South African religious leaders and AIDS activists appealed to the government on Thursday to declare the HIV pandemic a national emergency and to provide the leadership needed to fight it. "No one in our country can afford to deny the terrible extent of this epidemic," the group said in a statement.
Equity in Health
SOUTH AFRICA: Religious leaders and AIDS activists urge government to declare AIDS national emergency
Further details: /newsletter/id/28876
South Africa: Technology Benefits Not Available to All
Technology is not delivering healthcare services to a large number of lowincome groups covered by medical aid, says Robert Dale, marketing director of Telg Africa.
Swaziland: Five Year Sex Ban Imposed for Young Women
The Swaziland government has announced a five-year sex ban for young women in a bid to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country. The ban was announced on Sunday evening by the leader of Swaziland's young women, Lungile Ndlovu, who said the elders of the nation had deemed it fitting, AFP reported.
World Health Report 2000
Commentary: comprehensive approaches are needed for full understanding
Christopher J L Murray, executive director. Evidence and Information for Policy, World Health Organization, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland
Braveman et al criticise the World Health Organiztion's approach of measuring the full spectrum of health inequalities in a population. They argue for a selective approach in which only health inequalities correlated with factors such as income, social class, or race should matter. Such a selective approach runs counter to the literature on inequality in other disciplines and runs the risk of discouraging scientific inquiry into the causes of inequality.
Contact: murrayc@who.ch
World Health Report 2000:
how it removes equity from the agenda for public health monitoring and policy
Paula Braveman, professor of family and community medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA; Barbara Starfield, university distinguished professor, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MA, USA; H Jack Geiger, Logan professor of community medicine, emeritus c., City University of New York Medical School, Department of Community Health and Social Medicine, New York, NY, USA. BMJ September 22, 2001;323 678-681.
The World Health Organization’s World Health Report 2000 deserves praise for recommending that national health systems be assessed not only by the average health status of a country’s population but also by the extent to which health varies within the population. We are concerned, however, that the report’s approach to measuring health inequalities does not support -- and actually undermines -- efforts to achieve greater equity in health within nations, according to any meaningful definition of equity. We believe that the report’s measure of health inequalities lacks practical utility in general for guiding national policy because it provides no information to guide resource allocation or to target policies. In addition, it does not measure socioeconomic or other social disparities in health within countries. It therefore -- when used, as its authors implicitly and explicitly recommend, as a substitute for monitoring social inequalities in health -- removes consideration of equity and human rights from the routine measurement and reporting of health disparities within nations.
World's ageing population could lead to permanent recession
Over the next few decades, one of the most pressing issues, at both the national and international levels, will be the undeniable ageing of the world's richest peoples. Last month, at a Tokyo conference entitled Aging and the Global Economy, the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies warned us that the world's wealthiest countries are ageing too quickly.
AIDS expert challenges ethical stance on drug trials
Measures to protect people in developing countries from being exploited in medical research trials may prevent some projects going ahead that could improve the health of poor people, a leading scientist has warned.
Angola: Plans to Launch HIV/AIDS Testing Project
The Angolan government plans to launch an HIV/AIDS testing and counselling project to analyse the prevalence of the disease in the country, official news agency Angop has reported.
BBC: "Tobacco On Trial"
The tobacco industry claims to employ 30 million people worldwide. But it produces a product that has serious health implications for millions more. Governments are negotiating new international controls. This website helps you to understand the health, political and economic issues at stake as tobacco goes on trial.
Botswana: Government to Test Students for HIV/AIDS
The Botswana government may soon test all prospective students for HIV/AIDS, reported the 'Botswana Gazette' on Thursday. Addressing first year students of the University of Botswana last week, career guidance officers from the Ministry of Education said the government was considering testing students compulsorily.