Editorial: Global health democracy (starts at home)
Dear reader,
As the UN health agency, WHO remains in today’s globalized world the “directing and coordinating authority” for the realization of the right to health. Its role as the sole global legal authority in health is also embedded in its constitution and needs to be strongly supported. The World Health Organization is an intergovernmental organization, and WHO’s decision making supremacy lies with its governing bodies. In the World Health Assembly and the sessions of the Executive Board, this is often translated into the simple statement that “WHO belongs to the member states”.
This ownership of the member states is incontestable, but let us have a closer look at these “owners”: Who are their representatives at the 66th World Health Assembly that starts in a couple of days? Who appoints these delegates and for whom will they speak? What positions on agenda items will they bring along? How have these positions been developed and shaped? Are they coherent with their country’s position in other fora? To whom will the delegates report back after the World Health Assembly? And what mechanisms exist to control that a country fulfils its commitments resulting from the WHA resolutions adopted with their support?
Legitimacy, coherence, accountability are great challenges. In addition to the health diplomacy programs for WHO member states representatives in Geneva, there is an urgent need for another effort: to improve global health democracy.
“Civil society relations” are part of the WHO reform agenda (1). But these relations should not be dealt with at a global level only: All WHO member states need to define policies and instruments for engaging civil society – the “extended state” (2) – not only in their domestic health policies, but also in the making of their positions on global (health) issues. There is no blueprint for this process; modalities and solutions need to be rooted in the political culture and the existing institutional settings of every country. Resulting policies and instruments for policy coherence (such as a foreign health policy) and policy dialogue with civil society (such as hearings, national health assemblies) should be monitored in order to allow accountability. And they might be shared with other countries at a regional and global level in order to foster best practices and mutual learning. This needs support and leadership by WHO both at global and regional level and should be integrated in their structured dialogue with member states.
On the other hand, the process of democratizing global health policy at a national level should correspond and be complemented with instruments of civil society involvement at the regional and global level – not only at the governing body meetings of the WHO, but in the whole cycle of policy shaping and making, including commissions and working groups. And here we are back at some core demands regarding the WHO reform.
The Medicus Mundi International Network, as part of the “Democratizing Global Health coalition on the WHO reform”, is advocating for a WHO in which the normative processes for global health policy are led by countries, based on coherent positions resulting from a democratic political process at the domestic level. True global health democracy starts at home. There is not shortcut or quick fix for it at a global level.
Thomas Schwarz, Executive Secretary
Medicus Mundi International Network
References:
- WHO reform process: see our thematic guide
www.bit.ly/whoreformguide - See Thomas Gebauer, High time to re-politicise NGOs
www.medico.de/en/themes/campaigns/documents/high-time-to-re-politicise-ngos-/1225/
MMI Network events 2013: Act now to get involved!
Deadlines for active involvement of MMI Network members and partners in our key events in the current year are approaching fast. So it is high time to act if you want to ensure your participation:
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WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel: Stoking up the fire for Code implementation
WHA civil society side event, Geneva, 22 May 2013
“The challenge of Code implementation the looks different for destination and source countries of health workforce migration: Destination countries need to address the issue of coherence between domestic and global health policies, as they have to tackle national and global shortages at the same time. Many source countries of migration have not yet taken advantage of the Code and its provisions. They should consider developing stronger leadership for implementation of the Code, as it could greatly support their efforts in the fields of health workforce development and retention.”
This civil society side event to the World Health Assembly is organized by the Medicus Mundi International Network on behalf of the European “Health workers for all and all for health workers” project and many other involved partners and co-promoters. If you want to attend in this event, you need to be a registered WHA delegate – see above.
> Side event announcement: www.bit.ly/wha66-code
> Deadline for WHA registration via MMI: 12 May 2013
> 66th World Health Assembly: http://apps.who.int/gb/e/e_wha66.html
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MMI Jubilee Assembly in Barcelona, 7-8 June 2013
Primary Health Care and cooperation: A utopia?
– register your participation before 15 May!
The Jubilee events of the Federation of Medicus Mundi Spain (MM Spain) will start with a scientific conference on “Primary Health Care and Cooperation: A utopia?” in the Medical College of Physicians of Barcelona, in the upper side of the city. The Assembly of MMI on Saturday morning will be hold in parallel with the MM Spain Jubilee Assembly at Casal del Metge (Mutual medical), located in the Gothic Quarter close to the Cathedral. There will be a jubilee dinner on Saturday evening and further jubilee side events from Friday to Sunday. Looking forward to seeing you soon in Barcelona!
> First announcement: Download PDF
> MMI jubilee page: www.bit.ly/mmi50
> Register your participation before 15 May: online at MM Catalunya
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MMI Network meeting Brussels, 27-28 November 2013
Health-y answers to comple#ity: Are we able to move beyond the control panel?
– submit your stories now!
This year’s Medicus Mundi International Network meeting will be hosted by Memisa and linked to the annual seminar of Be-cause Health on 28 November at the Egmont Palace in Brussels. If its working title is confusing, this might even be intentional: the conference is all about providing health care in a complex environment and how to deal with this complexity. The Assembly, a Board meeting and workshops of the Medicus Mundi International Network are scheduled for 27 November.
> MMI conference page: www.bit.ly/mmi2013-brussels
> Call for stories and submission form: see also www.bit.ly/Z899Tg
> Deadline for submission of stories: 15 May 2013
MMI Network: News and resources
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Network campaign: MMI, members and partners
Health workers for all and all for health workers
Everyone should have access to health workers. However, if the situation remains as it is today, one billion people world-wide will never see a health worker in their life. The first ‘World Health Worker Week’ (8-12 April) marked the launch of the ‘Health workers for all and all for health workers’ project, a European civil society initiative that contributes to a sustainable health workforce worldwide. The secretariat of the MMI Network and five Network members are part of the project consortium coordinated by Wemos.
> Project launch, 10 April 2013: www.bit.ly/17HbbjY
> Project website: www.healthworkers4all.eu
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MMI marketplace: Doctors with Africa Cuamm
Treatment outcomes among children on antiretroviral therapy in Beira, Mozambique
“We are looking for a young researcher for a retrospective cohort study of children on antiretroviral therapy at four health centres in Beira, Mozambique. The four health centres cater for about 87% of children on ART in Beira town. The study wants to find out whether treatment outcomes among children transferred from Beira Central Hospital to the health centres differed from those of children enrolled directly at the centres and in general show the impact and the effect of decentralisation in the Mozambican context. Data will be extracted from patients’ files.”
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MMI marketplace: Doctors with Africa Cuamm
Diagnosis and treatment delay in Tuberculosis in four sub-Saharan African countries
“It is estimated that every year there are 9.4 million new tuberculosis cases and nearly two million people deaths from tuberculosis. The magnitude of the tuberculosis epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), that accounts for approximately 80% of the world’s tuberculosis⁄ HIV co-infection cases is well recognized. Reservoirs for high levels of tuberculosis transmission rest predominantly in those with undiagnosed pulmonary disease and early diagnosis and prompt effective therapy are the key elements of the TB control programme. We are looking for a young researcher to undertake an in-depth analysis of the health-seeking behaviour of TB patients and health system response in four sub-Sahara African countries: Angola, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.”
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MMI marketplace: Call to Network members
Publish your proposal on the MMI marketplace!
The two „NGO research proposals” by Cuamm are 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.
> Call for proposals: http://bit.ly/mmi-marketplace
> Marketplace: www.medicusmundi.org/en/network-resources/marketplace
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.
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Upcoming events
- Towards sustainable global health architecture: practices, institutions, knowledge base. Rotterdam, 15 May 2013 http://www.rotterdamglobalhealthinitiative.nl
- 8th Global Conference on Health Promotion, Helsinki, 10-14 June 2013
http://www.stm.fi/en/ministry/international_cooperation/who/healthpromotion2013 - The struggle for health. A short on line training course for young health activists, IPHU, 28 June to 13 October 2013
http://www.iphu.org/en/ipolItem - International Conference on Family Planning 2013, 12-15 November 2013: Call for abstracts
http://www.who.int/pmnch/media/news/2013/201304/en/index.html - Prince Mahidol conference 2014: transformative education of health workers. Call for abstracts
http://www.pmaconference.mahidol.ac.th
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Health systems strengthening
Health services, health financing
- Affordable excellence: The Singapore health care system. William Haseltine
http://www.brookings.edu/research/books/2013/affordableexcellence?utm_campaign=Brookings%2520Insitution - It’s time to transform community health Systems. Gloria Sangiwa and Jonathan Jay
http://blog.msh.org/2013/05/01/its-time-to-transform-community-health-systems/ - Gabon gets everyone under one social health insurance roof. Gary Humphreys in: WHO Bulletin
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/91/5/13-020513/en/index.html - Health systems and services: the role of acute care. Jon Mark Hirshon et al. in: WHO Bulletin
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/91/5/12-112664/en/index.html - Outcomes of Oslo European high-level meeting on health financing in context of economic crisis
http://bit.ly/11NfYww - Health, health systems and economic crisis in Europe: impact and policy implications. WHO Europe 2013 (22 pages)
http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/186932/Health-and-economic-crisis-in-Europe4.pdf - National locus of control – countries walking their talk on health systems strengthening. Lenias Hwenda & Harald Siem
http://bit.ly/16Lwh2A - The changing national role in health system governance. A case-based study of 11 European countries and Australia
http://bit.ly/12INdAb - Unpacking the Bamako Initiative. Abimbola Lagunju and Jean Pierre Papart
http://bit.ly/10dsNOh - Status and future prospects of government funding for health for WHO African Region countries. Juliet Nabyonga Orem
http://e.itg.be/ihp/archives/status-future-prospects-government-funding-health-who-african-region-countries - Invest in health systems for a balanced approach. Irene Akua Agyepong
http://www.scidev.net/en/health/opinions/invest-in-health-systems-for-a-balanced-approach-1.html
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Health systems research
- Conducting health survey research in a deep rural SA community: challenges and adaptive strategies. M. Casale et al.
http://www.health-policy-systems.com/content/11/1/14/abstract - Translation of research into reality in sub-Saharan Africa. Taiwo O Lawoyin and Olusheyi O Lawoyin
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2960601-7/fulltext
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Universal health coverage
- Universal health coverage. Report by the WHO Secretariat to the 66th World Health Assembly
http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA66/A66_24-en.pdf - Beyond the cube. Ethics and universal health coverage. Kyle Beaulieu
http://uhcforward.org/blog/2013/apr/18/beyond-cube - Transforming data into decision-making. A dashboard for expansion of health coverage. Marilyn Heymann
http://jointlearningnetwork.org/blog/2013/apr/24/transforming-data-decision-making
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Human resources for health
Migration of health professionals
- Health workforce: advances in responding to shortages and migration, and in preparing for emerging needs. WHA66 report
http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA66/A66_25-en.pdf - Right time, right place: Effective retention and distribution of health workers. HRH call for papers
http://www.who.int/workforcealliance/media/news/2013/callhwaretention/en/index.html - Understanding the factors influencing health-worker employment decisions in South Africa. Gavin George et al.
http://www.human-resources-health.com/content/11/1/15/abstract - The role of the private sector in the production of nurses in India, Kenya, South Africa, Thailand. Reynolds et al.
http://www.human-resources-health.com/content/11/1/14/abstract
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Access to medicines and vaccination
Medical research and development
- Policy coherence for improved medical innovation and access. Zafar Mirza et al. in: WHO Bulletin
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/91/5/13-122705/en/index.html - US and EU demand TRIPS plus concession from poorest countries. Sangeeta Shashikant
http://lists.keionline.org/pipermail/ip-health_lists.keionline.org/2013-April/003094.html - Using TRIPS flexibilities to facilitate access to medicines. D. Nicol & O. Owoeye
http://www.who.int/entity/bulletin/online_first/12-115865.pdf (WHO Bulletin online first) - India’s patent case victory rattles Big Pharma. Patralekha Chatterjee
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2960826-0/fulltext - Ethical principles for medical research on humans: Reconsidering the Declaration of Helsinki. EJ Emanuel http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2960970-8/fulltext
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Women’s and children’s health
Sexual and reproductive rights and health
- Linking child survival and child development for health, equity, sustainable development. Margaret Chan
http://bit.ly/18hOK67 - Childhood Pneumonia and Diarrhoea. Lancet series, published on 12 April 2013
http://www.thelancet.com/series/childhood-pneumonia-and-diarrhoea - Ending Preventable Child Deaths from Pneumonia and Diarrhoea by 2025. Integrated Global Action Plan
http://www.unicef.org/media/files/Final_GAPPD_main_Report-_EN-8_April_2013.pdf - Interventions to address childhood pneumonia and diarrhoea equitably: what works and at what cost? ZA Bhutta et al.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2960648-0/abstract - UNICEF/WHO: New plan to address pneumonia and diarrhoea could save 2 million children a year
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_68669.html - Global Newborn Health Conference 2013: Closing presentation
http://prezi.com/svfabwcqmqup/global-newborn-health-conference-2013-closing-presentation - Year 2 of the Maternal Health Task Force (MHTF) – PLOS collection on maternal health – 12 new articles added
http://blogs.plos.org/speakingofmedicine/2013/04/17/year-2-mhtf-plos-collection-on-maternal-health-12-new-articles-added/ - New findings for maternal mortality age patterns: Aggregated results for 38 countries. Ann K. Blanc et al.
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0059864 - A call for accelerated newborn survival: Consultation on Global Newborn Action Plan
http://www.globalnewbornaction.org - Improving child nutrition: The achievable imperative for global Progress. UNICEF report
http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_68661.html - Breastfeeding policy: a globally comparative Analysis. Jody Heymann et al.
http://www.who.int/entity/bulletin/online_first/12-109363.pdf (WHO Bulletin, online first) - Maternal mortality and morbidity: a human rights imperative. Navanethem Pillay
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2960135-X/fulltext
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Equity and human right to health
Social determinants of health
Poverty and social protection
- Social Determinants of Health: WHO discussion papers and sectoral briefing series
http://www.who.int/social_determinants/corner/en/ - Health, equity and social welfare. Marc Fleurbaey
http://academic.research.microsoft.com/Paper/3176162.aspx - The Public Health Observatory Handbook of Health Inequalities Measurement
http://bit.ly/yw8bV6 - Social determinants of health. Report by WHO secretariat for WHA
http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA66/A66_15-en.pdf
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Global health governance and policy
Development assistance for health
WHO reform
- The impact of globalization on national public health. Wemos background document for Dutch stakeholder meeting
http://www.wemos.nl/news/?v=2&lid=2&id=246&cid=14 - Global health priorities – priorities of the wealthy? Eeva Ollila
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/content/1/1/6 - Global Governance Report Card: Public health
http://www.cfr.org/thinktank/iigg/reportcard/public_health.html#report-Card - The grand decade for global health: 1998–2008. Jon Lidén, April 2013
http://www.chathamhouse.org/publications/papers/view/190715 - From audits to results: A needed paradigm shift in health aid. Victoria Fan and Amanda Glassman
http://www.cgdev.org/blog/audits-results-needed-paradigm-shift-health-aid - ‘Development’ must mean more then foreign aid for specific health conditions! David Sanders & David Legge
http://www.phmovement.org/en/node/7502 - Development assistance for health: Critiques and proposals for change. Suerie Moon and Oluwatosin Omole
http://www.chathamhouse.org/publications/papers/view/190951 - Development assistance for health in Africa: are we telling the right story? Van de Maele et al.
http://www.who.int/bulletin/online_first/12-115410.pdf - Glass houses… international NGOs and walking the walk on the International Aid Transparency Initiative. T San Martin
http://lindaraftree.com/2013/04/23/glass-houses-ingos-and-walking-the-talk-on-iati/ - Humanitarianism in the network age (including World humanitarian data and trends 2012). OCHA 2013
http://www.unocha.org/node/11528 - The role of faith-inspired health care providers in Sub-Saharan Africa (Vol. 1-3). Jill Olivier & Quentin Wodon (Ed.)
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/docsearch/report/76223 - ‘BRICS without straw’? Syst. literature review of newly emerging economies’ influence in global health. Harmer et al.
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/content/9/1/15/abstract - Coughing dragon, sneezing elephant: China, India, and global health governance. Stewart M. Patrick
http://blogs.cfr.org/patrick/2013/04/09/coughing-dragon-sneezing-elephant-china-india-and-global-health-governance - Development’s next big debate will be between technocrats and humanists. Hugh Roberts
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/apr/05/development-big-debate-technocrats-humanists - World Health Organization: Proposed Programme Budget 2014-2015 (pdf)
http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA66/A66_7-en.pdf - World Health Organization: Draft twelfth general programme of work (pdf)
http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA66/A66_6-en.pdf - WHO reform: Implementation plan and related tools
http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.who-reform - WHO global perception survey: WHO most effective at influencing policy for improving people’s health at global level
http://www.who.int/about/who_reform/change_at_who/who_perception_survey/en/index.html#.UXUk2_XePAw - Change@WHO. April 2013 newsletter on WHO reform
http://www.who.int/about/who_reform/change_at_who/en/index.html#.UW_oUvXePjI - 66th World Health Assembly, 20-28 May 2013: provisorial agenda and documentation
http://apps.who.int/gb/e/e_wha66.html
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Health beyond 2015
MDGs and SDGs
- Health in the post-2015 development agenda. Final report of UN thematic consultation
http://www.worldwewant2015.org/health - Possible health 2015 framework: maximizing healthy lives = health goal;
sustainable well-being for all = development goal
http://www.worldwewant2015.org/health - Equity, inequality and human development in a post-2015 Framework. Claire Melamed, Emma Samman
http://hdr.undp.org/en/humandev/learnmore/2013researchpapers/ - What do people want for health in the post-2015 agenda? UN Task Team for the Global Thematic consultation
www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2960765-5
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Annual events:
World Health Day; Malaria Day; Immunization Week
- World Health Day, 7 April 2013: measure your blood pressure, reduce your risk
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2013/world_health_day_20130403/en/index.html - Raising the pressure on hypertension. The Lancet editorial
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2960780-1/fulltext - Silent killer, global public health crisis. A Global Brief on Hypertension. WHO report ahead of World Health Day
http://www.who.int/cardiovascular_diseases/publications/global_brief_hypertension/en/index.html - World Malaria Day, 25 April: Invest in the future. Defeat malaria
http://goo.gl/o69Y3 - World Malaria Day 2013: Fighting malaria in Africa and Asia (video)
http://bit.ly/17RpxfN - Malaria: Targets and drugs for all stages. Kasturi Haldar and Margaret Phillips
http://blogs.plos.org/speakingofmedicine/2013/04/25/malaria-targets-and-drugs-for-all-stages - It is time to rethink tactics in the fight against malaria. Laurence Slutsker and S Patrick Kachur
http://www.malariajournal.com/content/12/1/140/abstract - Malaria elimination in a challenging Human Rights Environment. Bill Brieger
http://malariamatters.org/?p=1607 - Synthetic anti-malarial compound is bad news for artemisia farmers. Jim Thomas
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/apr/12/synthetic-malaria-compound-artemisia-farmers - The changing epidemiology of malaria elimination: new strategies for new challenges. Chris Cotter et al.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2960310-4/fulltext - World Immunization Week, April 2013
http://www.who.int/campaigns/immunization-week/2013/event/en/index.html - World Immunization Week: Leaders and laggards. Amanda Glassman
http://international.cgdev.org/blog/world-immunization-week-leaders-and-laggards
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Other topics
- Lancet editorial and series on tobacco control
http://www.lancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(13)60961-7/fulltext - Draft comprehensive mental health action plan 2013–2020. Report by WHO secretariat, 66th World Health Assembly
http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA66/A66_10-en.pdf - Grand challenges in global mental health: Integration in research, policy, and practice. Pamela Y. Collins et al.
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001434 - Is surgery a luxury item in global health? Sherry Wren
http://swasthyamundial.com/2013/04/is-surgery-a-luxury-item-in-global-health/#more-1307 - Eliminating neglect and neglected tropical diseases. Peter Hotez
http://blogs.plos.org/speakingofmedicine/2013/04/23/eliminating-neglect-and-neglected-tropical-diseases - Our collective effort to eradicate polio is close to success. Kofi Annan
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/22/polio-vaccinations-success - Globalization, climate change, and human health. Anthony J. McMichael
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra1109341?af=R
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