The Canadian Conference on International Health, following the path set in the previous two years, further examines the global stage and the conflicting forces that shape the politics of health and impact our own health. The Conference objective is to provide an open and stimulating forum for practitioners, researchers, educators, policy makers, and community advocates.
Jobs and Announcements
The Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on Agriculture and Food Security was held in Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania on 15 May 2004, and was chaired by His Excellency, Benjamin W. Mkapa, President of the United Republic of Tanzania. The Summit was held under the theme: Enhancing Agriculture and Food Security for Poverty Reduction in the SADC Region.
The G8 (the United States, England, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Russia, the European Union, and Canada) represents the major political driver of contemporary globalization. It is also the most powerful political force behind the multilateral institutions that are shaping global economic practice and governance. The aid, trade, and investment policies and practices of G8 member nations largely shape the development possibilities of poorer countries around the world. This book provides a “report card” of commitments over the past three G8 summits (1999, 2000, and 2001) with a preliminary assessment of the most recent 2002 summit in Kananaskis, Canada.
The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) based in Nairobi, Kenya is an international non-profit, non-governmental organization committed to conducting high quality and policy relevant research on population and health issues facing sub-Saharan Africa. Through funding from the Ford Foundation's Education and Sexuality Program, the Center seeks to facilitate development of scientific research on sexuality in sub-Saharan Africa. The program is aimed at strengthening scholarly capacity to investigate the notions and perceptions of sexuality, the process of learning, and transmission of sexuality knowledge across generations in the region.
The AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA) is leading an initiative to establish a Code for the SADC region on Gender and HIV/AIDS. This Code is similar to the 'Code on HIV/AIDS and Employment' that was adopted by SADC 1997, but focuses specifically on the gendered dimensions of the AIDS epidemic. ARASA, in consultation with a number of human rights, gender and AIDS-services, has drawn up a draft Code entitled "Urgent Measures needed to Promote the Equality of Women and the Reduction of Women's Risk of HIV infection". This Code is available in English http://www.alp.org.za/resctr/other/misc/20040405_ARASA4.doc and Portuguese http://www.alp.org.za/resctr/other/misc/20040405_ARASA3.doc. A consultative meeting for experts in the fields of gender, HIV/AIDS and human rights in the region is planned for June 2004 in order to discuss and finalise the Code.
What is The Network: Towards Unity for Health? The Network: TUFH is a global association of individuals, groups, institutions and organisations committed to improving and maintaining health in the communities they have a mandate to serve. The Network: TUFH is a Non-Governmental Organisation in official relationships with the World Health Organization (WHO).
The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) based in Nairobi, Kenya, in collaboration with the University of Southampton are inviting nominations of senior social science or public health researchers to attend a workshop on research proposal development. The main objective of the workshop is to strengthen the capacity of African scholars and institutions in developing good fundable proposals for scientific research.
Cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) has become an increasingly important tool for analyzing health care systems and setting priorities. CEA was strongly endorsed by the World Bank in its 1993 report on Investing in Health as a way of ensuring that health systems provide “value for money,” and is now being promoted by other agencies as well, as in the case of the World Health Organisation’s WHO-CHOICE initiative. But is CEA a reliable way of getting the most out of limited health system resources? Or does it, rather, distract attention from equity concerns, undermine initiatives to provide primary health care, and distract us from directly challenging political choices that limit resources available for health systems?
The Global Health Watch – a bi-annual production that will represent an alternative World Health Report will be launched at next year’s World Health Assembly in May 2005 and at the People’s Health Assembly in June 2005. The report is aimed to provide an alternative perspective on health that places equity, human and social rights; the politics and economics of development; and the centrality of health systems development at the forefront of international health debates. In addition, the report aims to act as a monitor of the performance of global health institutions such as WHO and Global Fund; development and multi-lateral agencies such as the World Bank and WTO; multi-national corporations; and the nations of the G8/OECD.
The South Africa Health Informatics Association, in conjunction with the Computer Society of South Africa, is organising the "Health Informatics: Southern Africa" 2004 conference. This will be held from the 6-8 October 2004 in Kimberley in the Northern Cape Province.