Equinet’s domain name has changed to equinetafrica.org – our website has now moved to <a href=http://www.equinetafrica.org>http://www.equinetafrica.org</a>
Please bookmark that for future reference.
We end the year, regrettably, with an apology to you all. Many (if not most) of you have not been receiving the newsletters for the last couple of months. Unfortunately we have experienced a number of problems related to a decision made by Kabissa, who have hitherto hosted our website, to move their server. As a result of this change, we were unable to transfer our domain name – equinet.org.zw – to the new server. To make matters worse, we have been happily proceeding with the production and distribution of the newsletter only to discover that, for reasons we were not able to fathom, mail was not being sent to you through the mail server.
We know that many of you find the newsletter useful, and we are sorry that you haven’t been getting it regularly. We hope that you will receive this, and that in the New Year, you will once again receive the newsletter regularly.
We take this opportunity to wish you all season’s greetings and wish you good health in the New Year.
Firoze Manji
Fahamu
1. Editorial
2. Equity in Health
The 12th International Conference on AIDS and STDs in Africa opened on Sunday night - amidst all the logistic problems that many participants are still experiencing - in an impressive display of pomp and protocol. But not one openly HIV positive person stood on that platform to address the overflowing hall. We are told that there are 28.1 million people living with HIV in Africa now, perhaps one of those millions could have spoken to us?
It is estimated that globally, between 100 and 140 million women and girls have undergone some form of female genital mutilation (FGM) with two million being at risk each year.
The debate over access to affordable drugs has dominated the 12th International Conference on AIDS and STDs in Africa (ICASA), with participants at the Ouagadougou meeting calling on rich countries to provide the South with the funds to buy life-prolonging antiretrovirals.
HIV/AIDS is still the main cause of deaths in sub-Saharan Africa, but the region has been overtaken by Eastern Europe, especially the Russian Federation, as the place where the epidemic is growing the fastest, according to a new United Nations (UN) report.
This declaration is the product of a year-long consultative process involving 155 experts from 27 countries and 57 national and international organizations. It is the consensus of the participants who convened in Paris at the invitation of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the support of UNAIDS secretariat and WHO on 29 November to 1st December 2001.
The World Health Organization says the Ebola virus has killed several people in Gabon in recent days. Kenya, Uganda, and the DR Congo have also reported the outbreak. The disease, first identified in 1976 near the Congo's Ebola River, has no known cure and is transmitted by direct contact with the blood and secretions of infected persons.
The KwaZulu-Natal health department has expressed concern over the upward trend of new cholera infections. The department said yesterday that 15 new cases had been reported over a 24-hour period, adding that although it was considerably less than over the same period last year, it was a matter of concern.
UNAIDS/WHO Epidemiological Fact sheets on HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases.
The Department of Social Development says it welcomes the decision by Cashbank to write off an outstanding housing loan of AIDS orphans living in Protea Glen in Soweto.
A LONDON lawyer representing SA's asbestosis victims said yesterday there was no settlement agreement between British group Cape plc and the victims. However, negotiations were proceeding "in a constructive manner" and at a fairly developed stage", said Richard Meeran, lawyer for the victims.
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3. Human Resources
What do we know about the impact of AIDS on mortality rates in developing countries? Do existing methods of data collection provide enough information? Researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the UK Medical Research Council look into these questions.
South African companies are missing out on lucrative returns by failing to see that money spent on HIV/Aids is an investment, rather than a cost, according to a new study into major Southern African companies.
4. Public-Private Mix
Universal access to contraceptives is a key goal of sexual and reproductive health programmes. But what is the best way to supply them? Donated or subsidised contraceptive supplies raise questions of sustainability whereas there are concerns that market-based distribution has negative impacts on equity and access.
5. Resource allocation and health financing
Hospital care is unaffordable and inaccessible for many HIV patients in sub-Saharan Africa. Home-based care (HBC) provides a practical alternative, but demand is growing rapidly. Can existing services expand to meet this need? What role should governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play? Researchers from the UK Nuffield Institute for Health investigate HBC services in Zambia.
Mark Pearson, 2001. HSRC Health Systems Research Center, Institute for Health Sector Development (IHSD), DFID's Health Population Department, London, UK
The way in which a country finances its health care can have a major bearing on the access to health services enjoyed by its poor. National health policies generally set out a strategic goal of ensuring equal access to essential health services for all, on the basis of need and irrespective of ability to pay or some variation on this theme. Health financing impacts on this goal in two ways: on the supply side by ensuring that essential services are adequately financed and delivered, and on the demand side by reducing financial barriers to access and by making sure that funds are raised and services delivered in ways which are affordable to all. In a typical low income country, where only $3 - $5 of public funds per head is available for the health sector, such an ambitious goal is probably unrealistic no matter how well resources are allocated and used. In practice, there will often be significant inefficiency and inequity in both allocation and use of resources. This clearly raises the question as to whether, and how, financing policies could be made more pro-poor.
An effective referral system is a key element of health services based on primary healthcare (PHC). If referral steps are bypassed, treatment costs are greater than necessary. Higher level hospitals become overloaded while lower level facilities are underused. Why do referral systems fail and how can they be improved?
What are the implications for reproductive health of health reforms in low and middle-income countries? The last decade has seen a change in approach from supply-side health sector reforms to an emphasis on demand-driven and anti-poverty interventions. But has this increased access to reproductive healthcare and have services improved as a result?
Juan Antonio Casas, Division of Health Systems and Services Development, Director PAHO/WHO
Presentation at International Summit on the Private Health Sector December 2-5, 2001, Miami, Florida, USA
Provides an overview of the nature of international trade in health service. It also outlines some of the main barriers constraining trade in health services. More information about the Summit: <href a=http://www.internationalhealthsummit.com/index.html>http://www.internationalhealthsummit.com/index.html</a>
6. Governance and participation in health
EThis report shares the highlights and lessons learned from the third year of "Community Lessons, Global Learning", a collaboration between the International HIV/AIDS Alliance and Positive Action, GlaxoSmithKline. The report includes approaches to the HIV/AIDS pandemic over the past twenty years that work. It highlights applications for moving from successful small scale projects that reach relatively few individuals to effective strategies that really make an impact on the pandemic is the challenge. Posing the question, “How can individual NGOs/CBOs scale-up their own contribution to effective responses.”
7. Monitoring equity and research policy
For over twenty years, managers of health programs have relied on many types of research to help answer strategic and programmatic questions. Demographic surveys, rapid assessments, operations research, and sociological and economic studies contribute significantly to the manager's ability to formulate appropriate goals, determine strategies, and assess the achievement of program goals. Such contributions are leading program managers to appreciate research as an important management tool. To use this tool effectively, managers must be able to systematically transform research results into decisions. They will need support from decision makers who understand the implications of research findings, and who are ready to advocate for action. This issue of The Manager presents a process known as "decision-linked research," the goal of which is to establish effective partnerships between researchers and decision makers so that the research findings can be transformed into programmatic actions. The issue focuses on how to formulate these partnerships, how to forge common interests between researchers and the users of research results, how to make research understandable to those who will be affected by the results, and finally, how to transform research results into actions aimed at improving policies, strategies, and programs.
8. Useful Resources
The Association Francois-Xavier Bagnoud (AFXB) and the World Bank Early Child Development Team have launched the revised AIDS Orphans Assistance Database (AOAD). The purpose of the AOAD is to facilitate communication among organisations and individuals worldwide which provide assistance to children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS and to their caregivers. The AOAD is an online tool that allows users to enter information, search for, learn about and contact others interested in helping children affected by HIV/AIDS.
The Body's mission is to: Use the Web to lower barriers between patients and clinicians. Demystify HIV/AIDS and its treatment. Improve patients' quality of life. Foster community through human connection.
9. Jobs and Announcements
Are you committed to equity? Would you like to work with skilled and committed individuals in developing countries around the world? Are you willing to travel? The Global Equity Gauge Alliance (GEGA) is dedicated to the promotion of equity in health and health care through effective advocacy and community action, based upon reliable monitoring information. There are currently 11 Equity Gauges in countries in Africa, Asia and South America and GEGA is committed to providing support and technical assistance to these Gauges as well as becoming an international force for promoting equity in health. GEGA is temporarily housed in the Health Systems Trust, a South African NGO based in Durban. GEGA wishes to appoint a co-ordinator for a period of two years. The main tasks of the co-ordinator will include supporting individual Gauges, and helping to develop the further institutional establishment of GEGA. This is an exciting and challenging job for any person with an interest in international health and the promotion of equity. It will include the opportunity to travel and work closely with projects on the ground as well as with major international agencies in the field of health and development. The two-year consultancy post will be based in South Africa, preferably in Durban. The consultancy fee will reflect local practice and be commensurate with the skills and experience of the person appointed. More information about GEGA and the co-ordinator’s post can be found on the website. Please send your C.V., together with a letter of motivation highlighting why you feel you would be suitable for this post, and the names of three referees to:
Dawn McDonald: Fax 031 304 0775
email: dawn@hst.org.za by December 14th.
Interviews will be held during the third week of January 2002.
UNESCO, in consultation with different youth organisations, especially IFMSA has developed a kit entitled "HIV/AIDS and Human Rights - Young People in Action' to aid youth organisations involved in HIV/AIDS prevention, promotion and advocacy campaigns. The manual is based on the international guidelines on Human Rights and HIV/AIDS and is intended to serve as a tool in the development and initiation of appropriate youth activities. The purpose of the workshop to be held in Cape Town, South Africa is multifaceted. Primarily, it aims to train participants on how to use the "Youth to Youth" manual effectively, and thus to empower them to initiate youth activities around HIV/AIDS and Human Rights in their own communities. It is also hoped that the workshop will equip participants with the necessary skills to ensure that they, as future community leaders, will advocate the care of people living with HIV/AIDS in an ethical, judicious and most appropriate manner. The training workshop will train 50 participants, with the participants being young, dynamic youth leaders from regional countries. About 10 African countries will be included, with each country being represented by 4 participants. The workshop will last 7 days, during which time participants will receive intensive training on skills and capacity building and problem solving with regards to the psychosocial and cultural aspect of the connection between HIV/AIDS and Human Rights.
This is the final opportunity to apply for a PhD/Dr PH studentship to undertake a research project in any area of clinical, field, social science or associated laboratory work that is relevant to the control of malaria. Applications are invited for a number of PhD or DrPH studentships to be held at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), the Centre for Medical Parasitology, University of Copenhagen (CMP) and the Danish Bilharziasis Laboratory (DBL). Scholarships will cover 'home' fees, living expenses as appropriate, some research expenses and may include a re-entry grant following satisfactory completion of the PhD/DrPH. Application Deadline: 15 January 2002.
Nelson Mandela School of Medicine, University of Natal, Durban, KZN, South Africa
The New England Medical Center-Tufts University School of Medicine International Training Program in Medical Informatics in conjunction with the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine at the University of Natal is hosting this intensive one week workshop. The workshop will be taught by faculty from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, The Brigham and Women's Hospital Harvard Medical School, Children's Hospital Harvard Medical School, New England Medical Center-Tufts University School of Medicine (all in Boston, USA) and faculty from the University of Natal and the Medical Research Council of South Africa. This is an intensive 5-day workshop aimed at introducing participants to the major areas of medical informatics science through a series of lectures, lab session's and evening tutorials. Participants will be expected to have some basic computer skills (use of e-mail, Internet, word-processing etc). The workshop will attempt to focus on applications and examples with the potential to impact public health problems in sub-Saharan Africa. The course is being offered for 8 credits for students in the Master of Public Health degree program at the University of Natal. Students registering for credit will be charged a registration fee of South African Rand 350 and tuition of ZAR 520. It is also being offered for 8 credits for students who subsequently enter the new ITMI sponsored post-graduate degree program in Medical Informatics at the University of Natal, scheduled to begin in July 2002.