The University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill teamed up with the West African Research Center (WARC) for a symposium on Gender, Social Behavior and Public Health. The event took place in one of the Center’s conference rooms on Monday and Tuesday, June 17^th-18^th and was attended by faculty, health specialists, sociologists and other resource persons knowledgeable in the sector and hailing from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, University Cheikh Anta Diop (Dakar), University Gaston Berger (Saint Louis), donor organizations such as USAID and civil society entities such as COSEF (Conseil Senegalais des Femmes).

During the proceedings, presentations focused on several issues and themes including mother-child health, domestic violence and health, women’s empowerment in the public health sector etc…..

Participants from the US (UNC) also discussed venues and opportunities for further collaboration with local practitioners and funding agencies and they were encouraged to consider research projects addressing a number of constraints and stumbling blocks in the implementation of initiatives aimed at improving services in the public health sector in Senegal and other West African countries.

The gathering was attended by 15 participants from both sides of the Atlantic.