MMI Network News, December 2018

Dear reader,

Human Resources for Health have been a key topic of the MMI Network since a long time. The MMI working group on Human Resources for Health (MMI HRH) was set up in 2006 and initially focused its work on the promotion of best practices among NGOs (education, employment, retention of health personnel), with a first task of “developing and implementing strategies to keep competent and motivated staff available for non-governmental health care facilities in Sub-Saharan Africa” (work plan 2007).

In 2009 MMI HRH shifted its attention and work to influencing global policies and governance in the field of HRH, with a particular focus on the promotion and implementation of the “WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel” adopted by the World Health Assembly in 2010. From 2013 to 2015, the MMI HRH working group was aligned with the MMI engagement in the European project “Health workers for all and all for health workers” HW4All.

In 2017, MMI HRH together with ACHEST, MSF and Wemos convened a civil society session on “How can civil society spur action on ensuring health workers for all?” at the 4th Global Forum on Human Resources for Health. As a result, MMI HRH promoted and supported the plan to bring civil society advocacy on key health workforce issues to a next level by launching a broader civil society coalition on HRH beyond the MMI Network membership.

On 20 May 2018, in a side event to the 71th World Health Assembly, representatives from a diverse group of civil society organizations, academic institutions, and health workers’ professional associations and unions agreed to join forces and to establish the civil society Health Workers for All Coalition (HW4All Coalition): “The Coalition advocates access to health workers for all in order to fulfil the right to health and to reach Universal Health Coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals. We reignite advocacy on health workforce issues at the global, regional and local level.”

The new coalition represents global, regional and local diverse groups of civil society organizations, academic institutions, and health workers’ professional associations and unions, and already counts 28 members. The secretariat of the HW4All Coalition is initially hosted by MMI Network member Wemos.

After the successful launch of the HW4All Coalition, the MMI working group on HRH will continue to exist in a more informal way. Whenever necessary, the MMI Secretariat will convene Network members that are particularly engaged in health workforce issues in order to coordinate the engagement of the MMI Network in the new Coalition and in global HRH policy fora. Such fora include the World Health Organization and its governing body meetings, processes/consultations and hosted partnerships such as the Global Health Workforce Network and the International Platform on Health Worker Mobility. The work of the MMI HRH team and the related initiatives and positions of the MMI Network are overseen by the Board.

As one of its initiators and founders, the MMI Network invites its members and other civil society actors to join the new civil society coalition.

Thomas Schwarz, MMI Secretariat
Member of the Steering Committee of the HW4All Coalition

Linda Mans and Jorge Vega Cardenas
for Wemos and HW4All Coalition

• HW4All Coalition: Website launched in October 2018
• HW4All Coalition on Twitter: @HW4AllCoalition

 

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Network news: Cordaid
Do you believe health is a human right? Then you believe in Universal Health Coverage

Cordaid, December 2018. “Do you believe people should not be pushed into poverty for accessing health services? Do you believe in a world in which everyone can live, healthy, productive lives regardless of who they are and where they live? Do you believe health is a human right? Then you believe in Universal Health Coverage (UHC).”

> Source: Cordaid news release
> 12 December is UHC Day

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Network news: Community Working Group on Health
Zimbabwe: Free maternity services require solid funding

CWGH, December 2018. “An unidentified expecting mother at Harare Central Hospital has to make do on the floor due to shortage of beds in the maternity wing. For the briefest moment, the woman forgets about the hard, cold and uncomfortable surface and basks in the glow of being in the presence of “greatness”. A wide grin splits her youthful face and she nods her head as the Zimbabwean First Lady whispers some congratulatory words. But once the colourful parade and its entourage has moved on, reality sinks right back in and once again the pregnant woman and her colleagues in the overcrowded maternity ward crouch back into their makeshift beds on the floor…”

> Source: CWGH news

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Network news: Doctors with Africa CUAMM
A new project to tackle diabetes in Ethiopia

CUAMM, December 2018. “Long considered a prerogative of the West, diabetes has started to spread rapidly in sub-Saharan Africa in recent decades. However, there is still limited awareness of the scope of the problem with few diagnoses and even less treatment, which leads to complications and premature death. Indeed, if left untreated or unmanaged, diabetes can lead to life-changing complications, including blindness, amputation, kidney failure, heart attack and stroke. Tackling this situation, in Ethiopia, CUAMM and WDF have launched a new project to improve the quality and accessibility of diabetes and hypertension prevention, diagnosis and treatment services in 15 hospitals and 45 health centers.”

> Source: DWA CUAMM news

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Network news: FAMME
Medicus Mundi Spain fights gender violence in the most vulnerable countries

FAMME, November 2018. “Medicus Mundi Spain, through the responsible against gender violence in Burkina Faso, Mrs. Yvette Ouedraogo, was selected by the government of Burkina Faso to represent the civil society of this African country in its efforts to advance in the fight against gender violence, at the conference organized by WHO entitled “Strengthening Public Health Models in the Fight against Gender Violence” and held in Cairo, on 23, 24 and 25 October 2018.”

> Source: Communication by FAMME

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Network news/resource: ITM
Staying the course in disruptive global and planetary health times

MMI, December 2018. The weekly “IHP news” published by the Health Policy Unit at ITM Antwerp just celebrated its 500th edition, with another witty article by its main editor and mastermind Kristof Decoster. Subscribe to the newsletter, if not yet done! And congratulations and thanks to our Network member. We are looking forward to many more early Friday inspirations!

> Subscribe: ITM IHP

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Network paper: Wemos
Mind the funding gap: Who is paying Malawi’s health workers?

Wemos, November 2018. “In this report, we compare some of the international recommendations made on health financing and human resources for health – in the context of UHC and the SDGs – with the country situation, and call attention to the large gaps between these two. The report is based on a review of policy documents from the Government of Malawi, development partners and multilateral organizations and on valuable feedback received in meetings with various stakeholders in Malawi.”

> Source: Wemos website
> Report: PDF

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Network paper: Health Poverty Action
How can we improve maternal health experiences for indigenous women?

HPA, November 2018. “For the last year or so, Health Poverty Action has been working with the UN Population Fund (the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency) and the Minority Rights Group to investigate the maternal health experiences of indigenous women and girls. On 30th October, we were excited to take part in the UK launch of the results of our research, at a House of Commons event hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Groups on Global Health, and on Population, Development and Reproductive Health.”

> Source: HPA website
> Factsheet: PDF

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Network news: Cordaid
“Extremely well-deserved”. Cordaid partner wins Nobel Peace Prize

Cordaid, October 2018. “Cordaid is delighted by the news that Nadia Murad and Dr Denis Mukwege have won the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to end sexual violence as a weapon of war. ‘This prize is extremely well- deserved’, says Cordaid CEO Kees Zevenbergen. ‘It encourages them in their courageous mission to stop sexual violence in war zones. And it inspires us to keep on supporting the worldwide mission against sexual violence.’”

> Source: Cordaid news

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Network paper: medico international
Philanthrocapitalism in global health and nutrition

medico, October 2018. A discussion paper analyzes the growing influence of philanthropic actors on global health and suggests ways to limit this. “Particularly at a time when the private corporate players, including venture philanthropists, have been directly convened into the accomplishment of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals, measures are required — more than ever — to clarify the rules of the game, and to restore the level playing field in the global geopolitical arena.”

> Source: medico website
> Paper: PDF

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Network conference report: MMI and Network members
The role of international health cooperation in strengthening
or weakening national health policies and systems.
MMI workshop at the 4th People’s Health Assembly

Dhaka, 17 November 2018 “Concluding the workshop, participants agreed that solidarity is about equality, about a common fight for human rights and about building a social movement. They also agreed that the discussion about a solidarity and rights based approach in health cooperation needs to be continued and deepened. Workshop participants also concluded that efforts need to be undertaken to strengthen a critical civil society voice (beyond the typical “northern development NGOs”) in global fora on aid / development cooperation and health.”

> Source: MMI website

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Network conference report: MMI/MMS
Health cooperation beyond aid: What key topics for 2019?

Basel, 6 November 2018. The Board of the Medicus Mundi International Network and its working group on Effective Health Cooperation invited all MMI Network members to join them for an open planning meeting on “Health cooperation beyond aid – what key topics for 2019?” on Tuesday, 6 November 2018, in Basel, related to the Symposium “Health for All by 2030: On the Right Track, or on the Verge of Failing?” organized by Medicus Mundi Switzerland on 7 November to which the MMI Secretary Thomas Schwarz provided an input on “Calling for a New International Economic Order”.

> More about the workshop: MMI website
> Symposium documentation: MMS website
> Symposium photos: MMS Flickr
> Input by Thomas Schwarz: PDF

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Network reporting:
Annual Report 2017 of Medicus Mundi Italia

“In 2017, Medicus Mundi Italy has further developed its work in international medical cooperation, with an increasingly more targeted focus shifting from fighting against HIV, TB, malaria and infectious diseases in general – which remain amongst our main goals – to addressing child malnutrition, the first form of exposure to infectious and non-infectious diseases, and to promoting mother-and-child healthcare.”

> The Annual Report 2017 of Medicus Mundi Italy is available now in English and Italian

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Network Resource: MMI
“mmi-cooperate”: A tool for horizontal communication within the MMI Network

Last year, a mailing list was set up by the MMI secretariat is intended to facilitate horizontal communication among the members of the Medicus Mundi International Network engaged in international health cooperation. All MMI Network members are invited to use “mmi-cooperate” to inform their colleagues about current activities and events, to enquire about opportunities for collaboration, to share key publications and resources, or to launch a conversation on a particular technical or political topic. Interested? Please get in touch with the MMI Secretariat.

 

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Network event: Memisa
Primary Health Care in West Bengal: People-Centred Health Governance
Kolkata, 7-9 February 2019

”The conference aims to disseminate the approach/guiding principles, history, process, achievements and challenges of the Basic Health Care Support Programme; engage in a critical debate with different stakeholders guided by different perspectives; and take strategic learnings and lessons from stakeholders and policy-makers and develop a common agenda.”

>  Source: Communication by Memisa

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Network event: ACHAP
Re-igniting Primary Health Care: The Role of ACHAP
Yaoundé, 25 February to 1 March 2019

”Generally, the faith-based health systems, spearheaded by Christian Health Associations, are noted for innovations with potential assets that could be leveraged to optimize primary health services, deliver public value and complement national health systems. Accordingly, ACHAP recognizes the need for innovative partnerships, responsive and resilient health systems especially in re-engineering PHC towards achieving Universal Health Coverage/Sustainable Development Goals. Hence, the conference theme.”

> Source: ACHAP Conference website

 

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MMI Network News

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MMI Network News, December 2018

Editor/contact:
Thomas Schwarz, Executive Secretary
Medicus Mundi International
Network Health for All
Murbacherstrasse 34, CH-4013 Basel
Phone +41 (61) 383 18 11 – office@medicusmundi.org

Sharing knowhow and joining
forces towards Health for All