Editorial: The political context of Universal Health Coverage
Dear reader,
While reading the outcome statement and background document of the joint World Bank/WHO ministerial level meeting on Universal Health coverage held last week, two clear issues emerge: The first one is getting political commitment to UHC at the highest government level; the second one is that “fiscal realities (in poor countries in particular) greatly constrain the ability to rely predominantly on public funding. Still, countries do not need to be rich to make progress towards UHC, experience suggest that political commitment is essential.”
The papers seem to suggest that fiscal reality is cast in stone and that within this fiscal reality countries have the political space to move forward to UHC. This approach, in essence, tells us something about the sad situation we have come to live in. A reality in which the financial oligarchy have taken over country democracies, according to Simon Johnson’s The Quiet Coup. A reality in which economic inequalities have an enormous negative impact on health equity and social wellbeing. Untaxed private wealth hinders many countries to finance strong public systems to reach or maintain Universal Health Coverage.
It is not only a problem of poorer countries. We have the same within the European Union. For instance 23.400 “mailbox” companies are registered in the Netherlands, with its infamous tax heaven industry. It lead for instance to Portuguese and Spanish multinationals to avoid paying tax in their respective countries. Both Spain and Portugal have to severely cut their public spending on health expenditures and privatize part of their health services, as required by austerity measures set by the European Union. Even the G20 starts to recognize that the tax avoidance by big business is a big problem for the social development of societies.
These examples merely indicate that the issue of fiscal space and progress on UHC are closely interlinked. The Lancet Article “Political and economic aspects of the transition to universal health coverage” explains it as follows: “UHC will only be achieved if public policies ensure that a large share of this increased spending is pooled through a mechanism that promotes equitable and efficient utilization of care. The exact mechanisms for pooling will depend on social processes and political action that establish the parameters for an acceptable public role in health care. In some cases, the result will be a government that primarily regulates the health-care sector, in other cases a government that finances or directly provides care.” In many emerging economies, such as South-Africa, Indonesia; but also in European countries with traditional generous social security systems, there is strong political pressure to remain attractive for international (financial) investors. In parallel there is similar pressure to reduce public spending on health care and create space for health insurance companies in the market of (mandatory) social insurance packages. Authors have coined this process of tax competition “a race to the bottom in slow motion”, with specific policies becoming less generous without disappearing, or creating a public debt that will eventually force their termination.
The authors also suggest a mechanism to mitigate this race to the bottom, the so called social protection floor. The idea underpinning this initiative is that all states would commit to agreed minimum levels of social protection tailored for their respective country. The UN General Assembly resolution concerning universal health coverage acknowledges the link between universal health coverage and social protection mechanism, and urges member states to give priority to these links within their national social programs and policies.
The contradiction is obvious: There is a strong drive to have Universal Health Coverage included in the post 2015 development agenda and for countries to advance UHC at national level. At the same time these countries are dealing with (global) tax competition, tax evasion and a deregulated financial sector that is playing with casino capital at a global level. It is a good first step that WHO and World Bank work with member states to increase capacity and undertake steps towards universal health coverage. Actors working on advancing UHC inevitably will come to the issue of claiming national policy and fiscal space as a basic macro-economic condition for a country to advance its coverage of social protection and health services. Good examples in these include Brazil and Thailand.
The question is whether all the countries that are now supporting the cause of UHC are willing to make progress on further regulation of the financial sector and reform of their fiscal policies. Are these countries able to agree on global redistribution mechanisms and regulatory mechanism to curb the massive amount of untaxed wealth and casino capital, and hence free considerable resources to fund the national social protection floors? Will countries be able to develop true “progressive” taxation schemes, not merely income or VAT based, but rather on wealth and CO2 emission? Or do we want rather global philanthropy to provide the complimentary funds for advances in UHC and social security?
Bottom line: Universal Health coverage is in essence linked to political demands, choices and inherent power relations, both at the national and global level. If we all agree to have UHC included in the post 2015 agenda, then we should be willing to be truly involved in the political and ideological battle that will enfold over the coming period.
Remco van de Pas, Wemos
remco.van.de.pas@wemos.nl
MMI Network: Events, news and resources
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MMI marketplace: “NGO in search of research: our request – and our offer”
Desired Motherhood Gambia. Proposal by Association Suisse Raoul Follereau
“Most women in Africa do not know about their cycle and the fertile window. As a result one quarter of all pregnancies are unwanted. In our practical training for mostly illiterate women in The Gambia we use a simplified “Modified Mucus Method”. Research should show whether the training helps women to control their fertility.”
This is the very first NGO research proposal put on the newly established MMI marketplace “NGOs in search of research: our request – and our offer”. We invite other Network members and partners to do the same. NGO proposals are not binding, but shall allow the start of a dialogue. The Medicus Mundi International Network will provide and promote this marketplace, but will leave it up to the interested parties (NGO, researcher, training institution) to lead this dialogue, to eventually agree on terms of cooperation and to establish an appropriate contractual relation.
Proposal: www.medicusmundi.org/en/contributions/market-place
Call for proposals: http://bit.ly/mmi-marketplace
Marketplace: www.medicusmundi.org/en/network-resources/marketplace
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Network event: medico international
Pulling the Emergency Brake – Diagnostic and therapeutic options
for world trade related diseases
Berlin, 6 March 2013
This year again medico international will be part of the German Public Health Congress Poverty and Health. We invited partners and other well know speakers (MMI secretary Thomas Schwarz will provide an input on “Health Workers – Human capital for the global market?”) to discuss with us the ill-effects of the current global trade regime and financial market.
Network event: Doctors with Africa Cuamm
Stop TB in my lifetime: ancora al fianco di mamme e bambini
Milano, 14 March 2013
At this event related to the World TB Day (24 March), Doctors with Africa Cuamm presents its strategy for the organization’s involvement in the fight against TB in the next three years – in Italian only.
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Network event: Medicus Mundi Switzerland
Primary Health Care and NCDs in Eastern Europe and Central Asia:
Where do we stand and where to go?
Basel, 10 April 2013
Over the past two decades health systems in Eastern Europe and Central Asia have undergone substantial changes in relation to their financing and the way how services are delivered to the population. In many countries a shift from hospital centred to primary health care focused systems have taken place: the number of hospital beds and hospitals were reduced in an important way and family doctors sometimes embedded in family medicine teams are today the first point of contact to deliver essential services to the population. At the same time Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), such as cardio-vascular disease or diabetes, have become more predominant and are today responsible for a significant share of the burden of disease in these countries. The symposium will allow participants to learn from recent experiences in countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia in strengthening primary health care services and their relation to NCD prevention and treatment. (Symposium of the Swiss TPH, a member of the Network Medicus Mundi Switzerland.)
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Network event: Medicus Mundi Switzerland
A future without AIDS – Realising a vision
Bern, 11 April 2013
A future without AIDS is possible. However, it takes concerted efforts by all to make this vision come true. aidsfocus.ch will together with stakeholders from South and North assess and reflect on what we reached so far and identify and discuss promising and successful initiatives and strategies to face challenges for the future of the AIDS response. A special focus will be on role and priorities of aidsfocus.ch in the joint struggle toward a future without AIDS. (aidsfocus.ch is a project coordinated by Medicus Mundi Switzerland)
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Network paper: Doctors with Africa Cuamm
Alma Ata takes its revenge
“Thailand and Brazil, countries with deeply different traditions and cultures, have both opted to invest in primary care to guarantee all citizens the right to care. A lesson for all of us, 34 years after the Alma Ata Declaration. Despite of this, in Europe universalistic health systems are likely to be swept away by the neo-liberal policies.”
Gavino Maciocco in: Health and Development No. 65, “Bridging the gap”, December 2012. Health and Development is the quarterly journal of Doctors with Africa Cuamm. Download the journal in order to read the full article.
www.cuamm.org/en/archive-health-and-development/602-health-and-development-cuamm-65
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Conference report: medico international
Global Social Protection Scheme – Moving from Charity to Solidarity
“Charity once was a driving force of what became social protection. It no longer is. Social protection is not about charity. When we pay our taxes or social insurance fees, we are not donors of aid, we are paying our dues; when we receive support in the form of subsidised health care or teachers for our children whose salaries have been paid, we are not recipients of aid. We pay our dues and we use our entitlements, and we consider it a collective effort to build a fair and equitable society. That is solidarity, not charity.
Can we imagine a funding mechanism for Global Social Protection between people living in different countries, relying on each other and supporting each other, contributing to a fair and equitable global society? – medico international and the Hélène de Beir Foundation can. We think that most people can adhere to the principles of Global Social Protection. We do not aim for a global social protection scheme that replaces national social protection schemes; we think that national social protection schemes will benefit from a global scheme. We think we can learn from social protection equalisation schemes, like they exist within and among many high-income countries (Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, and others). The objective of a three days expert workshop on Financing Global Social Protection was to challenge the metaphorical devil in the detail. We know we must move from global charity to global solidarity.” (Workshop Reader edited by Jens Holst on behalf of medico international and Hélène-de-Beir Foundation)
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Network news: Medicus Mundi Switzerland
Malaria: The BIG Picture
The Swiss Malaria Group (with Medicus Mundi Switzerland as a member) hosts an online photo contest: “Malaria affects the lives of millions across the world. The Swiss Malaria Group* online photo contest seeks to highlight the realities of those living at risk of malaria and the work of those dedicated to changing that reality. The contest is open to all. Send in your photos and captions that tell a story about malaria between 15 February and 24 March via the competition website, where you will find details of the three submission categories. The public will then vote to determine the finalists and a panel of expert judges will select the winners. Have you got a photo that can tell a story about malaria? Then send it in!”
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Network project: Medicus Mundi Italy
GrainForLife
A humanitarian campaign in Burkina Faso promoted by Medicus Mundi Italy and Spedali Civili Hospital (Brescia, Italy): Make sure a weaning child in Burkina Faso receives enriched flours for 4 months. Because he or she needs to grow just like our children.
International Health Policy: MMI updates
Bits and pieces of news on international health policy: each “MMI update” is 140 characters or less – these are the rules of the game on twitter. Just enough for a headline, eventually an author, a date, the source – and a link to the website where you find the full information. Have a look at some of our “tweets” published during the last month. As usual, it’s a bit much, so take it or leave it. And, as usual, you will see how difficult it is to put a resource under the “right” heading.
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Health systems strengthening
Health services, health financing (national and global level)
Health statistics and health systems research
- Financing Global Health 2012: The End of the Golden Age? IHME’s fourth annual report on global health expenditure
http://www.healthmetricsandevaluation.org/publications/policy-report/financing-global-health-2012-end-golden-age - Who should pay for global health, and how much? Luis R. Carrasco et al.
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001392 - Financing global health: the story is stagnation. Amanda Glassman
http://blogs.cgdev.org/globalhealth/2013/02/financing-global-health-the-story-is-stagnation.php - Conference on knowledge exchange in public health: How to get practice into science? 22-23 April 2013
http://www.tilburguniversity.edu/research/institutes-and-research-groups/tranzo/hollandfuseconference/ - Improving the use of health data for health system strengthening. Tara Nutley and Heidi W. Reynolds http://www.globalhealthaction.net/index.php/gha/article/view/20001
- Global leaders met in Geneva to discuss how to collaborate better towards more comparable, reliable health statistics
http://goo.gl/p2LU9 - Governments’ legal obligation: Make healthcare knowledge available to health workers and citizens. Pakenham-Walsh/Land
http://bit.ly/Yt8Svp - Alternatives to privatization. Public options for essential services in the Global South. McDonald/Ruiters, HSRC 2012
http://www.hsrcpress.ac.za/product.php?productid=2287&freedownload=1%20&freedownload=1 - The Implications of Complexity for Development. Owen Barder
http://www.cgdev.org/content/multimedia/detail/1426397 - Medicine for a sick system. Only healthier politics can cure problems of healthcare in Indonesia. Elizabeth Pisani
http://www.insideindonesia.org/write-for-us/medicine-for-a-sick-system - Sustainable health systems: Visions, strategies, critical uncertainties and scenarios. WEF report
http://www.who.int/about/who_reform/change_at_who_nov2012.pdf - The effects of public and private health care expenditure on health status in sub-Saharan Africa. J. Novignon et al.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3533939
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Universal health coverage
- “Don’t punish the poor, but don’t disappoint them either.” WHO DG Margaret Chan at ministerial level meeting on UHC
http://www.who.int/dg/speeches/2013/universal_health_coverage/en/index.html - WHO/World Bank ministerial-level meeting on Universal Health Coverage. Geneva, 18-19 February 2013 http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/meetings/2013/universal_health_coverage/en/
- Issue statement following Geneva ministerial meeting on universal health coverage
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2013/uhc_20130219/en/index.html - Ministers discuss universal health coverage in the context of their respective countries. Video collection by WHO
http://www.who.int/entity/universal_health_coverage/videos/en/index.html - New website on UHC from the World Bank: 22 case studies, mostly from countries that used taxes to cover the poor
http://bit.ly/WGzDNH - What will universal health coverage cover? Amanda Glassman
http://blogs.cgdev.org/globalhealth/2013/02/what-will-universal-health-coverage-cover.php - Universal health coverage: Old wine in a new bottle? If so, is that so bad? Adam Wagstaff
http://blogs.worldbank.org/developmenttalk/universal-health-coverage-old-wine-in-a-new-bottle-if-so-is-that-so-bad - No magic pill. Pursuing universal health coverage through equitable health systems. IDRC 2013
http://www.idrc.ca/EN/Resources/Publications/Pages/ArticleDetails.aspx?PublicationID=1125 - The impact of health insurance schemes for the informal sector in low- and middle-income countries. A. Acharya et al.
http://bit.ly/XIIYlw - Universal health coverage. Report by WHO Secretariat discussed at 132nd Session of WHO EB
http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB132/B132_22-en.pdf - Moving towards universal coverage in South Africa? Lessons from voluntary government insurance scheme. Govender et al.
http://www.globalhealthaction.net/index.php/gha/article/view/19253 - Ensuring health in universal health coverage. James D Shelton
http://www.nature.com/news/ensuring-health-in-universal-health-coverage-1.12263
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Human resources for health
Migration of health professionals
- Developing a new mid-level health worker: lessons from South Africa’s experience with clinical associates. Jane Doherty et al.
http://hesp-news.org/?p=3202 - Health workforce recruitment and retention in remote and rural areas: Users kit for “Discrete Choice Experiment” DCE
http://www.capacityplus.org/category/tags/discrete-choice-experiment - What does governance mean for the health workforce in low- and middle-income countries? Kaplan et al.
http://www.human-resources-health.com/content/11/1/6/abstract - Human resources for universal health coverage: a call for papers for upcoming themed issue of WHO Bulletin
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/91/2/13-117200/en/index.html - Health workforce: advances in responding to shortages/migration, and in preparing for emerging needs.
WHO secretariat report discussed at 132nd Session of WHO EB, January 2013
http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB132/B132_22-en.pdf - Developing new mid-level health worker: lessons from South Africa’s experience with clinical associates. Doherty et al.
http://www.globalhealthaction.net/index.php/gha/article/view/19282 - “1 Million Community Health Worker Initiative” http://1millionhealthworkers.org/ launched by SDSN & partners http://1millionhealthworkers.org/partners/ at WEF in Davos
- Strengthening the health worker pipeline through gender-transformative strategies. C. Newman et al., CapacityPlus
http://www.capacityplus.org/technical-brief-7/
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Access to medicines and vaccination
Medical research and development
Neglected diseases
- Promoting access to medical technologies and innovation: public health, intellectual property and trade. WHO, WIPO, WTO 2013
http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/publications_e/who-wipo-wto_2013_e.htm - WHO, WIPO, WTO release study on health innovation and access to medicines. WHO press release
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2013/book_launch_20130205/en/index.html - WHO DG Margaret Chan address at the launch of WHO, WIPO, WTO joint report on public health, intellectual property & trade
http://goo.gl/TNFBX - WHO, WTO, WIPO provide policymakers policy options for public health. Catherine Saez
http://www.ip-watch.org/2013/02/06/who-wto-wipo-provide-policymakers-policy-options-for-public-health - Aid for vaccines is subsidising Big Pharma, doctors (MSF) claim. Sarah Boseley
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2013/feb/04/aid-vaccines-subsidising-big-pharma-doctors-claim?intcmp=122 - Access to medicines and quality of medicines: always together! Raffaella Ravinetto and Christophe Luyckx
http://e.itg.be/ihp/archives/access-medicines-quality-medicines-together/ - WHO and the future of disease control programmes. Christopher Dye et al.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2812%2961812-1 - Joint civil society letter to WHO EB delegates on follow-up of CEWG report on R&D
http://lists.keionline.org/pipermail/ip-health_lists.keionline.org/2013-January/002758.html - Can (middle income countries’) governments make the global R&D system work for all? Suerie Moon on CEWG process
http://blogs.shu.edu/ghg/2013/01/25/can-mics-governments-make-the-global-rd-system-work-for-all/ - From promises to progress: The first annual report on the London Declaration on NTDs
http://www.unitingtocombatntds.org/content/promis - Neglected tropical diseases: progress and priorities. Lancet editorial
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2960115-4/fulltext - New phase in fight against neglected tropical diseases. WHO report (8 MB) and related news release http://www.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/77950/1/9789241564540_eng.pdf
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2013/ntds_report_20130116/en/index.html - Somewhat less neglected tropical diseases: Two reports suggest progress – but it needs to continue
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/sarah-boseley-global-health/2013/jan/16/infectiousdiseases-world-health-organisation
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Women’s and children’s health
Sexual and reproductive rights and health
- A manifesto for maternal health post-2015. Ana Langer, Richard Horton, Guerino Chalamilla
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2960259-7/fulltext - The structural determinants of child well-being. Expert consultation hosted by UNICEF Office of Research, June 2012
http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/678 - Baby health crisis in Indonesia as formula companies push products. Zoe Williams
http://m.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/15/babies-health-formula-indonesia-breastfeeding - Creating a maternal health movement. Mariam Claeson et al.
http://www.impatientoptimists.org/Posts/2013/01/Creating-a-Maternal-Health-Movement - A tipping point for change: saving millions of additional lives in 2013 and beyond. GE Jonathan & J Stoltenberg on MCH
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2960111-7/fulltext - A need for a moral revolution in maternal health care. Aku Kwamie reflects on http://www.gmhc2013.com
http://e.itg.be/ihp/archives/26-years-on-moral-revolution-maternal-health-care/ - Addressing inequity to achieve the maternal and child health millennium development goals: looking beyond averages
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/12/1119 - Translating coverage gains into health gains for all women and children: The quality care opportunity. WJ Graham et al.
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001368 - Quality of maternal health care. PLOS collection on maternal health, year 1 (2011-12)
http://www.ploscollections.org/article/browseIssue.action?issue=info:doi/10.1371/issue.pcol.v07.i16
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Equity, equality and human right to health
Social determinants of health
Poverty and social protection
- Inequality is the biggest threat to the world and needs to be tackled now. Jayati Ghosh
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/feb/20/inequality-threat-to-world-needs-tackling - Global social protection scheme. Moving from charity to solidarity. Jens Holst (Ed.), Workshop Reader
http://www.medico.de/en/themes/health/documents/global-social-protection-scheme/1243/ - Intersectoral action for health: searching for a more inclusive approach. Taufique Joarder
http://e.itg.be/ihp/archives/intersectoral-action-health-searching-inclusive-approach/ - Equity and equality are not equivalent; they cannot either be reduced to simple risk factors. Claudio Schuftan
http://bit.ly/Y2jXDC (part 1) and http://bit.ly/VZKIfI (part 2) - Should inequality be part of the post-2015 agenda? Debate in: The Broker
http://www.thebrokeronline.eu/Blogs/Inequality-debate - Poor people have got a right to be angry. Jonathan Glennie
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/feb/08/poor-people-right-to-be-angry - New avenue for litigating the right to health – Optional protocol to the ICESCR comes into force. O.A. Cabrera et al.
http://www.oneillinstituteblog.org/new-avenue-for-litigating-the-right-to-health-optional-protocol-to-the-icescr-comes-into-force/ - What’s wrong with inequality? Angus Deaton discussing “The Price of Inequality” by Joseph E Stiglitz
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2960154-3/fulltext - An alternative mechanism for international health aid: Evaluating a Global Social Protection Fund. Basu et al.
http://bit.ly/VdzUXb - Cost of inequality: wealth and income extremes hurt us all. Oxfam briefing
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/blogs/2012/12/income-of-richest-100-people-enough-to-end-poverty-four-times-over
reported by the Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/jan/19/super-rich-fight-poverty-oxfam
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Global health governance and policy
WHO reform
Role of NGOs in global health
- Politics and global health – Are we missing the obvious? Greg Paton
http://blogs.plos.org/globalhealth/2013/02/11/gpaton1 - Transforming public health specialists into public health leaders. Katarzyna Czabanowska et al.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2960245-7/fulltext - Did anything that matters (to the rest of us) happen in Davos? Tom Paulson about that strange club meeting
http://www.humanosphere.org/2013/01/did-anything-that-matters-to-the-rest-of-us-happen-in-davos/ - What is governance? Francis Fukuyama, CGDev Working Paper 314
http://www.cgdev.org/content/publications/detail/1426906/ - The role of the World Health Organization in the international system. Charles Clift, Chatham House WG on Governance
http://www.chathamhouse.org/publications/papers/view/189351 - WHO’s engagement with non-state actors: The challenge of maintaining integrity and independence. Miriam M. Sangiorgio
http://www.ghd-net.org/sites/default/files/Health%20Diplomacy%20Monitor%20Volume%204%20Issue%201.pdf - Benefits of decentralized WHO outweigh challenges. WHO Europe reports on side event to WHO EB session
http://www.euro.who.int/en/who-we-are/regional-director/news/news/2013/01/benefits-of-decentralized-who-outweigh-challenges - Is the WHO ready for a rising Africa? Kristof Decoster
http://e.itg.be/ihp/archives/who-ready-rising-africa/ - WHO EB132 highlights from a civil society perspective: WHO Watchers’ daily reports and MMI/PHM statements
http://www.ghwatch.org/who-watch/eb132 - With no commitment to a real increase of assessed contributions, WHO reform will remain ineffective.
DGH statement submitted by MMI Network
http://bit.ly/VZOlm0 - 132nd Executive Board meeting of the WHO and the institutionalization of multi-bi financing. Remco van de Pas
http://e.itg.be/ihp/archives/132nd-executive-board-meeting-who-institutionalization-multi-bi-financing/ - Strange “non-debate” on WHO’s role in global health governance at the 132nd Executive Board meeting: Germany was the only country to discuss the issue. Reference document: Report by the WHO secretariat.
http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB132/B132_5Add5-en.pdf - WHO Executive Board concludes after ‘unpredecented’ workload. William New
http://www.ip-watch.org/2013/01/30/who-executive-board-concludes-after-unpredecented-workload/ - Government knowledge and control over contributions of aid organizations / INGOs to health in Nepal. Aditi Giri et al.
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/content/9/1/1/abstract - NGOs: A long and turbulent history. Thomas Davies
http://theglobaljournal.net/group/top-100-ngos/article/981/ - Time to listen: Hearing people on the receiving end of international aid (Anderson et al., 2012) reviewed by D. Green
http://www.oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/?p=13492 - Time to listen: Hearing people on the receiving end of international aid. Mary B. Anderson et al., 2012 (pdf)
http://www.cdainc.com/cdawww/pdf/book/time_to_listen_pdf_Pdf1.pdf - Where are the NGOs and why? The distribution of health and development NGOs in Bolivia. Lindsay P Galway et al.
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/content/8/1/38
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Health beyond 2015
MDGs and SDGs
- Health in post-2015 development agenda: Report of global thematic consultation. Draft for public comment
http://www.worldwewant2015.org/node/304902
– and the comment by Mariska Meurs and Remco van de Pas for the MMI Network
http://getinvolvedinglobalhealth.blogspot.ch/2013/02/comment-by-medicus-mundi-international.html - Are low-income countries’ concerns sufficiently addressed by the draft health post 2015 consultation report? Agnes Nanyonjo & Eleanor Namusoke
http://bit.ly/15IUpRy - Health post-2015 agenda consultation organised by PHM, Bangkok, 29 January 2013. Report and documentation
http://www.phmovement.org/en/node/7036 - Empowered lives; resilient nations: Why health matters to human development. Helen Clark, UNDP
http://bit.ly/Yi8PjX - Absolute(ly not) zero. Charles Kenny can’t join excitement on “getting to zero” development targets
http://blogs.cgdev.org/globaldevelopment/2013/02/absolutely-not-zero.php - Forget #post2015 development goals – a global new deal is what’s needed. Richard Kozul-Wright, Jayati Ghosh
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/feb/05/post-2015-development-global-new-deal - Life after the MDG’s: universal coverage or ‘healthy life expectancy’? Julian Schweitzer
http://uhcforward.org/blog/2013/jan/30/life-after-mdgs - Health in the post-2015 development agenda. Report by WHO Secretariat discussed at 132nd EB session
http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB132/B132_12-en.pdf - HIV, health and the post-2015 development agenda. eDiscussion, 21 January – 3 February 2013
http://www.worldwewant2015.org/health - International development: big questions, small answers. The Guardian on frustrating, anaesthetised post2015 process
http://m.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/20/international-development-questions-answers
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Non-communicable diseases
- WHO Consultation: Draft global action plan for prevention and control of NCDs covering the period 2013 to 2020
http://www.who.int/nmh/events/2013/consultation_201303012/en/index.html - Profits & pandemics: Harmful effects of tobacco, alcohol, ultra-processed food & drink industries. Moodie et al.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2812%2962089-3/fulltext - Managing chronic diseases: Primary Health Care, now more than ever. Bart Criel
http://e.itg.be/ihp/archives/managing-chronic-diseases-primary-health-care/ - A human right to health approach for non-communicable diseases. Pol De Vos et al., PHM letter to The Lancet
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2960274-3/fulltext - Non-Communicable Diseases. Lancet series, February 2013 – available now for registered readers (registration is free)
http://www.thelancet.com/series/non-communicable-diseases, with contributions such as: - Improving responsiveness of health systems to non-communicable diseases. Rifat Atun et al.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2960063-X/fulltext - Independent global accountability for NCDs. Robert Beaglehole, Ruth Bonita, Richard Horton
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2960101-4/fulltext - Report by industry-backed group of experts proposes solutions to address NCDs. Tiphaine Nunzia Caulier
http://www.ip-watch.org/2013/02/11/report-proposes-solutions-to-address-non-communicable-diseases - Tackling NCD in low- and middle-income countries: Is evidence from high-income countries all we need? Ebrahim et al.
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001377
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World Cancer Day
- 4 February 2013 was World Cancer Day
http://www.worldcancerday.org - 1 in 2 countries unprepared to prevent and manage cancers, says WHO survey
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2013/world_cancer_day_20130201/en/index.html - Global cancer burden and sustainable health development. Myutan Kulendran et al.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2960138-5/fulltext - Cancer’s new battleground – the developing world.
http://www.theworld.org/cancer-new-battleground/
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Other topics
- Global leaders met in Geneva to discuss how to collaborate better towards more comparable, reliable health statistics
http://goo.gl/p2LU9 - Climate change and health – what’s the problem? Matthew HR Anstey
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/content/9/1/4/abstract - Opioid substitution therapy. Themed issue of WHO Bulletin, February 2013
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/91/2/13-000213/en/index.html - Gender equality, HIV and education. UNESCO booklet, “Good policy and practice in HIV and health education” series, 2013
http://www.hst.org.za/publications/good-policy-and-practice-hiv-and-health-education-booklet-7-gender-equality-hiv-and-edu
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