This call invites applicants to participate and share experiences in a Regional Training Workshop for east and southern African countries on Participatory Methods for research and training for a people centred health system being held on February 14-17 2007. The 2007 training will focus on using participatory methods in strenghtening the relations between communities and frontline health workers. Interested applicants should submit a 1-2 page expression of interest that outlines the research or training work that they are doing or proposing to do on in this area, a personal CV and information on their institution by 15th December 2006 to the EQUINET secretariat. Further information is available at http://www.equinetafrica.org/.
Latest Equinet Updates
Final announcement: Second regional training Workshop on Participatory methods for for research and training in health Feburary 20007
Call Closes On December 15, 2006
The financial losses from the migration of nurses from Malawi
Muula, AS; Panulo Jr, B; Maseko, FC: BioMed Central Nursing 5, November 2006
The migration of health professionals trained in Africa to developed nations has compromised health systems in the African region. The financial losses from the investment in training due to the migration from the developing nations are hardly known. The cost of training a health professional was estimated by including fees for primary, secondary and tertiary education. Accepted derivation of formula as used in economic analysis was used to estimate the lost investment. Developing countries are losing significant amounts of money through lost investment of health care professionals who emigrate. This paper quantifies the amount of remittances that developing nations get in return from those who migrate.
Call for expressions of interest: Work and skills development in health policy analysis
Call closes 24 November 2006
EQUINET and the Centre for Health Policy is inviting expressions of interest of work from individuals or organizations based in east and southern Africa who wish to become involved in a programme of capacity development of capacity in health policy analysis within the region, involving a programme of mentoring support for small scale research studies. Applicants should be able to demonstrate previous experience of health sector analysis or policy analysis, some experience of qualitative research and an enthusiasm for better understanding the forces shaping policy responses to equity concerns in the health sector.
Further details: /newsletter/id/31887
Call for participants: Second regional training Workshop on participatory methods for research and training for a people centred health system
The call closes on 15 December 2006.
This call invites applicants to participate and share experiences in a Regional Training Workshop for east and southern African countries on Participatory Methods for research and training for a people centred health system being held on 14-17 February 2007. TARSC and IHRDC under the EQUINET umbrella and with support from CHESSORE are carrying out capacity building on participatory reflection and action (PRA) methods for research and training for a people centred health system. The training aims to support work at national, district and local level with health systems and communities in health, with a major focus on the interactions at primary health care level. The 2007 training will focus on the relations between communities and frontline health workers. It will thus be targeted at researchers, health workers, academics, civil society organisations, NGOs, community leaders and workers and others who are involved in work with communities and health workers who are doing or involved in work on strengthening positive community - health worker interaction. Please see www.equinetafrica.org/meetings.php or send queries through admin@equinetafrica.org.
Further details: /newsletter/id/31839
Parliament briefing 1: Equity in access to AIDS treatment through stronger health systems
EQUINET; REACH Trust (Malawi); TARSC (Zimbabwe); the Association of Parliamentary Committees on Health in east and southern Africa (SEAPACOH)
Parliaments play an important role in health. Generally and through their specialised committees they can scrutinise public spending to ensure that it meets national policy goals, debate and pass laws that institutionalise social goals and provide leadership, representation and space for public participation in health. Parliaments can also provide oversight of the executive in terms of how this arm of government is implementing national policy. This brief is the first in a series jointly produced be EQUINET and SEAPACOH with institutions in the EQUINET network. This brief explores how these parliamentary roles can be applied to strengthen equitable health systems responses to AIDS. Copies of the leaflet and a feedback form on it can be obtained from the EQUINET secretariat at admin@equinetafrica.org.
Parliament briefing 2: Fair financing for health
EQUINET; Health Economics Unit (UCT); Centre for Health Policy (Wits); Association of Parliamentary Committes in east and southern Africa (SEAPACOH)
Parliaments play an important role in health. Generally and through their specialised committees, they can scrutinise and ensure that national budgets meet national policy goals, debate and pass laws that institutionalise social goals and provide leadership, representation and space for public participation in health. Parliaments can also provide oversight of the executive in terms of how this arm of government is implementing national policy. This brief is the second in a series jointly produced be EQUINET and SEAPACOH with institutions in the EQUINET network. It explores how these parliamentary roles can be applied to strengthen the fair financing of health systems. Copies of the leaflet and a feedback form on it can be obtained from the EQUINET secretariat at admin@equinetafrica.org.
PRA project report: Reproductive health challenges of students, lecturers, administration and college communities in the agricultural training institutions in Zimbabwe
Students and Youths Working on Reproductive Health Action Team (SAYWHAT)
In Zimbabwe, there are four categories of state owned tertiary institutions: universities, teachers colleges, polytechnic colleges and agricultural colleges. All institutions are either in urban or semi-urban areas, except for agricultural colleges, which are mostly located in farming communities due to the nature of their studies and are governed by the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture instead of the traditional Ministry of Tertiary and Higher Education. Such discrepancies have led to the ‘isolation’ of the students attending these institutions especially in matters concerning the students’ health. In particular there has been inadequate effort to address the reproductive health challenges of the students in these institutions despite their sexually active and high risk age group, including for risk of HIV infection. Students and Youths Working on Reproductive Health Action Team (SAYWHAT) a civil society organization in Zimbabwe, used the Participatory Reflective and Action (PRA) methodology as the starting point to involve the agricultural colleges in addressing reproductive health challenges.
PRA project report: Strengthening community–Health Centre partnership and accountability in Zambia
Equity Guage (Zambia)
The Zambia Participatory Reflection and Action (PRA) project was implemented to strengthen communication between primary care level health workers and communities in one urban and one rural area of Zambia. It was implemented following PRA training in EQUINET as a pilot of the PRA method. The work has has shown that the PRA method is useful to strengthen health worker - community interactions in health planning and is replicable in other health centres of Zambia operating under district health management teams. The PRA method was found through pre- and post intervention assessment to improve communication and interaction between community members and health providers in attaining a people-centred health system in resource limited settings such as Zambia.
Update on the programme of work on health worker migration and retention in east and southern Africa
EQUINET through Health Systems Trust, University of Namibia and its secretariat at Training and Research Support Centre, in co-operation with the Regional Health Secretariat for east, central and southern Africa, is implementing in east and southern Africa research, capacity building and programme support for the retention of health workers and for management of out- migration of health personnel. The programme will support empirical research on the costs and benefits of health worker migration within and beyond east and southern Africa (ESA); and will support evaluation of the effectiveness of current policies and agreements to manage these costs and benefits. The University of Namibia is now co-ordinating the work on HRH retention and Health Systems Trust the work on HRH migration, in co-operation with EQUINET Secretariat (TARSC) and ECSA Regional Health Secretariat. For further information on the programme please contact EQUINET (admin@equinetafrica.org) and ECSA (regsec@crhcs.or.tz).
Further details: /newsletter/id/31840
A PRA project report: Raising our voice, breaking our silence: Health workers’ experiences and needs around Occupational Health Services in Cape Town, South Africa
Industrial Health Research Group (IHRG), June 2006
This Participatory, Reflection, and Action (PRA) project on occupational health services offered an opportunity for IHRG and a group of unionised health workers to use innovative learning and research methodologies as a means to investigate and intervene in their experiences of workplace injury and illness. Following IHRG’s participation in a regional training workshop hosted by EQUINET with TARSC and Ifakara, IHRG used selected PRA tools in a participatory action research programme. The project consisted of three workshops, workplace-based investigations, and the dissemination of networking resources among the participants. The combination of workplace-based case investigations and the process of critically reflecting on these interventions provided a very powerful action-learning experience. Processes of change were evident even in this short term project. Participants’ workplace investigations uncovered real cases of workplace injury and illness that have been buried under a culture of ignorance, neglect, silence, and denial of workers’ health and safety rights.