The Regional Network on Equity and Health in Southern Africa (EQUINET) (www.equinetafrica.org) has noted that equity related work needs to define and build a more active role for important stakeholders in health. This means incorporating the power and ability that people (and social groups) have to make choices over health inputs and their capacity to use these choices to improve health. To do this requires a clearer analysis of the social dimensions of health and their role in health equity, i.e. the role of social networking and exclusion, of the forms and levels of participation and of how governance systems distribute power and authority over the resources needed for health. To understand these factors, EQUINET has been carrying out research work to evaluate the current and desired forms of participation within health systems in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Tanzania amongst other Southern African countries.
* Abstract Book
http://equinetafrica.org/bibl/docs/ABS012005gov.pdf
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EQUINET, PHM, CWGH, TAC, SATUCC, Southern African Social Forum, SEATINI, PATAM and HAI convened a regional meeting of health civil society on February 17-19 2005 in Zambia, with local hosts CHESSORE.
The meeting resolved to build a united health civil society campaign for a national peoples health system. The meeting identified that to build this the region needs to address pressing issues of:
- investing in adequate, well trained, appropriate, equitably distributed and motivated health workers;
- ensuring sustained increased fair financing of the universal right to health, through rising investment in the public health sector;
- building a critical mass of conscious and organised people, with rights to meaningfully participate in their health systems,
- resisting privatisation and promoting public interests and national authority in trade agreements in the health sector.
The meeting agreed that health civil society is unified by common values and pursuit of the fundamental right to health and to life, of equity and social justice and of people led and people centred health systems.
EQUINET invites middle to senior policymakers, academics and civil society members working in areas of trade and / or health from countries in East and Southern Africa to participate in a capacity building and research programme on trade and health.
EQUINET will award a number of small grants to post graduate students and undergraduate students in East and Southern Africa for research proposals in the areas of:
- Equity in Human Resources for Health
- Equity issues in food security and nutrition
- Equity in health sector responses to HIV/AIDS and treatment access
- Using health rights as a tool for equity in health
- Health equity in economic and trade policies
- Fair financing in health
- Governance and community participation in health
- Understanding and analyzing policy processes.
EQUINET invites middle to senior policymakers, academics and civil society members working in areas of trade and / or health from countries in East and Southern Africa to participate in a capacity building and research programme on trade and health, i.e. to
* Participate in country-level training on trade and health to be held between January and March 2005
* In country level teams, to undertake and report on national assessments of trade and health, supported by technical and financial resources, between March and June 2005
* Review the country level assessments at a regional meeting in mid 2005
* Make recommendations on follow up of the programme
The EQUINET regional meeting on 'Community Voice and Agency in Health' is being held in co-operation with Centre for Health and Social Science Research (CHESSORE) Zambia and Training and Research Support Centre (TARSC) Zimbabwe in Lusaka, Zambia, January 26-28 2005.
The meeting will involve researchers and practitioners working on community participation and involvement in health. The regional meeting will
* Discuss and exchange evidence and experience on the impacts of community participation and joint community- health service structures on the performance of health systems
* Identify areas for follow up research, training and policy review to strengthen mechanisms for effective community involvement in health systems and for increased responsiveness of health services to community priorities and needs.
Equinet Regional Meeting On Participation And Governance In Health, Zambia, January 26-28 2004: Call Closes On December 5 2004
This call invites applicants to participate in and present work at the EQUINET regional meeting on participation and Governance in Health being held in co-operation with Centre for Health and Social Science Research (CHESSORE) Zambia and Training and Research Support Centre (TARSC) Zimbabwe in Lusaka, Zambia, January 26-28 2004.
The call:
EQUINET invites researchers and practitioners working on community participation and governance in health to participate in a regional meeting to
- Discuss and exchange evidence and experience on the impacts of community participation and joint community- health service structures on the performance of health systems
- Identify areas for follow up research, training and policy review to strengthen mechanisms for effective community involvement in health systems and for increased responsiveness of health services to community priorities and needs.
We invite interested organisations and individuals to submit an application to participate with information on their work and role in this area (see below). Applicants can also apply for EQUINET sponsorship to the meeting (see below). Applications need to be sent to the EQUINET secretariat by December 5 2004.
The programme:
The Regional Network on Equity and Health in Southern Africa (EQUINET) (www.equinetafrica.org) has noted that equity related work needs to define and build a more active role for important stakeholders in health, and to incorporate the power and ability people (and social groups) have to make choices over health inputs and their capacity to use these choices towards health. To do this requires a clearer analysis of the social dimensions of health and their role in health equity, i.e. the role of social networking and exclusion, of the forms and levels of participation and of how governance systems distribute power and authority over the resources needed for health. To understand these factors, EQUINET has been carrying out research work to evaluate the current and desired forms of participation within health systems in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Tanzania amongst other Southern African countries. This work has been co-ordinated by CHESSORE Zambia and TARSC Zimbabwe.
The multicountry programme explored the functioning of district and clinic level structures (neighbourhood and health centre committees and district health boards) for community participation in terms of whether they i. represent the interests of communities ii. have any role in health system performance and resource allocation iii. include community preferences in health planning and resource allocation iv. improve equity in resource allocation v. improve health system performance, especially in relation to equity The field studies and literature review in this programme explored outcomes in these areas, and how these outcomes were influenced by the functioning of these joint community- health service structures and deeper underlying determinants, including their legal status, authority and mandate.
The regional meeting:
The EQUINET/ CHESSORE/ TARSC regional meeting will be held in Lusaka, Zambia 26-28 January 2005 and will review the results of the multicountry programme and of other experiences in the region of joint health service and community structures for community participation in health, particularly in terms of their effectiveness representing community interests, and in improving the equity, relevance and quality of health systems. The meeting aims to share experience over a 3 day period from individuals and organisations working in east and southern Africa, and to use this to identify a follow-up programme of training, research and policy review in the region. EQUINET also propose to produce a book on participation, governance, equity and health in 2005 and will invite submissions from presentations to the regional meeting.
Call for participation and applications:
Interested applicants should submit a 1-2 page ‘expression of interest’ that outlines
- a title that summarises their work in this area
- an abstract of the research question, methods and key findings in this area OR a summary of the work they are doing in this area, that they would want to present at the meeting
- a personal CV,
- brief information on the institution that they work in, and
- a sample document written by the applicant on any relevant theme.
- An indication of whether they are self sponsored or whether they need sponsorship for travel, or accommodation,. or both
Applicants should submit this information by 5th December 2004 to the EQUINET secretariat admin@equinetafrica.org / Fax 263-4-737 220 and copy it to rene@tarsc.org and chessore@zamnet.zm
Applicants will be informed by 17th December 2004 on the outcome of their submission, including sponsorship and of the logistic details for the meeting. Participants of existing EQUINET programmes are welcome to apply.
Focal points for queries on this programme are Dr TJ Ngulube at the Centre for Health and Social Science Research Zambia and Dr R Loewenson (TARSC). Please send queries through admin@equinetafrica.org)
In October 2004, EQUINET and the Equi-TB programme Malawi hosted a regional meeting in Lilongwe Malawi to review options for monitoring equity and health systems issues in the current programmes to expand treatment access in the region. The meeting gathered government, academic, civil society, international and UN agencies and regional organisations from the SADC region. It aimed to propose a framework and follow up work to strengthen the monitoring of equity and health system issues in ART rollout at national and regional level.
This call invites applicants to participate in and present work at the EQUINET regional meeting on participation and Governance in Health being held in co-operation with Centre for Health and Social Science Research (CHESSORE) Zambia and Training and Research Support Centre (TARSC) Zimbabwe in Lusaka, Zambia, January 26-28 2004.
The call:
EQUINET invites researchers and practitioners working on community participation and governance in health to participate in a regional meeting to
- Discuss and exchange evidence and experience on the impacts of community participation and joint community- health service structures on the performance of health systems
- Identify areas for follow up research, training and policy review to strengthen mechanisms for effective community involvement in health systems and for increased responsiveness of health services to community priorities and needs.
We invite interested organisations and individuals to submit an application to participate with information on their work and role in this area (see below). Applicants can also apply for EQUINET sponsorship to the meeting (see below). Applications need to be sent to the EQUINET secretariat by December 5 2004.
The programme:
The Regional Network on Equity and Health in Southern Africa (EQUINET) (www.equinetafrica.org) has noted that equity related work needs to define and build a more active role for important stakeholders in health, and to incorporate the power and ability people (and social groups) have to make choices over health inputs and their capacity to use these choices towards health. To do this requires a clearer analysis of the social dimensions of health and their role in health equity, i.e. the role of social networking and exclusion, of the forms and levels of participation and of how governance systems distribute power and authority over the resources needed for health. To understand these factors, EQUINET has been carrying out research work to evaluate the current and desired forms of participation within health systems in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Tanzania amongst other Southern African countries. This work has been co-ordinated by CHESSORE Zambia and TARSC Zimbabwe.
The multicountry programme explored the functioning of district and clinic level structures (neighbourhood and health centre committees and district health boards) for community participation in terms of whether they
i. represent the interests of communities
ii. have any role in health system performance and resource allocation
iii. include community preferences in health planning and resource allocation
iv. improve equity in resource allocation
v. improve health system performance, especially in relation to equity
The field studies and literature review in this programme explored outcomes in these areas, and how these outcomes were influenced by the functioning of these joint community- health service structures and deeper underlying determinants, including their legal status, authority and mandate.
The regional meeting:
The EQUINET/ CHESSORE/ TARSC regional meeting will be held in Lusaka, Zambia 26-28 January 2005 and will review the results of the multicountry programme and of other experiences in the region of joint health service and community structures for community participation in health, particularly in terms of their effectiveness representing community interests, and in improving the equity, relevance and quality of health systems. The meeting aims to share experience over a 3 day period from individuals and organisations working in east and southern Africa, and to use this to identify a follow-up programme of training, research and policy review in the region. EQUINET also propose to produce a book on participation, governance, equity and health in 2005 and will invite submissions from presentations to the regional meeting.
Call for participation and applications:
Interested applicants should submit a 1-2 page ‘expression of interest’ that outlines
- a title that summarises their work in this area
- an abstract of the research question, methods and key findings in this area OR a summary of the work they are doing in this area, that they would want to present at the meeting
- a personal CV,
- brief information on the institution that they work in, and
- a sample document written by the applicant on any relevant theme.
- An indication of whether they are self sponsored or whether they need sponsorship for travel, or accommodation,. or both
Applicants should submit this information by 5th December 2004 to the EQUINET secretariat admin@equinetafrica.org / Fax 263-4-737 220 and copy it to rene@tarsc.org and chessore@zamnet.zm
Applicants will be informed by 17th December 2004 on the outcome of their submission, including sponsorship and of the logistic details for the meeting. Participants of existing EQUINET programmes are welcome to apply.
Focal points for queries on this programme are Dr TJ Ngulube at the Centre for Health and Social Science Research Zambia and Dr R Loewenson (TARSC). Please send queries through admin@equinetafrica.org)
This call invites applicants for the second round of student research grants.
The Regional Network for Equity in Health in Southern Africa (EQUINET) promotes policies for equity in health across a range of priority theme areas (See www.equinetafrica.org) EQUINET has over the years, organized its work in various theme areas, including: economic and trade policy and health; human rights, governance and participation, equity in health sector responses to HIV/AIDS, human resources for health; monitoring and surveillance and others. Within these areas of work EQUINET aims to identify, recruit and build capacity and analysis. EQUINET is now implementing a programme of student research support that provides small research grants for students at college or university in various programmes in east and southern Africa. The programme will support student research applicants who propose projects in areas of research relevant to EQUINETs priority areas of theme work, and who provide evidence of supervision from expertise in these areas.
This second round of the EQUINET student research grant programme (SRGP) is being implemented in November 2004. EQUINET will award a number of small grants to post graduate students and undergraduate students in East and Southern Africa for research proposals in the areas of
- Equity in Human Resources for Health
- Equity issues in food security and nutrition
- Equity in health sector responses to HIV/AIDS and treatment access
- Using health rights as a tool for equity in health
- Health equity in economic and trade policies
- Fair financing in health
- Governance and community participation in health
- Understanding and analyzing policy processes
The grants are for students to carry out supervised, small research projects in the course of their studies and are set at a maximum of $750. Applicants are requested to provide brief information in 2-3 pages on
- The name, institution, course and year of study of the student
- The name, department and institution and contact email/fax for the proposed supervisor for the study
- The theme area of the proposal
- The hypothesis, research question or research objective(s)
- The methods to be used, and indicators / (quantitative, qualitative information) to be collected and the intended analyses to be carried out
- The time frames and budget
The application should be supported by a letter of commitment from a supervisor who is a professional working in the relevant area of the study in an institution in east and southern Africa. Preference will be given to supervisors who have worked in EQUINET programmes and activities so this should be made note of in the letter. The grants will be open to all EQUINET members, undergraduate and postgraduate students, students from all disciplines. Applications should be submitted to admin@equinetafrica.org with STUDENT GRANTS in the subject line or by fax to 263-4-737220 by November 31 2004.
The selection of grants will be made on the basis of relevance of subject area and quality of proposal but with some attention to ensuring equity in the distribution of grants across countries in the region. Applications in French or Portuguese will be considered.
EQUINET web based resources, newsletter and expertise in the theme areas will be available to the students. The reports of the research projects will be made available on the EQUINET website. Publication from the research is encouraged, with acknowledgement of the support from EQUINET. EQUINET will also have the right to use the research in its theme work and will encourage the students participation in future EQUINET activities and information exchange.
Focal points for queries on this programme are Dr R Loewenson and G Musuka at the EQUINET Secretariat (TARSC) and Dr A Muula at the Malawi College of Medicine/ Malawi Health Equity Network. Please send queries through admin@equinetafrica.org)