As usually there is not too much “breaking news” to report in the (European) summer edition of the MMI Network news. You might focus your attention on the announcements of upcoming Network events on health systems, health in fragile contexts and effective health cooperation. And have a look at recently published annual reports of MMI Network members. You will see that there are as many approaches to health cooperation and global health as organizations – and this brings me back to our upcoming Network event in Berlin, at the end of September: Look at the preliminary announcement below; an invitation will follow soon.
Best regards,
Thomas Schwarz, Executive Secretary
Medicus Mundi International – Network Health for All
MMI Network: Events, papers and resources
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Network event: Medicus Mundi Switzerland
Health in fragile contexts
Bern, 24 August 2016
“In an increasing number of countries the implementation of health programmes is challenged by fragile contexts. At the same time, fragility of a state is considered as one of the main causes for malfunctioning health services. Emergency situations aggravate such situation and reveal the weaknesses of the system. These settings evoke not only questions on how to adapt to shaking working environment or on sustainability, but also whether health programmes could make a contribution to reduce fragility.” Organizers: Swiss Red Cross, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and Network Medicus Mundi Switzerland.
> www.medicusmundi.ch/en/conference/conference-on-health-in-fragile-contexts
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Medicus Mundi International: Network meeting 2016
Networking for effective health cooperation
Berlin, 28-29 September 2016
The 2016 meeting of the Medicus Mundi International Network will take place in Berlin, following an invitation by our German Network member action medeor and linked with a VENRO conference on global health on 28 September. The MMI event on 29 September will focus on particular elements of the implementation of the MMI Network Strategy 2016-20, mainly in the field of effective health cooperation (EHC).
> http://www.medicusmundi.org/contributions/events/2016/berlin2016
> http://www.medicusmundi.org/contributions/events/2016/berlin2016/mmi-network-event-in-berlin-29-september-2016-preliminary-announcement.pdf
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Network event: Medicus Mundi Switzerland
Working in fragile contexts and building up resilient health systems
Basel, 2 November 2016
“To end preventable child and maternal deaths, create an AIDS-Free Generation, and protect communities against infectious diseases such as Ebola, we need effective, functional health systems that can deliver essential health services to those in need. International health organisations are more and more obliged to work in fragile contexts where the environment is marked by instability, the public structures are weak or quick to collapse and the rule of law is lacking. If we want to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 we have to find better means to strengthen systems for health and to avoid leaving anyone behind. The MMS Symposium will address these challenges by reflecting different experiences and by having a closer look on building resilient systems for health in fragile contexts.” Annual symposium of Medicus Mundi Switzerland.
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Network event: Doctors with Africa CUAMM
Mothers and children first
Padova, 5 November 2016
“”We are all invited to renew our commitment to answer Pope Francis’s call – made during his special audience on May 7, 2016 – to guarantee healthcare access to the weakest among us, especially mothers and children. This year’s annual meeting will be a special occasion as we will present the final results of our project “Mothers and Children First”, about to conclude its first five-year cycle. We will also launch our next program to promote the health of mothers and children. This meeting will be an opportunity to rediscover together the care, passion, and wonder of taking concrete action for, and with, those who suffer and live at the farthest reaches of the land, ‘at the margins.’ Because the farthest reaches of distance, suffering, and need touch us all and demand new and urgent choices from us.” Annual meeting of CUAMM.
> http://www.mediciconlafrica.org/en/our-voice/news/mothers-and-children-first-annual-meeting-2016/
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Network paper: Health Poverty Action
Power and privilege – taking a look at ourselves
“Two years ago Health Poverty Action worked with others on a report that argued the development sector, through its focus on aid, was obscuring the facts about how poverty is created. It was also reinforcing dubious power imbalances between people and nations that ultimately undermine the ends we seek as a sector. It’s no secret that these power imbalances are replicated across the Northern INGO sector itself. Sometimes this is reflected in our relationships with Southern partners, sometimes in lack of employee diversity, sometimes in appalling representations of the South in charity communications – and no doubt sometimes in others things too.”
> https://www.healthpovertyaction.org/news/power-and-privilege-taking-a-look-at-ourselves/
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Network resource: Doctors with Africa CUAMM
CUAMM Field research
“Field research, or operational research, is becoming more and more important for our organization. An integral part of our strategic plan, it complements our work on the ground, where it is helping us to deliver increasingly effective results. What ‘doing research’ means for CUAMM, in fact, is studying and getting to know in depth the settings where we work; adopting a critical approach to all that we do; identifying evidence-based good practices; and being fully accountable to all of our stakeholders. Finally, it means implementing quality cooperative development activities through networking and partnership with the international scientific community and a focus on innovation.”
> Field research website: http://www.mediciconlafrica.org/en/fieldresearch/
> 2015 research collection: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwAfVB4pT1t8TGI1MVlmRG1xQW8/view
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Network resource: Cordaid
Course on Results Based Financing (RBF)
“The University of Zimbabwe (UZ), in collaboration with Cordaid, is offering a 10 day-course on Results Based Financing (RBF) from 17-26 October 2016. The course is targeted at senior policy makers as well as participants from international agencies and non governmental organizations. The course will be conducted in English. Kindly find attached more information on the 10-day course.” (Announcement by Cordaid to MMI Network members)
> Website www.cephi.co.zw/site/?page_id=15
> PDF http://www.medicusmundi.org/papers/cordaid-rbfcourse/at_download/file
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Network campaign/paper: Wemos
Drug trials in Egypt: unethical and unsafe
In June, Wemos, SOMO and Déclaration de Berne jointly published the report ‘Industry-sponsored clinical drug trials in Egypt: Ethical questions in a challenging context’. The report reveals that drug trials in Egypt, which are done by international pharmaceutical companies, are often unethical and harmful to test subjects’ health. The research was conducted by an Egyptian investigative journalist and an Egyptian human rights organization, and focused on new medicines for Hepatitis C and cancer. What worries us in particular are the cancer drug trials.
> Website: https://www.wemos.nl/en/drug-trials-in-egypt/
> PDF: https://www.wemos.nl/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/BD_Report_Clinical_Drug_Trials_Egypt_06-2016.pdf
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Network campaign/paper: various Network members
European “Health Workers for all” project (2013-15): Country and joint activities and results
“The project ‘Health Workers for All and All for Health Workers’ (HW4All) wanted to increase the coherence between development cooperation policies and domestic health policies and practices of European Member States with regard to the strengthening of the health workforce. The main emphasis was on countries with a critical shortage of health workers. Thereby the project aimed at contributing to a sustainable health workforce worldwide. Within the 3-year project period, the project partners have implemented all planned activities at national and EU level, and even more. The result is rich, we have achieved a lot, but there is still a way to go.”
> Website: http://www.healthworkers4all.eu/eu/project-outcome/
> PDF: http://www.healthworkers4all.eu/fileadmin/docs/eu/hw4all_papers/PUBL-HW4All_def.pdf
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MMI Network members: Please send us your contributions to the MMI website (events, news, articles, resources) and the next issue of the newsletter!
MMI Network members: Annual Reports
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Network members: reporting
Annual report of action medeor
“In the last year action medeor was able to improve the health situation of many people and so help to save precious lives. In many cases, these advances were more than a short term solution, they brought lasting improvement. In view of today’s global challenges, our commitment and dedication to help people in need must not wane. Standing shoulder to shoulder with you in this work is our bedrock — it inspires and motivates us in all we do.” (Bernd Pastors and Christoph Bonsmann)
> available in German, English, Spanish and French
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Network members: reporting
Annual Report of the Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network EPN
“There are so many challenges in the world, so many things are not really working. After 35 years of EPN’s existence, so many people are still suffering and dying because medicines are unaffordable and inaccessible. So many facilities are without trained staff in pharmacy and so many people are still excluded from their human right to health or accessibility to basic health care. Should we be pessimistic in saying: we can’t make it? We give up? We are too weak or we have limited human and financial resources? Or should we say ‘yes, we can make it’? With God’s guidance, with his support we will be strong enough to carry out our assignment. (Albert Petersen)
> available in English
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Network members: reporting
Annual Report of HealthNet TPO
“2015 has been a year in which humanitarian needs were enormous. In Iraq and Afghanistan we have been directly involved in the refugee crisis. But we have also worked on better health and wellbeing with the people in lesser known fragile communities, such as South Sudan and Burundi. At the same time the year 2015 was critical for the organization. Through a partnership with Zaluvida Holdings Pte LTF we have combined the best elements of ‘for’ and ‘not-for’ profit. Zaluvida has strengthened the financial basis of HealthNet. Furthermore, we will continue to work together on increasing HealthNet’s operational and fund development capacities. (website)
> available in English and Dutch
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Network members: reporting
Annual Report of i+solutions
Looking back on 2015, i+solutions has had an interesting year. We set ambitious goals for 2015, and can proudly say that we achieved most of them. Unfortunately, in April 2015 we lost the tender to continue the SCMS (USAID funded Supply Chain Management System tender). The loss of this tender made us ever more aware of need for us to spread our portfolio over multiple donors. That’s what we’ve been working on in 2015: our ambition is to become a partner of choice for more donors that appreciate our expertise, we have extended our portfolio, we have worked on innovative Supply Chain Management projects, and we are working on improving our PR to increase awareness of our expertise in the field.” (Luuk Jan Boon)
> available in English
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Network members: reporting
Annual Report of medico international
“medico takes the position that the right to freedom of movement cannot be partitioned. This is why we gave more support than ever in 2015 to those fleeing and to migrant self-organisations. At the same time, many medico partner organisations are working in their home countries for democracy and a transformation of economic relationships towards common welfare. The idea that brings us together is the idea of a world where nobody is forced to flee in the face of war, hunger or devastated living conditions. (Brigitte Kühn and Thomas Gebauer)
> available in English and German
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Network members: reporting
Annual Report of Medicus Mundi Spain
“In 2015 the results of the international action on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have been assessed – showing a picture of light and shadow. The MDGs indicators have improved but have not reached the level expected. This was mainly due to lack of political commitment and financing by Developed Countries. Based on lessons learned from the assessment of the MDGs, and after a much more participatory process, the UN General Assembly in New York approved, in September, the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” (SDGs) With the pros and cons of this new agenda, we have to assume it and we will work with it to try to get together with civil society here and in the South to make sure that the countries stick to their commitments made and that they are effective.” (Eduardo García Langarica, translated from Spanish)
> available in Spanish
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The full collection of MMI Network members’ annual reports can be found here. Let us know when your own report is available for sharing with the MMI Network members and partners. Contributions (“short stories”) of MMI Network members to the Annual Report of the MMI Network have been published in the May issue of the Network news.