The post-2015 development agenda – what good is it for health equity? (instead of an editorial)

The post-2015 development agenda: What good is it for health equity?

The UN consultation on the post-2015 development agenda provides a crucial opportunity to reflect on the kind of future we want and how to get there. In a position paper* prepared by a drafting team of health advocates, we envision a future in which everyone enjoys the right to health.

While acknowledging the progress made on global health outcome indicators that are part of the current MDG framework, we highlight a number of weaknesses in this framework that need to be addressed in order to progress further and ensure that the benefits of globalisation are distributed equitably.

The heavy emphasis in the MDGs on development assistance and need for reforms in low-income countries should be balanced by equal attention to the need for high-income countries’ reform in areas such as climate change, global trade and finance, to avoid the erosion of gains made in wellbeing. Secondly, the focus on a few measurable outcomes has led to the neglect of other important aspects of development, not all easily measured, such as participation and democratic governance. Thirdly, global targets were set that were not sufficiently aligned to local needs and not disaggregated for different population groups. As a consequence we have seen the fragmentation of health systems, an uneven allocation of Official Development Assistance (ODA) and increased inequity.

We call for a post-2015 framework, that:

  • Addresses the root causes of poverty and structural power imbalances, has universal applicability and is not only applicable to low- and middle-income countries;
  • Recognises health as a right in and of itself and seeks to reduce inequities in health and other aspects of development, including through the use of disaggregated data in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of health programs;
  • Ensures broad participation in its preparation, monitoring of processes and outcomes and includes systems of accountability and governance that strengthen the building blocks of health systems in a comprehensive way;
  • Establishes a clear financing framework that moves beyond ODA, is based on social justice and addresses the illicit outflow of funds from developing countries;
  • Takes due attention to the three R’s (Regulation, Rights, and Redistribution) as principles for the global governance for health in policy domains within and beyond the health sector;
  • Includes health and equity as outcome indicators in non-health development goals.

*Summary of the Beyond 2015 position paper for the thematic consultation on health in the post-2015 UN development agenda. The Medicus Mundi International Network (MMI) coordinated the drafting of this paper based on input by a wide range of civil society organisations. Lead authors: Mariska Meurs and Remco van de Pas, Wemos. In the end of December 2012, the final version of the position paper was signed off unanimously by the Executive Committee of Beyond 2015, submitted to the UN team and published on the website of the thematic consultation.

References

 

MMI Network: Events, news and resources

………….
Network news: Emergenza Sorrisi – Doctors for Smiling Children
A “new” Network member

From 1 January, 2013 Smile Train Italia N.P.O. has changed its association’s name becoming Emergenza Sorrisi – Doctors for Smiling Children. Have a look at the organization’s new website and presentation in order to learn more about our “new” Network member.

Powerpoint presentation (as pdf)
Organization’s website

………….
Network news: Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network
EPN’s new Executive Director: Rev. Baraka Kabudi

On 1st January 2013, the board of the Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network (EPN) appointed Rev. Baraka Kabudi as the new Executive Director of EPN. Donna Kusemererwa will be leaving the EPN secretariat at the end of January, after 4 years of commitment to the Network.

Media release: www.epnetwork.org/new-ed

………….
Network news: Doctors with Africa Cuamm
È Africa – Contest and masterclass addressed to young European artists

“Tell us a story, about a faraway place, where the earth is red and the horizon seems endless. The story begins here, in a little hospital in the Tanzanian district of Iringa. Even the hustle and bustle of this small 200-bed facility can hide a multitude of stories. Your task is to tell us about Africa starting from that very health centre, where some depart this world and others are welcomed in.”

www.cuamm.org/en/contest

………….
Network news: Cordaid
2012 Cordaid HIV and AIDS award: and the winner is …YEI

The Hague, December 2012. Over the past four years Cordaid has awarded organisations and individuals for outstanding work carried out in the field of HIV and AIDS. The 2012 award goes to the Youth Empowering Initiative (YEI), an organisation that shows outstanding commitment and leadership in mobilising local resources to implement sustainable care and support initiatives for children living with or affected by

www.cordaid.org

………….
Network resources: Cordaid, Memisa, action medeor
Making healthcare accessible

Every 90 seconds, a mother dies during either pregnancy or childbirth. For background information and news about Cordaid’s work on better and accessible healthcare in the poorest countries, have a look at the healthcare pages on the new (January 2013) Cordaid website.

www.cordaid.org/en/topics/healthcare/about-topic/

Other MMI Network members who recently refreshed their website:

action medeor: www.medeor.de/en/
Memisa: www.memisa.be/en

………….
Network events: Medicus Mundi International
What’s up in 2013

Network members are kindly invited to publish their upcoming meetings in the “event calendar” of the MMI ePlatform and newsletter. On the other hand, there will be some key events in 2013 which attract our attention. Do you intend to go there? If yes, let us know. For registration to WHO events, please get in touch with the secretariat.

By the way, Medicus Mundi Switzerland now publishes an event calendar for the Health Network of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

 

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.

………….
Health systems strengthening
Health services, health financing
Universal health coverage

 

………….

Human resources for health
Migration of health professionals

 

………….
Women’s and children’s health
Sexual and reproductive rights and health

 

………….
Equity and human right to health
Social determinants of health
Poverty and social protection

………….
Global health governance: Focus on BRICS

 

………….
Global health policy and governance
WHO reform, WHO EB meeting

 

………….
Health beyond 2015
MDGs and SDGs

See above: other sections and “instead of an editorial”

………….
Noncommunicable diseases
Mental health

 

………….
Way back in 2012…

Follow the MMI Updates on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/mmi_updates

……………

MMI Network News are edited and distributed by e-mail by the secretariat of Medicus Mundi International. Network members (only) are kindly invited to send us your contributions.

You can get the monthly MMI Network News by sending a simple “subscribe” message to the secretariat. Please conctact us also if you have received the newsletter by e-mail, but do not want to be included any more in our mailing list.