The World Health Organization (WHO) has underlined the need to urgently tackle the health issues highlighted in the Millennium Project's "Investing in Development" report. The report provides detailed recommendations on how the world must immediately and massively increase the investment in health programmes to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This includes programmes to deliver AIDS treatment, to improve maternal and child health, to control and treat tuberculosis and malaria, and to make more medicines affordable.
Equity in Health
WHO highlights health in the 2015 development blueprint
Committed to health for all? How the G7/G8 rate
This article, published in Social Science and Medicine, reports on progress towards the goal of health for all, with specific reference to international development commitments made by the G7/G8 nations at the 1999, 2000 and 2001 summits. It argues that the limited progress toward achieving health for all derives largely from the failure of G8 nations to fulfil their development commitments. In particular, efforts to reduce poverty and economic security have been insufficient; and national governments have not been enabled to make basic investments in health systems, education and nutrition.
HIV-positive and pregnant in South Africa
As anti-AIDS drugs become available to more South Africans, a growing number of HIV-positive women are choosing to become pregnant in spite of their status. Although it is generally accepted that all women have the right to bear children, society finds it harder to accept when women living with the virus exercise that choice.
Mozambique National AIDS council spent less than 40 percent of budget
Mozambique's National Council for the Fight Against AIDS (CNCS) has spent less than 40 percent of the funds allocated to HIV/AIDS activities in the country in 2004. According to the local news agency, AIM, the CNCS had planned programmes costing US $17.7 million, but only $6.5 million was disbursed and used, leaving projects planned by civil society and the public sector in the lurch.
Public Health, Ethics, and Equity
Sudhir Anand, Fabienne Peter, and Amartya Sen (eds.)
This volume examines the foundations of health equity. With contributions from philosophers, anthropologists, economists, and public-health specialists, it centers on five major themes: what is health equity?; health equity and its relation to social justice; health inequalities and responsibilities for health; ethical issues in health evaluation and prioritization; and anthropological perspectives on health equity.
Rich country tsunami response 'pathetic'
The initial response by the world's richest countries to the earthquake and tidal wave disaster in Southern Asia has been pathetic. While many of these countries have poured billions into invading and bringing misery to the people of Iraq, they cannot seem to find anywhere near enough money to seriously help the mainly poor people who have been made destitute by this natural disaster, according to this article on the website of the Socialist Alliance.
Related Link:
* Earthquakes, Tsunamis and Nuclear Testing
http://www.counterpunch.org/rajiva12302004.html
Rising child deaths illustrate Southern Africa health crisis
When Dr Keith Bolton treated children in the 1990s, the death of a patient was still relatively infrequent. As head of child health at South Africa's Coronation Hospital in Johannesburg, Bolton saw an average of one child die each week. Now, Bolton and his colleagues see one child die every day. "In the past, death was an uncommon event in children, especially after the newborn period," said Bolton. "Now we've seen a complete reversal of the gains we made in the 1960s, '70s and '80s."
A report card on sexual health and rights
This report from Population Action International examines progress made towards achieving the goal of reproductive health and rights for all by 2015, agreed at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). Key achievements include a significant increase in contraceptive use, and higher secondary school enrolment rates among girls. However, significant challenges remain, notably: high unmet need for effective contraception and protection from HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs); continuing high levels of maternal mortality; high rates of unsafe abortion; and an acute and growing resource shortfall, with many clinics experiencing stockouts (zero supplies) of contraceptives, safe motherhood kits and other reproductive health essentials.
Cheaper Medicines for AIDS Welcomed
A leading development group has welcomed EU proposals to allow export of cheap medicines to poor countries fighting HIV/AIDS and other killer diseases. Under a system to be known as 'compulsory licensing', poor countries facing public health crises will be able to override patents on expensive drugs and order cheaper copies from generic manufacturers in other countries.
Multi-drug resistant malaria swiftly on the rise
Africa is facing a public health disaster in the form of multi-drug resistant malaria. People infected with malaria in eastern, central and southern Africa are rapidly becoming resistant to one of the most affordable and commonly used anti-malaria drugs, sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP). Previously, a number of safe and cheap drugs including SP have kept down the number of deaths and people suffering from severe ill health caused by malaria. But there are ominous predictions that disaster looms – unless governments are willing to reconsider their treatment regime.