Equinet Africa

EQUINET, the Regional Network on Equity in Health in East and Southern Africa, is a network of professionals, civil society members, policy makers, state officials and others within the region who have come together as an equity catalyst, to promote and realise shared values of equity and social justice in health.

EQUINET gathers people to overcome isolation, give voice and promote networking using bottom-up approaches built on shared values. We have come together in a spirit of self determination and collective self reliance working through existing government, civil society, research and other mechanisms and institutions in East and Southern Africa.

EQUINET is building a forum for dialogue, learning, sharing of information and experience and critical analysis. We do this to build knowledge and perspectives, shape effective strategies, strengthen our voice nationally, regionally and globally and to buiild strategic alliances to influence policy, politics and practice towards health equity and social justice.

EQUINET's work covers a wide range of areas identified as priorities for health equity, within the political economy of health, health services and inputs to health, covered in the theme areas shown on this site. EQUINET is governed by a steering committee with representatives from institutions in the region, has leads co-ordinating major areas of work and a secretariat at the Training and Research Support Centre Zimbabwe.

In 2022 our EQUINET Conference and various steering committee meetings have identified key areas of work on health equity within our three strategic areas - Reclaiming the resources; Reclaiming the state; Reclaiming collective agency and solidarity. Work is underway- building on past work and alliances, renewing network leadership and implementing research, sharing practice, facilitating dialogue, and engaging in different platforms to turn resolutions into action.  Go to Meetings to see information on our webinars on climate justice and different areas of heakth equity and register for our next webinar on climate justice and urban health on August 29th. Go to Grants to  see our call for applicants for online training on health impact assessment. Visit Publications to read new photojournalism briefs on urban health innovations and new publications on taxing for health.   Read and subscribe to the Newsletter for a quick catchup on a range of publications, resources and opportunities related to health equity in the region 




EQUINET Webinars on Climate justice and health equity
Climate-related challenges affect every experience and dimension of health equity in the region. EQUINET invites you to explore this with us in a series of cross-cutting webinars in the coming months. The videos of the sessions are available on the EQUINET site as well as a brief of key points arising from each session in the online EQUINET bibliography. 

Join the next webinar on climate justice and trade in east and Southern Africa on December 6th! 
The next webinar session is on Climate Justice and trade systems on  Wednesday 6th December  1000 Southern African time (1100 East  African time)  hosted by SEATINI  in EQUINET. The webinar will particularly focus on how climate intersects with trade systems that impact on health.  We will hear from speakers with experience on these issues at community/local level, at national level and at global level.  Visit the link here to register. 

The first webinar on how climate justice intersects with protection of the right to health,  hosted by the Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) was successfully held in July with three interesting speakkers from local/national,  regionaland global level and participant views and comments. If you missed it  you can watch the session at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4JYeGGGr1o .

The second webinar session on Climate Justice and Urban food and waste management systems was held on  Tuesday 29th August  hosted by Innovations for Development in EQUINET. The webinar focused on how climate intersects with urban food systens and waste management systems, and their link to water, energy and green spaces.  Speakers presented experience on these issues at community/local level, at national level and at global level.  The full webinar can be viewed at https://youtu.be/OF7z_QgG8s8

The third webinar session on Climate Justice and primary health care systems was held on  Wednesday 25th October  hosted by REACH Trust Malawi and IWG  in EQUINET. The webinar focused on how climate intersects with equity oriented primary health care systems.  Speakers presented experience on these issues at community/local level, at national level and at global level.  The full webinar can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjUvKbb6OTo 

Expanding promising practice on urban health and wellbeing

EQUINET is supporting a community of practice on promising practice for sustained urban and periurban wellbeing in east and southern Africa to share and review evidence on practice features that could be scaled up across countries.  Visit the analytic framework that the community of practice is working with,  see the report of the regional meeting.  We have just closed the call for holistic case studies on urban health. Please contact us if you are interested in this area of work and have interesting experience, tools and practice to share!

***NEW***Call for applicants: Online course in early 2024 on health impact assessment in east and southern Africa.  CALL CLOSES 5PM OCTOBER 6 2023

EQUINET through TARSC, in association with ECSA Health Community, SATUCC, TalkAB[M]R, Nossal Institute of Global Health and other international experts is convening online training including mentored case work to build HIA capacities in different actors in ESA countries. The course is being held free of any fee cost for participants. It will build understanding of the theoretical basis of HIA, and knowledge of the methods, evidence, analysis in an HIA, of reporting of and engagement on HIA, and implementation and monitoring of proposed actions. It will provide mentored guidance of participant HIA practical work, using real HIA case studies, and discuss implementation issues and strategies for scaling up and integrating HIA in law. It is aimed at state, non- state, labour and professional actors from different ESA countries, with practical work organised within country teams.  Each team will have an identified positive or negative economic activity or policy innovation used to implement a mentored HIA in a country/site as part of the training, supported by a small grant for the work. This may be a large commercial activity (eg mine, food, tourism, infrastructure, hydropower, dumpsite or agribusiness activity, a public-private-partnership health service). It may be a new policy proposal, such as nutrition labelling, sweetened beverage tax, clean air traffic levy etc.  The capacity building will be implemented in 12 online (zoom) largely 90 minute training sessions staggered at intervals between February and May 2024 and held at 1300 Southern African time on a Tuesday or Thursday , with intervals of one or more weeks between sessions for practical desk-based or local HIA work to apply the knowledge gained in the training, for report and mentored feedback. The course programme and timings will be made available to accepted participants in 2023, and course materials and readings will be provided. The mentored HIA reports produced are intended to be used for engaging on recommendations and for a repository of HIA reports, protecting as relevant confidential information. There will be a course evaluation, and participants satisfactorily completing the course will receive a certificate of completion.

 Applicants for the call should be from an ESA country, from a state, non- state, labour, professional or academic institution, with roles in or an intention to implement HIA. We encourage applicants to apply as a team of up to 4 people from these groups from a country or setting, but will also consider individual applicants. who, if selected, will be included within the relevant country team. Applicants should have at least undergraduate level education, have access to internet, be familiar with zoom, and be able to commit to participating in the twelve online sessions and to implementing the mentored practical work in their team. Applicant teams/individuals should identify a positive or negative economic activity or policy innovation that they may wish to focus on to implement a mentored HIA as part of the training, noting that in the course each country team will work on one mutually agreed issue, to be finalised with selected applicants in late 2023.

Applicants for the call are asked to email admin [at] equinetafrica.org the documents below before 5pm Southern Africa time October 6 2023 with HIA TRAINING in the subject  line. Spaces are limited and early application is encouraged!

1: A maximum one page outline covering,

  • If applying as a team (i) the team members and lead, their country, institutions, positions, education level and intended or past experience, role in relation to HIA and (ii) information on the proposed policy or activity that will be the focus for the mentored HIA for the team in the course, including its location, what the policy/activity involves, why it has been proposed and how and with whom the HIA results may be used.
  • If applying as an individual (i) the applicant country, institution, position, education level and intended or past experience, role in relation to HIA and (ii) information on the proposed policy or activity that will be the focus for the mentored HIA for the team in the course, including its location, what the policy/activity involves, why it has been proposed and how and with whom the HIA results may be used.

2: A brief letter confirming availability for the full twelve sessions, noting familiarity with zoom, confirming internet access, and providing contact information for follow up

3: The CV(s) of all team members / of the applicant. .

 Applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application before or by 1 November 2023. Please send any queries on the call to the EQUINET secretariat. 

Call NOW CLOSED for case studies on healthy urban food systems and waste management systems in east and southern Africa. 

The above call closed 5pm Southern Africa time on 18 August. We appreciate all the applications received that are ciurrently being reviewed and applicants will be notified by August 29th. The call was for case studies on food and waste systems that engage with climate change and inclusive circular economies in urban areas. A conceptual framework with five key areas for this has been collaboratively developed by EQUINET in the region and IS FOUND HERE. 


Latest Equinet Publications

Discussion paper 6: Trade protocols and health: Issues for health equity in Southern Africa
Muroyi, R; Tayob, R; Loewenson, R; Southern and Eastern African Trade and Information Negotiations Initiative; TARSC (2003 August)
Themes:
Health equity in economic and trade policies
Country
Southern Africa Regional
Discussion paper 4: Neoliberalism and poverty reduction strategies in Africa
Bond, P; Dor, G (2003 March)
Themes:
Health equity in economic and trade policies
Country
Southern Africa Regional
Discussion paper 3: Health personnel in Southern Africa: Confronting maldistribution and brain drain
Padarath, A; Chamberlain, C; McCoy, D; Ntuli, A; Rowson, M (ed); Loewenson, R (ed); Health Systems Trust; MEDACT UK (2003)
Themes:
Human resources for health
Country
Southern Africa Regional
Discussion paper 2: A critique of uneven health outcomes and neoliberalism in Africa
Bond, P; Dor, G; University of the Witwatersrand Graduate School of Public and Development Management; Jubilee South Africa (2003 March)
Themes:
Health equity in economic and trade policies
Country
Southern Africa Regional
Discussion paper 1: Participation and accountability in health systems: The missing factor in equity?
Loewenson, R; TARSC (2000)
Themes:
Governance and participation in health
Country
Southern Africa Regional
Policy paper 10: Geographic patterns of deprivation and health inequities in South Africa: Informing public resource allocation strategies
McIntyre, D; Muirhead, D; Gilson, L; Govender, V; Mbatsha, S; Goudge, J; Wadee, H; Ntutela, P; Health Economics Unit, University of Cape Town; Centre for Health Policy, University of Witwatersrand; Health Economics and Financing Programme, London School o (2000 August)
Themes:
Poverty and health, Resource allocation and health financing
Country
South Africa
Policy paper 5: Health and human rights in Southern Africa?
Klugman, B; Kgosidintsi, N; Womens Health Project, University of Witwatersrand (2000 July)
Themes:
Values, policies and rights
Country
Southern Africa Regional
Policy paper 4: World Trade Organisation agreements: Implications for equity and health in Southern Africa
Munot, G; Southern African Development Community Health Sector Co-ordinating Unit (2000)
Themes:
Health equity in economic and trade policies
Country
Southern Africa Regional
Policy paper 3: A review of experience concerning household ability to cope with the resource demands of ill health and health care utilisation
Goudge, J; Govender, V; Centre for Health Policy, University of Witwatersrand; Health Economics Unit; University of Cape Town (2000 June)
Themes:
Poverty and health
Country
South Africa
Policy paper 2: Equity in health in Southern Africa: Overview and issues from an annotated bibliography
EQUINET Steering Committee (1998 May)
Themes:
Equity in health
Country
Southern Africa Regional

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