogali M., Edginton M., Hinderaker S. G., Zhang W. H., and De Brouwere V. 2015. Good clinical outcomes from a seven years holistic program of fistula repair in Guinea. Trop Med Int Health, doi:10.1111/tmi.12489