Towards more effective health cooperation (editorial)
Dear reader,
Next week, our Network will participate in the Geneva Health Forum 2016 with a session co-hosted by Medicus Mundi International and Medicus Mundi Switzerland. The title of our “Federal Café” debate is a bid weird; we ask if it is “Time for a global symposium on international health cooperation and health systems strengthening”. So why do we, at one global health conference, propose to establish another?
Traditionally most of the members of the MMI Network are rooted in development cooperation for health, health aid, humanitarian assistance or technical cooperation – fields of activities that have, such as the terms to describe them, considerably developed over time. Today, international health cooperation has become a crowded and contested space. There are fierce controversies about its approaches, strategies and methods, about the actors involved – and their power and interests – and about the governance of health cooperation and health partnerships. Just to mention a few of these debates:
- Aid alignment and effectiveness: Promoting the donor agenda or real ”health partnership plus”?
- Vertical interventions (rapid wins? silver bullet? quick fix?) vs. strong health systems and primary health care
- Results based financing / Payment by results
- Innovation (the new buzzword) vs. access to healthcare
In all these fields – and there are more of them – there is great need for frank debates and mutual learning. There are already spaces and instruments for the debate and promotion of effective health cooperation, but we need to sustain, expand, promote and better use them.
Back to Geneva: There have always been many people and institutions working in the field of international health cooperation participating in global health conferences such as Geneva Health Forum. But these conferences are not an easy home for an in-depth conversation on the contribution of international health cooperation to health systems strengthening and to improving access to health for all. So what to do? Our conclusions and proposals:
- Let us admit the limitations and challenges of international health cooperation, but not give it up too easy. Health cooperation still has an important role to play;
- let us invest(igate) in instruments, platforms and communities of practice for critically assessing our own work and promoting more effective health cooperation;
- let us promote the creation of particular tracks/sessions on international health cooperation and health systems strengthening in global health events such as the Geneva Health Forum – or shall we even go for a “proper” global symposium on international health cooperation?
- And last, but not least, let us invest in improving the “reflective quality” of our own events, eventually introducing and promoting a quality label and a specific events calendar.
What do you think about this? The MMI Network will continue the dialogue on effective health cooperation at its Annual Assembly on 28 May in Geneva. We will then present our plans on how to implement the health cooperation track of our Network Strategy 2016-20 which states: ”We will promote knowledge sharing and mutual learning between actors in international health cooperation.”
Thomas Schwarz, Executive Secretary
Medicus Mundi International – Network Health for All
MMI Network Strategy: www.medicusmundi.org/en/network-programs
Upcoming Network events: www.medicusmundi.org/en/events and below
MMI: Network events
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Network Event: Medicus Mundi Switzerland
Geneva Health Forum 2016: Sustainable and affordable innovations in healthcare
Geneva, 19-21 April 2016
“Since its first edition, 10 years ago, the GHF has become a space for dialogue and major exchanges between field practitioners, the university hospitals, the public and private sectors, the international organisations and the non-governmental organisations. The GHF, faithful to its spirit, will offer in April 2016 the opportunity to have an open and constructive debate on innovation in healthcare, that is accessible to all and environment-friendly. The GHF 2016 will seek to be an influential voice on these issues, through the greatest experts in this field.” The Forum co-organizer, the Division of International and Humanitarian Medicine at the Hospitals of the University of Geneva, is a member of Medicus Mundi Switzerland.
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Network Event: MMI and Medicus Mundi Switzerland
International health cooperation and Health Systems Strengthening: Time for a global symposium?
Geneva, 21 April 2016
The “Federal Café” debate at the Geneva Health Forum 2016 hosted by MMI and Medicus Mundi Switzerland shall provide an open space for an initial debate about the demand and options for setting up platforms beyond the existing mechanisms where actors in health cooperation can critically reflect and frankly debate their policies and instruments and learn from each other.
> www.medicusmundi.org/en/contributions/events/2016/GHF2016
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Network Event: Medicus Mundi Switzerland
Applying Human Rights to Sexual and Reproductive Health – A reality for all?
Bern, 4 May 2016
“Sexual and Reproductive Health is a fundamental human right. There is a renewed push for sexual and reproductive health and rights due to the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 193 UN-member states. Safeguarding sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and men contributes significantly to achieving the Global goals for sustainable development. At this year’s MMS/aidsfocus.ch conference we will be addressing the issues of Human Rights to sexual and reproductive health and how a human rights based approach to programming can be applied.”
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Network Event: EPN
Antibiotic resistance and chronic diseases – Pharmaceutical challenges in development cooperation
Tübingen, 18-21 May 2016
“The biennial Forum of the Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network is an opportunity for EPN members to meet physically, learn, share and exchange experience and knowledge. They also discuss, develop ideas and make critical decisions in relation to the activities of the Network with experts, friends and partners.”
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Network Event: Medicus Mundi International
MMI General Assembly, World Health Assembly and side events in Geneva
Geneva, May 2016
The General Assembly of the MMI Network will take place on Saturday, 28 May 2016, in week of the 69th World Health Assembly (WHA). This well-established arrangement will allow Network members to link their participation in our Assembly with attending the WHA as a member of the MMI delegation; on the other hand WHA delegates will be invited to join the MMI meeting as our guests. Before and throughout the World Health Assembly, MMI will be engaged in civil society networking and advocacy, eventually including a formal WHA side event on the implementation of the new Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health “Workforce 2030”.
Save the date(s)! The formal invitation and more complete information will be sent to Network members by the end of April.
> www.medicusmundi.org/en/contributions/events/2016/GA2016
> http://apps.who.int/gb/e/e_wha69.html
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Network Event: MMI, Medicus Mundi Switzerland, Cordaid
Promoting access to health in fragile contexts: What role for international cooperation?
Geneva, 28 May 2016
As a side event to the General Assembly of the MMI Network – which itself takes place on the last day of the 69th World Health Assembly -, the Network Medicus Mundi Switzerland in cooperation with the Swiss Red Cross (a member of MMS) and Cordaid will co-host a public workshop on challenges and policies for international health cooperation in fragile contexts. A first announcement will be available soon. Save the date!
> www.medicusmundi.org/en/contributions/events/2016/WS2016
MMI Network: News, positions and resources
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Network news: Medicus Mundi Spain
Medicus Mundi Spain is awarded the WHO Sasakawa Health Prize
for its work in the transformation of public health systems
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has awarded the Sasakawa Health Prize 2016 to Medicus Mundi Spain (FAMME) for its project entitled “The Transformation of Public Health Systems Based on the principles of Primary Health Care (PHC)”, thanks to the initiative of the Spain’s Ministry for Health. The prize-giving will take place on 27 May, in a ceremony at the World Health Assembly. The Award reinforces the conviction of Medicus Mundi Spain that must not disregard the bottom layer of the healthcare pyramid, but instead must get involved with primary health care.
> http://www.medicusmundi.org/en/contributions/news/2016/sasakawa
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Network resource: Cordaid
Growing demand for training in results based financing
“For the past decade Cordaid has continuously been seeking to improve public service delivery through results based financing. In both health care and education we have an extensive track record in Africa and Asia. As more funds are becoming available for RBF-related initiatives, notably from the World Bank, the need for formal training in the relatively new financing approach is growing among policy makers in developing countries. Only a handful of organizations offer this kind of training. Cordaid is one of them.”
> https://www.cordaid.org/en/news/growing-demand-training-results-based-financing/
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Network news: DWA Cuamm
Cuamm in the front line in the fight against TB, responds to WHO’s appeal
“On occasion of World TB Day on 24 March 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) has called on countries and partners to ‘unite to end tuberculosis’. Doctors with Africa Cuamm gladly accepts the challenge and will continue to be among those working in the front line to end tuberculosis in Africa by 2030.”
> http://www.mediciconlafrica.org/en/our-voice/news/world-tb-day-2016/
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Network paper: HealthNet TPO
Malaria study Afghanistan
“An article on HealthNet’s recent malaria studies in Afghanistan has been published in the Malaria Journal on 18 February 2016. The Malaria Journal is an open-access journal (freely available on the internet) and one of the most read journals among malaria scientists worldwide.”
> http://www.healthnettpo.org/en/1748/malaria-study-afghanistan.html
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Network reporting
Community Working Group on Health
The annual report 2015 of the Zimbabwean Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) is available in English.
> http://www.medicusmundi.org/en/papers/cwgh2015
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Network project: Wemos
Health Systems Advocacy Partnership stands for mutual learning
The Health Systems Advocacy Partnership was launched in Uganda during the project kickoff session in Kampala on 18 March 2016. The strategic partnership consists of Amref Flying Doctors, African Centre for Global Health and Social Transformation (Achest), Health Action International and Wemos, and is financed by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the fifth partner. The five-year partnership aims at capacity building, lobby and advocacy on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in and for Kenia, Uganda and Zambia. Within the partnership, Wemos concentrates on Human Resources for Health, Governance and Financing.
> http://www.medicusmundi.org/en/contributions/projects/2016/health-systems-advocacy-partnership-stands-for-mutual-learning
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Network project: Health Poverty Action
Myanmar: Reaching those with no other support
“One of the world’s least developed countries, Myanmar has a long history of conflict which has prevented the development of an integrated healthcare system, as well as other infrastructure. The challenges of poverty and poor health faced here are enormous, but communities are determined to overcome them. Read on to find out how Health Poverty Action is supporting them to do this.” (Newsletter of Health Poverty Action, spring 2016).