As health ministers meet in Geneva at the World Health Assembly (WHA) next week, the medical humanitarian organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is calling on governments to overhaul the way medical research and development (R&D) is prioritised and financed, and support a resolution proposed by Kenya and Brazil for a "global framework on essential health R&D." Despite gathering increasing support from many governments, this resolution has faced consistent obstruction on the part of the WHO Secretariat.
Monitoring equity and research policy
Governments must move forward with Global R&D Framework at World Health Assembly
People\'s Health Movement, 18 May 2006
Behind the global numbers: The real costs of research for health
Global Forum for Health Research
The Executive Director of the GFHR says: "One of the important aspects of our work is that we have been tracking global resources for health research. For example, we found that in 2001 the world spent nearly US$106 billion, with 44% of this total coming from the public sector, 48.3% from the private for-profit sector and 7.6% from private not-for-profit organizations like the Gates and Rockefeller foundations." This article sheds further light on the real picture.
From local to global: Action science in Nairobi
Global Forum for Health Research - Real Health News
Research bringing intimate knowledge of clients and their care in HIV/AIDS clinics, and of the bureacracy, politics and needs of national and international health government – is making Liverpool VCT and Care a scientific force to be reckoned with, Nduku Kilonzo explains. Kilonzo’s speciality is gaining evidence on the role of gender and rape in the AIDS pandemic – and even more powerfully, changing health policy and actions in response to her results. But how do she and Liverpool VCT do it? This interview demonstrates how her various strategies have allowed this public-private partnership to bear fruit.
Monitoring financial flows for health research
Global Forum for Health Research
As part of its contribution to closing the ‘10/90 gap’, the GFHR conducts studies of the flows of financial resources for health research and the extent to which these address the health needs of the poor and marginalized. This new volume of Monitoring Financial Flows for Health Research looks behind the global totals and examines several facets of the overall picture. The report highlights the revolution of a much broader and more holistic definition of health and the need for a wider and more multisectoral approach to understanding the determinants of health.
Contact: info@globalforumhealth.org
Scaling up health interventions in resource-poor countries: What role for research in stated-preference frameworks?
Health Research Policy and Systems 4 (4): Pokhrel S
Despite improved supply of health care services in low-income countries in the recent past, their uptake continues to be lower than anticipated. This has made it difficult to scale-up those interventions which are not only cost-effective from supply perspectives but that might have substantial impacts on improving the health status of these countries. Understanding demand-side barriers is therefore critically important. This commentary argues that more research on demand-side barriers needs to be carried out and that the stated-preference (SP) approach to such research might be helpful.
Applying clinical epidemiological methods to health equity: the equity effectiveness loop
Tugwell P, deSavigny D, Hawker G: British Medical Journal 2006, 332:358-361
We propose the "equity effectiveness loop" framework (fig 1) to highlight equity issues inherent in assessing health needs, effectiveness, and cost effectiveness of interventions, and the development and evaluation of evidence based health policy. This framework provides a method to calculate the "equity effectiveness ratio," which assesses the impact of various factors on the gap in the effectiveness of interventions across socioeconomic gradients.
Methodological and data challenges to identifying the impacts of globalisation and liberalisation on inequality
Berry A: United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), 2005
Globalisation and liberalisation (G&L) are two of the defining features of the last couple of decades. Both have given rise to contentious debate, with views ranging from the most optimistic to the most sceptical. This paper reviews the evidence on how the two trends have affected inequality - and thus poverty - at both the global and domestic levels. The absence of consensus on these effects reflects both the dearth of adequate quantitative information and the lack of and difficulty in the analysis of the causal links among the issues.
Validating a work group climate assessment tool for improving the performance of public health organizations
Perry C, LeMay N, Rodway G, Tracy A, Galer J: Human Resources for Health 2005, 3:10
This article describes the validation of an instrument to measure work group climate in public health organizations in developing countries. The instrument, the Work Group Climate Assessment Tool (WCA), was applied in Brazil, Mozambique, and Guinea to assess the intermediate outcomes of a program to develop leadership for performance improvement. Findings discussed include how the WCA is useful for comparing the climates of different work groups, tracking the changes in climate in a single work group over time, or examining differences among individuals' perceptions of their work group climate.
Health Disparities And Health Equity: Concepts and Measurement
Annual Review of Public Health
There is little consensus about the meaning of the terms "health disparities," "health inequalities," or "health equity." The definitions can have important practical consequences, determining the measurements that are monitored by governments and international agencies and the activities given resource-support to address health disparities/inequalities or health equity. This paper aims to clarify the concepts of health disparities/inequalities and health equity, focusing on the implications of different definitions for measurement and hence for accountability.
Integrating gender, rights, and sexuality into sexual and reproductive health systems: A quality improvement approach
Eldis health policy reporter. Via WHO (Mozambique)
This document contains guidelines for assessing the integration of gender, rights and sexuality (GRS) issues into sexual and reproductive health services. The guidelines include a self-assessment GRS questionnaire designed to guide discussions among staff with the aim of producing concrete solutions to improve the integration of GRS issues. The questionnaire is divided into two sections: the needs of staff providers and the needs of clients.