A number of Namibian non-governmental organisations will not be represented at the largest-ever AIDS conference, being held in Thailand this month, because of the "prohibitive" registration fee. The conference is being held under the theme 'Access For All'. Sources from Namibian NGOs working with HIV-positive people this week described the US$1 000 registration fee as "prohibitively expensive".
Equity in Health
Steep Registration Fee Limits Access to Aids Conference
Urgent funding needed in Angola for essential drugs
Angola needs urgent funding for essential drugs if lives are to be saved, particularly among resettling populations, warned a mid-year review of the UN's Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP). The CAP review, prepared by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that at the end of April, funding for the essential drug component of the Minimum Health Care Package stood at approximately 50 percent.
Valuable resources 'not adequately harnessed'
Despite southern Africa being rich in resources, it had not adequately harnessed these for the people in the region, the Regional Network for Equity in Health in Southern Africa (Equinet) said. Speaking at an international conference on Equity in Health, Rene Loewenson, Equinet's spokesperson, said with the common focus on poverty and ill health, it was often forgotten that southern Africa was one of the richest regions in Africa and - in resource terms - in the world. "Despite this wealth of potential, the value of these resources have not been adequately harnessed for the people of the region," she said.
10/90 health research gap may be closing
Spending on research on diseases of the poor, such as malaria, tuberculosis and dengue fever, has increased substantially over recent years, according to the annual report of the Global Forum for Health Research. Major donations from governments and charities pushed global health research funding to more than US$100 billion in 2001, up from US$30 billion in 1987.
Clinics in three Zimbabwe provinces lack water access
Only half of the health clinics in three Zimbabwean provinces have access to safe water and the majority of districts face shortages of essential drugs, according to an NGO monitoring group, the Food Security Network (FOSENET). Based on information drawn from 52 districts, FOSENET noted that clinics spread across central Zimbabwe - in Mashonaland West, the Midlands and Masvingo - had the poorest access to safe water out of the country's eight provinces.
Local production of AIDS drugs begins in Zimbabwe
Access to anti-AIDS drugs is improving in Zimbabwe, due to recent initiatives to roll-out antiretroviral (ARV) therapy and to manufacture the medicines locally. A Zimbabwean pharmaceutical company has started manufacturing generic antiretroviral (ARV) drugs in a bid to significantly reduce the cost of the medication for people living with HIV/AIDS.
Networking of SA municipalities critical for tackling HIV/AIDS
A new study commissioned by the South African Cities Network (SACN) urges local municipalities to develop a multi-sectoral strategy to tackle the effects of HIV/AIDS on their communities. The report, titled 'South African Cities and HIV/AIDS: Challenges and Responses', noted that while there had been a number of initiatives to support local government in developing an HIV/AIDS response, there was little attempt to assess the challenges facing the cities.
New WHO roadmap for primary health care incomplete, says PHM
Twenty-five years ago WHO promised 'Health for All' through the Alma Ata declaration. However, the UN body abandoned the primary health care agenda in the later years. ‘Health systems, including primary health care’, a new WHO document, endorses the primary health care agenda. It is a welcome return to the basics. Grassroots movements like the People’s Health Movement (PHM) offer a cautious welcome, but say this is not enough. The UN health body’s new ‘road map’ that is being presented during the ongoing World Health Assembly endorses the importance of primary health care - something that grass roots movements like the PHM has been demanding for years.
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The wealth gap in health
Despite improvements in public health in the last half-century, large disparities in health exist between and within countries. Differences among socioeconomic groups can be pronounced, but are easily masked by national data that are used for monitoring and reporting progress. A recent analysis of data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) program provides clear evidence of the gap between the rich and poor in a range of health and population indicators— fertility, infant and child mortality, nutrition, and the use of family planning and other health services.
US rejects global strategy on reproductive health
While the United States “dissociated” itself from the consensus, the World Health Organisation's first strategy on reproductive health was adopted by the 57th World Health Assembly (WHA). Reproductive and sexual ill-health accounts for 20% of the global burden of ill-health for women and 14% for men. "Once again, the Bush Administration has shown their true colours by calling for a reproductive health policy that is more about ideology than reality,” said Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA). “We have a moral responsibility to ensure the health and well-being of women and men around the world."