Useful Resources

The following notes are now available to download for free from the Praxis area of INTRAC's website:
* 'Building Capacity to Mainstream HIV/AIDS Internally: Reflecting on CABUNGO's Experience with NGOs in Malawi', by Rick James and CABUNGO, July 2005
* 'Robbed of Dorothy! The Painful Realities of HIV/AIDS in an Organisation', by Betsy Mboizi and Rick James, June 2005
* 'Capacity Building in an AIDS-Affected Health Care Institution: Mulanje Mission Hospital, Malawi', by Hans Rode, April 2005
* 'The Crushing Impact of HIV/AIDS on Leadership in Malawi', by Rick James, April 2005
www.intrac.org

Chronic, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), mental disorders, and injuries and violence are major public health problems in developing countries. Together, they account for over 40 per cent of the disease burden in high mortality developing countries, and over 75 per cent in lower mortality developing countries. So why are they so often overlooked by policymakers? The HRC/Eldis Health Resource Guide has launched a topic guide to NCDs, injuries and mental health. Produced in collaboration with subject experts, it provides a synthesis of the latest thinking and research on these issues, with summaries of key readings and links to further resources.

An international network of public health practitioners and policy-makers have come together to launch the new journal Globalization and Health. The journal will be an Open Access (i.e. free to the end user), peer-reviewed, online journal providing a forum for debate and discussion on the topic of globalization and its impact on public health. This will be the first journal to deal exclusively with the subject, and aims to draw on a global resource base, producing content which is accessible and relevant to a truly global audience.

1. Useful Publications

Commission for Africa: Our Common Interest: Report Of The Commission For Africa. Report issued March 05 by Commission (Commission Chair: Tony Blair). Aims to address, respond to, and outline recommendations for, Africa's development needs. The elimination of preventable diseases, and responses to HIV/AIDS, are integral to the context considered by the report (Chapter 6: Leaving no-one out: investing in people). Recommended practical actions include 'strengthening health systems in Africa so all can obtain basic health care' (http://commissionforafrica.org)

UN Millennium Development Project: Investing in Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The final report of the UN Millennium Project released January 2005 suggests how we might achieve the Millennium Development Goals which include reduction of child mortality, improvement of maternal health, and combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases by 2015. It outlines practical investment strategies and possible approaches to their financing. Specific sections in the published report relevant to public health issues include 'Health systems: ensuring universal access to essential health sciences' (Chapter 5: Public investments to empower poor people) and the summaries of the Development Goals by area and target (Appendices 1 & 2). Both the full report and an overview are available on the Millennium Project site (www.unmillenniumproject.org/reports/index.htm) In addition a book by Jeffrey Sachs (UN Millennium Project Director) entitled[The End of Poverty: How We Can Make It Happen in Our Lifetime by (0141018666) was also recently published (April 05) by Penguin (www.penguin.co.uk)]

World Bank: World Development Indicators 2005 Report (0-8213-6071-X) released by World Bank April 05, with national and regional development statistics. Data covers 'Health: expenditure, services, and use' and 'Disease prevention: coverage and quality' (www.worldbank.org/data/wdi2005) (http://devdata.worldbank.org/wdi2005)

Global Monitoring Report 2005: From Census To Momentum (0-8213-6077-9) published by World Bank with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) April 05. Chapter 2 ('Scaling up service delivery') reviews the progress to MDG's, including those in child/maternal health and disease (www.worldbank.org)

World Health Organisation: World Health Report 2005: Make Every Mother and Child Count, published by the WHO. This is an annual report, with the 2005 edition focusing on the need, and possible strategies, for the improvement of maternal/child health. 'Calls for greater access to life-saving interventions and a 'continuum of care' approach to start before pregnancy and extend into the baby's childhood'. Detailed statistical annexes are included. Issued to coincide with World Health Day (www.who.int/whr/en)

Also useful in the context of these reports is an earlier study, published last year (2004). The second assessment report prepared by the Global Forum for Health Research, 'Monitoring Financial Flows for Health Research' (ISBN 2-940286-27-2), is available in full on the Global Forum's website. In analysing funding levels and priorities it could be an additional source of information on the cost, value, coherence and impact of recent health research internationally (www.globalforumhealth.org)

INASP Newsletter (November 2004), which focused on the 'Global Review on Access to Health Information in Developing Countries'. Please see www.inasp.info/newslet/nov04.html.

2. Useful websites

- Useful summary of Wellcome Trust's 'major overseas programmes', currently including research based in Kenya and in Malawi is accessible at www.wellcome.ac.uk/node4240.html

- Overseas Development Institute Humanitarian Practice Network http://www.odihpn.org/ A useful site for those working in development, particularly Health and Education, with information regarding current and past projects, publication and events

- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine - Press releases on latest research involving LSHTM can be found at http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/news/2005/