A united civil society before a divided global nutrition landscape (Editorial)
Dear reader
Last week the second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) took place in Rome, organised jointly by WHO and FAO, and preceded by a two-day civil society meeting. Let me start with two positive notes about this global gathering of representatives from governments, UN agencies, civil society organisations and social movements, philanthropic organisations and private enterprises. Firstly, WHO and FAO working together to prepare the ICN2, strongly confirms the notion that food, nutrition and good health cannot be seen separately. And secondly, all along the bumpy road towards the ICN2 and fighting for getting our voices heard, a large number of social movements and NGOs have worked together and form a strong group that will continue working together for the right to adequate food and nutrition.
Looking at the context in which the ICN2 took place, however, it becomes difficult to stay positive. It has been 22 years since the first international conference on nutrition took place and the landscape looks bleak to me. Yes, undernutrition has decreased, but still – and I quote the strong Civil Society statement here –, “it is unacceptable that in a world of plenty more than 800 million of our brothers and sisters go to bed hungry every night and over half a billion are obese. More than 150 million children suffer from stunting, over 50 million children are wasted, more than 40 million children are obese, and approximately 800,000 babies die every year because they are not optimally breastfed. The injustice of malnutrition has meant that several thousand of our children have died since this discussion started. These problems should have been tackled a long time ago.”
Indeed, these problems should have been tackled a long time ago, because there is plenty of food and resources worldwide. Addressing malnutrition is not in the first place a technical challenge but first and foremost a political one.
More than 20 years after the first ICN, the food and nutrition landscape has changed a lot. To name some of the major changes: globalization and the interconnectedness between countries and sectors have large influence on the food we eat, the number of actors involved in food and nutrition has increased and power relations have shifted, and multiple burdens of malnutrition are affecting health worldwide: apart from undernutrition and micro-nutrient deficiencies, low- and middle-income countries are now also facing the consequences of unhealthy diets, containing too many calories, too much salt, sugar and fat.
What we eat – what is available and affordable in stores and what we can cultivate on the land is to a large extent shaped by forces that are outside our direct sphere of influence. With trade liberalization and continued deregulation, market forces and commercial interests are defining our food environment. But who is looking after our health? As the Director General of the WHO, Dr Margaret Chan, put it last week: When “municipal authorities in large cities in Africa and Asia find it cheaper to import processed foods from abroad than to gather fresh produce from the hinterlands […] something is wrong”.
At the global level, there are many challenges ahead. In Rome, member states have adopted the Rome Declaration on Nutrition and the Framework for Action. As civil society organisations, we are disappointed by the weak language of the declaration and the lack of binding commitments made – the framework for action is no more than a long shopping list of possible measures that countries can choose from. No political stance is taken, no priorities set. The statements made by member states demonstrate the divide, between those who continue to believe in technological solutions and choose not to address power imbalances, and those who believe in empowering local communities, small-scale food producers and consumers, to change their own situation and be able to nourish themselves.
We need to think hard about the way in which our food is produced, processed, distributed and marketed these days, and how we can make it work better for health, everywhere. How we can gain back and protect food sovereignty. Change has to take place in many places and at many levels. And since we all eat, we are all agents of change. Consumers and small-scale producers do have influence . It may be small but we can use it and make it bigger. While the UN Secretary General is going to propose the UN General Assembly to declare a Decade on Nutrition, civil society is not going to sit back and wait but already declared the People’s Decade of Action on Nutrition.
For a strong follow-up at the international level, the civil society statement asks for continued and improved cooperation and coordination between UN agencies. The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) can play an important role in this regards, provided that it fulfils its mandate by fully including nutrition in its work programme and includes the WHO in its secretariat and advisory group. In decision-making on the post-2015 sustainable development goals and other international policy processes, civil society will be vigilant and continue to advocate for democracy, respect for and protection of human rights, participation, and the inclusion of ambitious food and nutrition goals, supported by robust indicators and accountability.
As for Wemos, spending a week with so many other civil society organisations and social movements has been a source of inspiration, information and new relations. In our continued advocacy for democratic and rights-based global governance for health and for protecting the right to health and nutrition in trade and investment treaties, we will continue to strengthen these ties.
Mariska Meurs, Wemos
Senior Global Health Advocate
mariska.meurs@wemos.nl
MMI Network: News, events, resources
………….
Network news: MMI – Network Health for All
MMI joins the WHO Global Coordination Mechanism on the prevention and control of NCDs (GCM/NCD)
Terms of reference for the establishment of a WHO Global Coordination Mechanism on noncommunicable diseases were endorsed by the World Health Assembly in May 2014. The scope and purpose of the WHO GCM/NCD are to facilitate and enhance coordination of activities, multistakeholder engagement and action across sectors in order to contribute to the implementation of the WHO Global NCD Action Plan 2013–2020. The WHO GCM/NCD is led by Member States. Other participants include United Nations organizations, as well as non-State actors. Referring to an open call published by the WHO, and based on a Board decision, the Medicus Mundi International Network expressed its interest to join the Global Coordination Mechanism as a “non-State actor”. Recently we were informed by the WHO secretariat that MMI is accepted as a GCM/NCD participant.
> http://www.medicusmundi.org/en/contributions/news/2014/mmi-joins-gcm-ncd
………….
Network paper: MMI – Network Health for All
How to address health workers migration in the “Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health?”
Since early 2014, the Global Health Workforce Alliance (GHWA) has been coordinating a broad-based global consultation, through the development of 8 thematic papers, to collate evidence in support of a next global strategy on HRH. In view of the lack of a paper focusing on health workers migration, MMI, the Health Workforce Advocacy Initiative (HWAI) and the European Project “Health Workers for all and all for health workers” (HW4All) submited a joint feedback on the draft working group paper 1 on “Economic, Demographic, and Epidemiological Transitions and the Future of Health Labour Markets”
………….
Network report: Medicus Mundi Spain
Health in development cooperation and human action. Report 2014
The “Health in development cooperation and human action report” made by Medicus Mundi Spain, Médicos del Mundo and Prosalus, was published for the first time in 2002. The 2014 report (language: Spanish) can be found on the website of Medicus Mundi Spain.
………….
Network documentary: Medicus Mundi Catalunya
Mozambique: A luta continua
Through interviews with officials from the Ministry of Health, donors, international agencies, civil society representatives and Health Ministry’s civil servants themselves, the documentary “A Luta Continua” (“The Fight Goes On”), produced by Medicus Mundi Catalunya, reviews the challenges and the difficulties encountered in Mozambique in order to set up a health system for all. The documentary highlights the circumstances and trends, some internal and some external, that have relegated the Alma Ata concept of Primary Health Care to a mere dialectic resource, far removed from its revolutionary original content.
> http://www.medicusmundi.cat/en/a-luta-continua
………….
Network report: CWGH
Civil society organisations in Zimbabwe call for UHC for the post-2015 health goal rather than just “MDG plus”
“While major consultations are underway both at national and international level on what happens following the lapse of the Millennium Development Goals next year, civil society in Zimbabwe has called for scrapping of targeted approaches in health delivery system. Through the Community Working Group on Health – the mother body for community and civic based organisations working in the health sector – these pressure groups are advocating for the right to quality health services for everyone.” (“The Herald”)
> http://www.herald.co.zw/mdgs-post-2015-universal-coverage-versus-targeted-approach/
………….
Network analysis: Cordaid
Aid remains crucial source of finance for development
On the Cordaid website, Senior Corporate Strategist Izabella Toth reports on the launch of the Concord Aidwatch 2014 by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris. Concord Aidwatch has monitored and made recommendations on the quality and quantity of aid provided by EU member states since 2005.
> https://www.cordaid.org/en/news/aid-remains-crucial-source-finance-development/
………….
Network paper: HealthNet TPO
No Peace without Peace of mind
“Emergency aid will become more efficient and attain more long-term targets if accompanied by psychosocial support. The efforts of the collaboration of Dutch and International aid agencies is directed at assisting the millions of refugees and homeless people of Syria, Iraq, South Sudan, the Central African Republics, the Ukraine, the victims of the Ebola crisis and other humanitarian crises by offering them the psychosocial support that they deserve.” (HealthNet TPO website).
> http://www.healthnettpo.org/en/1573/no-peace-without-peace-of-mind.html
………….
Network paper: Wemos
Nurses and doctors in a globalized context
“Hanna Wafula lives in a small village in Zambia. She is 50 years old and lives with her husband and four grandchildren. Three of her six children have died: two when they were very young, and one last year at the age of 30. She notices that the doctor in the nearest health centre is rarely present. On the radio she heard that the government plans to spend more money on health care, but she has not seen any effects of increased spending yet. When she goes to the health facility, there is absolutely no guarantee there is a doctor or nurse to attend to her. The shortage of health personnel seriously impacts Hanna’s life. Should she be in need of medical care there might not be a health worker available to treat her or her family.” (article on the Wemos website).
> http://www.wemos.nl/news/?v=2&lid=2&id=359&cid=3
………….
Network conference report: Medicus Mundi Switzerland
„Not without us!“ Youth and sexual and reproductive health in international cooperation
This year’s MMI Network meeting was hosted by Medicus Mundi Switzerland (MMS) and linked with the 14th annual Swiss Health Cooperation Symposium organized by MMS. The symposium documentation is now available on the MMS website. Find your picture! The report of the MMI Assembly has been published in the internal section of the MMI ePlatform.
> http://www.medicusmundi.ch/en/conference/not-without-us/documentation?set_language=en
> http://www.medicusmundi.org/en/contributions/events/2014/sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-rights
………….
Network reporting: i+solutions
Annual Report 2013
“Our ambition is to work together to give more people access to medicines that can save their lives and to assist local organizations in achieving this goal. Our focus remains on HIV/AIDS and malaria but we are increasing our involvement in the fields of reproductive health and preventative care.” The annual report of i+solutions is available in English language (PDF).
> http://www.iplussolutions.org/sites/default/files/iplussolutions%20Annual%20Report%202013.pdf
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
Universal health coverage
Health services, health financing
- Everything you’ve ever needed to know about health systems
http://www.buzzfeed.com/futurehealthsys/everything-youve-ever-needed-to-know-about-health-qpaw - Why global health needs a health systems social movement. Anne Muendi Musuva
http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2014/11/06/anne-muendi-musuva-why-global-health-needs-a-health-systems-social-movement/ - UHC is an attainable & much-needed goal. The time to achieve it is now. Jean Vega Morales
http://huff.to/1uTzUQK - Universal health coverage in Africa: time to step up advocacy. Biodun Awosusi
http://globalhealth.thelancet.com/2014/10/24/universal-health-coverage-africa-time-step-advocacy - Five ways to make a health programme sustainable. Altynay Shigayeva and Richard Coker
https://blogs.lshtm.ac.uk/hppdebated/2014/11/03/five-ways-make-health-programme-sustainable/ - How sick are the world’s healthcare systems? Jonathan Kaiman et al.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/oct/29/how-sick-are-worlds-healthcare-systems-nhs-china-india-us-germany - Health systems and single-disease interventions — how can we combine in UHC? Sibylle Koenig
http://bit.ly/1uZ1UBg - Mozambique: Health Systems Strenghtening vs.vertical programmes. A Luta Continua
http://bit.ly/ALutaDocEn - Should NGOs jump on board the Payment by Results bandwagon? Duncan Green
http://bit.ly/11RZBFs - Fixing broken health systems in the aftermath of conflict. Barbara McPake
http://theconversation.com/fixing-broken-health-systems-in-the-aftermath-of-conflict-33257 - Halth service provision at the margins of fragile and conflict affected states. Peter S Hill et al.
http://www.conflictandhealth.com/content/8/1/20/abstract
See also below: Ebola
Twitter: #UHC
………….
Human resources for health
Migration of health professionals
- Is there a need for a global HRH multi-sectoral platform within the post2015 framework? Ongoing GHWA consultation
http://www.who.int/workforcealliance/media/news/2014/hrh_mult_sect_platform/en/ - Options for a global multi-sector response to human resources for health. GHWA background document
http://www.who.int/workforcealliance/media/news/2014/Phase2consultation_note.pdf - Ongoing GHWA consultation to inform Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health
http://www.who.int/workforcealliance/media/news/2014/consultation_globstrat_hrh/en/ - How to address health workers migration in global HRH strategy? Comment by MMI, HW4All, HWAI
http://bit.ly/1zUbXIa - Nurses and doctors in a globalized context. Linda Mans and Diana Hoeflake
http://www.wemos.nl/news/?v=2&lid=2&id=359&cid=3 - Source country perceptions, experiences, recommendations on health workers migration: the Philippines
http://www.human-resources-health.com/content/12/1/62/abstract - Romanian healthcare workers keep packing. Mihail Călin
http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2014/10/13/mihail-calin-romanian-healthcare-workers-keep-packing/ - Cross-border cooperation covering the need for human resources in a Romanian hospital. HW4All
https://interact.healthworkers4all.eu/display/NEWS/HW4All+online+collaboration+platform%3A+Latest+news - Comparing NGO-sponsored and ministry of health sponsored CHW programmes in rural Kenya. Aridi et al.
http://www.human-resources-health.com/content/12/1/64/abstract - More than half the doctors born in Sierra Leone are now working in OECD countries. Health Poverty Action
http://bit.ly/1shA5y8 - In the shadowlands of global health: Observations from health workers in Kenya. RJ Prince and P Otieno
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4166915/ - Support & strengthen role of close-to-community providers for health system development. HRH Journal Call to papers
http://bit.ly/1xRuF3Y
Twitter: #HRH, #healthworkers #healthworkerscount, #3GFHRH
………….
Access to medicines and vaccination
Medical research and development
Communicable diseases and diseases control
- 2014 Access to Medicine Index
http://ow.ly/ElNPH - Improve access to medicines and biomedical innovation through EU trade and R&D policy. HAI Europe, MSF, Oxfam
http://haieurope.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Solutions-to-improve-A2M-and-biomedical-innovation.pdf - A new Lancet Commission on Essential Medicines
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)62017-1/fulltext
http://www.bu.edu/lancet-commission-essential-medicines-policies/ - MSF responds to Tufts Cost Study on US$2.56 bn cost to develop a new drug
http://bit.ly/1t90rDg - Irrational use of antibiotics is the main determinant of the generation of antimicrobial resistance
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs194/en/ - Antibiotic Resistance Declaration
http://abrdeclaration.org/about-us/ - Global report on antibiotic resistance (WHO, April 2014)
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2014/amr-report/en/ - The role of universities and NGOs in a new (medical) research and development system. Chris Redd
http://globalhealth.thelancet.com/2014/11/17/role-universities-and-ngos-new-research-and-development-system - Measles – The epidemiology of elimination. David N. Durrheim et al.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X14014510 - Pneumonia leads in killing children, but not in global health financing. Tom Murphy
http://bit.ly/1pVVOBM - Pushing the Pace: Progress and Challenges in Fighting Childhood Pneumonia. Nancy Fullman et al.
http://www.healthdata.org/policy-report/pushing-pace-progress-and-challenges-fighting-childhood-pneumonia - Global Tuberculosis Report 2014
http://www.who.int/tb/publications/global_report/en/ - Mind the Deadly gaps in the tuberculosis response. Grania Brigden
http://blogs.plos.org/speakingofmedicine/2014/11/07/mind-deadly-gaps/ - Leprosy: what are the final steps to elimination? Ann Aerts
http://bit.ly/1yQQTBD - Malaria eradication: let battle commence. Richard Feachem
http://globalhealth.thelancet.com/2014/11/03/malaria-eradication-let-battle-commence - Polio: is the end in sight? World Polio Day 2014
http://ow.ly/DgU2e
………….
Ebola situation and response
Ebola and health systems
Ebola and the state of global health governance
- The social, political and ecological pathologies of the Ebola Crisis cannot be ignored. David McCoy
http://www.medact.org/medact-blog/social-political-ecological-pathologies-ebola-crisis-ignored/ - World’s richest countries failed to deliver urgent response to Ebola crisis. Debbie Hiller
http://www.globalhealthcheck.org/?p=1710 - Ebola & beyond: Equality, sustainability, security – interlaced challenges in global development era. Melissa Leach
http://steps-centre.org/2014/blog/melissa-leach-ebola-inequality-lecture-text-audio/ - Ebola and Beyond: Fresh air for the Framework Convention on Global Health? Lawrence O. Gostin
http://bit.ly/1zGzX1o - The Ebola Outbreak: Lessons for Global Health
http://ec.europa.eu/health/eu_world/docs/ev_20141028_c02_en.pdf - Ebola crisis forces aid agencies to rewrite the rules. Monica Mark
http://buff.ly/1F3JzX9 - IMF, World Bank policies may share blame in Ebola crisis. Daily Mail UK
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-2840334/IMF-World-Bank-policies-share-blame-Ebola-crisis.html - After Ebola (sic!): Five Lessons for Outbreak Response. Amanda Glassman
http://www.cgdev.org/blog/after-ebola-five-lessons-outbreak-response - The Year We Put “Just” In Front Of Malaria. Cameron Conaway
http://www.stirjournal.com/2014/11/17/2014-the-year-we-put-just-in-front-of-malaria/ - Communicating Uncertainty – Ebola, Public Health, and the Scientific Process. L Rosenbaum
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1413816?query=featured_home#.VGVyQNPZoHA.twitter - Ebola: epidemic echoes and the chronicle of a tragedy foretold. Mark Honigsbaum
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)62063-8/fulltext - It’s not Ebola … it’s the health systems. Victor K Barbiero
http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/early/2014/10/31/GHSP-D-14-00186.full.pdf+html - What factors might have led to the emergence of Ebola in West Africa? K.A. Alexander et al.
http://blogs.plos.org/speakingofmedicine/2014/11/11/factors-might-led-emergence-ebola-west-africa/ - Epidemics of confusion: like AIDS before it, Ebola isn’t explained clearly by officials. LK Altman
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/11/health/like-aids-before-it-ebola-isnt-explained-clearly-by-officials.html - Ebola: The world can’t hide from pandemics. Larry Summers
http://wapo.st/1uTursu
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/2591b4e8-6529-11e4-ab2d-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3IfGEMUrJ - How the Liberian Health Sector Became a Vector for Ebola. Sharon Alane Abramowitz
http://www.culanth.org/fieldsights/598-how-the-liberian-health-sector-became-a-vector-for-ebola - Is the United Nations catching up with Ebola at last? Nigel Hawkes and Sophie Arie
http://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g6576 - Panic, Paranoia, and Public Health — The AIDS Epidemic’s Lessons for Ebola. G Gonsalves et al.
http://nej.md/1s7izNq - Ebola vaccine story shows folly of free-market drugs. Jim Stanford
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/ebola-vaccine-story-shows-folly-of-free-market-drugs/article21422767/ - What can we learn from health policy making patterns in Sierra Leone for post-Ebola times? Kate Hawkins
http://bit.ly/1xy9JLu - The naked class politics of Ebola. James Robb
http://www.pambazuka.net/en/category/comment/93212#.VFcwEO0vXlw.twitter - Ebola, human rights, and poverty – making the links. Alicia Ely Yamin
http://bit.ly/11RZCJu - West Africa’s Financial Immune Deficiency: Health systems in Africa are ill-equipped to deal with Ebola. Rick Rowden http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/10/30/west_africas_financial_immune_deficiency_ebola_imf
- Overcoming Ebola – why we need to be in it for the long haul. GorikOoms et al.
http://www.internationalhealthpolicies.org/overcoming-ebola-why-we-need-to-be-in-it-for-the-long-haul/ - Ebola and the politics of a global health crisis. Sophie Harman
http://www.e-ir.info/2014/10/20/ebola-and-the-politics-of-a-global-health-crisis/
………….
Women’s and children’s health
Sexual and reproductive rights and health
- Violence against women and girls. The Lancet series
http://www.thelancet.com/series/violence-against-women-and-girls - Preventing violence against women & children – a new chapter
http://download.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS014067361461775X.pdf?id=haagqSAb-lANhbGXE9qNu - Perinatal mental health. Lancet series
http://www.thelancet.com/series/perinatal-mental-health - Perinatal mental health: “there is no health without mental health”. Comment by Louise M Howard et al.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)62040-7/fulltext - Where are the women and children? in the post2015 SDGs? Richard Horton
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)62041-9/fulltext - Estimation of daily risk of neonatal death, including day of birth, in 186 countries in 2013. Oza et al.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X%2814%2970309-2/fulltext - 20 November marked 25 years since the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
http://j.mp/11gzFSW
………….
Prevention and control of NCDs
Nutrition, Disabilities, Mental Health, Care
- Global Nutrition Report 2014: Actions and Accountability to Accelerate the World’s Progress on Nutrition
http://globalnutritionreport.org/the-report - Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2), Rome, 19-21 November 2013
http://www.fao.org/about/meetings/icn2/en/ - ICN2: Civil Society and Social Movements declaration
http://linkis.com/ow.ly/a2AZM - ICN2: Public interest CSOs vision statement on nutrition
http://www.sidint.net/node/10323 - ICN2: What happens next is more important than what’s happened here.
http://bit.ly/1yyyRUD - ICN2: A united civil society before a divided global nutrition landscape. Mariska Meurs
www.medicusmundi.org/en/mmi-network/documents/newsletter/201411 - Political economy analysis for nutrition policy. Michael R Reich and Yarlini Balarajan
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X%2814%2970350-X/fulltext - Think we can’t end global malnutrition by 2030? Think again. Lawrence Haddad
http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2014/11/18/lawrence-haddad-think-we-cant-end-global-malnutrition-by-2030-think-again/
- Global coordination mechanism on the prevention and control of NCDs: WHO “open calls for interest”
http://www.who.int/nmh/events/ncd-coordination-mechanism/en/ - Towards a comprehensive global approach to prevention and control of NCDs. Martin McKee et al.
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/content/10/1/74/abstract - NCDs and the private sector: part of the problem or part of the solution? Wilm Quentin
http://bmj.co/1piij3j - Universal health coverage: An empty promise without focusing on chronic diseases.
https://www.devex.com/news/universal-health-coverage-an-empty-promise-without-focusing-on-chronic-diseases-84761
- World Diabetes Day: The Lancet reflects on the year since in diabetes research
http://bit.ly/1xS2z6D - Perinatal mental health. Lancet series
http://www.thelancet.com/series/perinatal-mental-health - Global Asthma Report 2014
http://www.globalasthmareport.org
………….
Equity and human right to health
Social determinants of health
Poverty and social protection
- Global Health Watch 4: Contents, upcoming launches, where to buy the book
http://www.ghwatch.org/node/45470 - Global Health Watch 4: Critique and Hope for a Healthier World. Ronald Labonte
http://www.healthypolicies.com/2014/11/global-health-watch-4-critique-and-hope-for-a-healthier-world - Country action across sectors for health & health equity: WHO HIAP consultation until 31 Dec.
http://www.who.int/nmh/events/action-framework/en/ - Globalization, austerity and health equity politics: taming the inequality machine, & why it matters. Ted Schrecker
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09581596.2014.973019#.VEh3l_nLd1E - WHO discussion paper: Framework for country action across sectors for health and health equity #
http://goo.gl/8ZU9ad - Even it up! Time to end extreme inequality. Oxfam report (PDF)
http://bit.ly/1onM0iY - Health is a human right, not a commodity. Tim Roosen
https://www.devex.com/news/health-is-a-human-right-not-a-commodity-84772
Twitter: #SDH, #HIAP
………….
Global health governance and policy
- Knowledge, Moral Claims and the Exercise of Power in global health. Jeremy Shiffman
http://www.ijhpm.com/article_2918_607.html - The EU as a global health actor. Samantha Battams, Remco van de Pas, Louise Van Schaik
http://bit.ly/1Fnc93X - EU punching below its weight on global health issues. Henriette Jacobsen
http://bit.ly/1Fnc7ZS - David McCoy – Is the Harvard School of Public Health Afraid of Politics?
http://www.medact.org/medact-blog/harvard-school-public-health-afraid-politics/ - Public-Private Partnerships in Global Health: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
http://bit.ly/1HE7Zsu - Multi-stakeholder health governance: the case of National AIDS Commissions. P. Godwin and C. Dickinson
http://www.internationalhealthpolicies.org/experiences-and- - Health: A Global Commitment?
http://ow.ly/Etwdq - The Global Fund for…Health?
http://www.healthandcommunications.com/blog/2014/11/3/the-global-fund-forhealth - Pacific Trade and Human Rights. Joint report by WHO, UNDP and OHCHR
http://asia-pacific.undp.org/content/rbap/en/home/library/hiv_aids/pacific-trade-and-human-rights/ - Philanthrocapitalism, past and present: “International health philanthropy, American-style, is back.” AE Birn
http://www.hypothesisjournal.com/?p=2503
See also: Ebola, WHO reform, development
Twitter: #globalhealth #healthgovernance
………….
World Health Organization
WHO reform and financing
- What can the WHO learn from EU lessons in Civil Society engagement and participation for health? Samantha Battams
http://bit.ly/1xWFLpE - A Decade of WHO action in the African Region, 2005–2014 – Striving together to achieve health goals.
http://bit.ly/1C9totl - WHO criticised for political process used when choosing its new Africa director
http://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g6719 - Making WHO recommendations more responsive
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/92/11/14-021114/en/#.VFZMrVhOeds.twitter
………….
Health beyond 2015
MDGs and SDGs
- PLEASE can we find a better approach to health in the SDGs! There is still time and we MUST use this political space
Desperate tweet by Ilona Kickbusch, 10 November - Health at the centre of the post2015 agenda. Italian Global Health Watch OISG
http://saluteglobale.it/2014/10/30/health-at-the-centre-of-the-post-2015-agenda/ - Health, sustainable development and the post2015 process. UNDESA issue brief
http://bit.ly/11RZh9O - Provisional schedule for intergovernmental negotiations related to post2015 process
http://bit.ly/1xfxyLD
- Digesting the SDGs post2015 roadmap proposed by the UN co-facilitators. Neva Frecheville
https://cafodpolicy.wordpress.com/2014/11/20/digesting-food-for-thought-the-post-2015-roadmap/ - Closed or open post2015 SDGs negotiations? Beyond2015 recommendations for a strong civil society participation
http://bit.ly/1FnbT4T - Closed or open post2015 SDGs negotiations? States must not restrict people’s participation. CESR al.
http://cesr.org/article.php?id=1664 - MDG Report 2014: Assessing Progress in Africa toward the Millennium Development Goals
http://hesp-news.org/?p=12484 - Giddy optimism on 2015 – 3 big conferences could affect next two decades of global development. Charles Kenny
http://www.cgdev.org/blog/giddy-optimism-2015 - Accountability in the post2015 agenda: from the known to the unknown. Dadirai Chikwengo
https://cafodpolicy.wordpress.com/2014/11/19/accountability-in-post-2015/
Twitter: #post2015 #SDGs
………….
Development, aid and international institutions
- Preparations for Third International Conference on Financing for Development (proposed roadmap)
http://www.un-ngls.org/spip.php?article4557 - CONCORD Aid Watch report 2014
http://www.concordeurope.org/publications/item/374-aidwatch-2014 - Why development needs an overhaul of strategy – not a change of language. Jason Hickel
http://aje.me/1p2a8YF - Alison McGovern on the future of development “Justice, not charity
http://www.progressonline.org.uk/2014/11/03/justice-not-charity/ - Financing for whose development? How official Development Finance Institutions support tax havens
http://bit.ly/11RZc5W - The Tyranny of “The Project” and other lessons on development
http://ow.ly/EuNpS - What if we scrapped “The Project” – are there better ways to fund development? Duncan Green
http://oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/what-if-we-scrapped-the-project-are-there-better-ways-to-fund-development/ - The role of international NGOs in health systems strengthening: The case of Timor-Leste
http://ngocodeofconduct.org/in-the-news/what-is-the-role-of-international-ngos-in-health-systems-strengthening/
- Famous NGO founders: A blessing or a curse? Anna McKeon and Natalie Jesionka
http://www.whydev.org/famous-founders-a-blessing-or-a-curse/ - “The Core Humanitarian Standards highlight a humanitarian system out of touch.” Sandrine Tiller and Arjan Hehenkamp
http://bit.ly/11Tb32D - Core Humanitarian Standard
http://www.corehumanitarianstandard.org/
Special: The Band Aid revival for Ebola
- BandAid30 for Ebola: clumsy, patronising and wrong in so many ways
http://bit.ly/11shE4c - Africans to Bob Geldoff: We don’t need another Band Aid solution for Ebola. Tom Murphy
http://www.humanosphere.org/world-politics/2014/11/africans-geldof-dont-need-another-band-aid-solution/ - They know it’s Christmas – The Washington Post
http://wapo.st/1qlqo89 - BandAid30 Ebola version introduces whole new world of dread and fear. Stuart Jeffries
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/nov/17/band-aid-30-new-world-dread-and-fear-deconstruction-lyrics - …and a funny (old) one: Africa For Norway
http://youtu.be/oJLqyuxm96k
………….
Other topics
- UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of #Sanitation and Drinking-Water GLAAS 2014
http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/publications/glaas_report_2014/en/ - UNFPA State of World Population 2014 report. “The Power of 1.8 Billion”
http://j.mp/1yfFlYi - “Ageing well” must be a global priority. WHO news release
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2014/lancet-ageing-series/en/ - Ageing: series in The Lancet
http://www.thelancet.com/series/ageing - Shaping the Market for Global Health Data. Amanda Glassman and Prashant Yadav
http://www.cgdev.org/blog/shaping-market-global-health-data - Climate change and health: recent progress
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/92/11/14-148130/en/#.VFZMGKbBHB0.twitter - Lancet Commission on culture and health: “Health is as much about caring as it is about curing.”
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/1014/291014-Lancet-commission-culture-health - Culture and health. Report by David Napier et al.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2814%2961603-2/fulltext - Cultivating the role of culture in health. David Napier
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)61937-1/fulltext
Follow the MMI Updates on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/mmi_updates