Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
You can download back issues (2005 - 2011) of this newsletter at:
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Table of Contents:
BOOKS ................................................................................ 4
Arab Human Development Report 2009 ................................................................................. 4
World Migration Report 2010 - The Future of Migration: Building Capacities for Change...... 4
TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES............................................ 24
Social Health Insurance ........................................................................................................ 24
Short Course in International Health Consultancy ................................................................ 25
CONFERENCES................................................................ 25
New Research in Gender, Violence and HIV ........................................................................ 25
6th International Workshop on HIV Transmission - Principles of Intervention...................... 26
CARTOON ......................................................................... 26
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***
Ten years ago there were 150 million migrants. Now, the number of migrants has grown
to 214 million, and the figure could rise to 405 million by 2050, as a result of growing
demographic disparities, the effects of environmental change, new global political and
economic dynamics, technological revolutions and social networks. In response to these
trends, many States are likely to need to invest in developing their migration manage-
ment capacities. Already, many States report that they require assistance to develop the
capabilities to respond to a diverse range of new migration challenges.
ONLINE PUBLICATIONS
Global Health
by Tim France
Inis Communication, February 2011
***
by Germán Velásquez
South Center Research Paper 35, January 2011
The purpose of this research paper is to describe, above all, a negotiating process
which many have described as historical. More than an analysis on the subject of public
health and intellectual property, this is an analysis of a negotiating process which could
change the course and the nature of an organization such as the WHO. It is still too
early to say whether this was achieved are not, but we are starting to write a chapter in
the history of public health in the 21st century.
***
This year’s report is devoted to public health, precisely because of the challenges to
public health that we will face in the years to come both internationally and nationally.
The purpose of this report is to discuss the main challenges and identify strategies to
boost health promotion and thus also improve public health. It is decisive for the life and
health of individuals and for society’s ability to maintain a sustainable welfare state that
the challenges are met with knowledge-based, target-oriented measures.
There is growing recognition that primary prevention, including behavior change, must
be central in the fight against HIV/AIDS. One lesson emerging from this review is that in
Zimbabwe, as elsewhere, partner reduction appears to have played a crucial role in re-
versing the HIV epidemic. HIV prevalence has declined in Zimbabwe by approximately
50%. This decline is almost unique in sub-Saharan Africa and it is hoped that the find-
ings presented here may provide important insights for HIV control within the region.
***
http://www.unicef.org.uk/Documents/Publications/stocktaking10.pdf
The Fifth Stocktaking Report highlights the need for equity in achieving
universal access goals and elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. The dis-
parities in access, coverage and outcomes that exist across age, gender, geographic,
wealth and educational spectra cannot be accepted as inevitable, and the AIDS re-
sponse must seek to eliminate them.
***
This study was conducted to support the development of a national campaign entitled
‘Social Mobilization and Communication Strategy for the Prevention of Mother-to-Child
Transmission of HIV.’ The aim of study was to provide an evidence base for informing
This article presents syntheses of evidence on the costs, effects and cost-effectiveness
of HIV mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) strategies for low- and middle-income coun-
tries (LMICs) from the published literature and evaluates their implications for policy and
future research. The authors conclude that interventions to prevent HIV MTCT are com-
pelling on economic grounds in many resource-limited settings and should remain at the
forefront of global HIV prevention efforts.
***
***
HIV Screening and Access to Care: Exploring the Impact of Policies on Ac-
cess to and Provision of HIV Care
With the widespread use of highly active anti-retroviral treatment (HAART), HIV has be-
come a chronic, rather than a fatal, disease. But for their treatment to succeed, patients
require uninterrupted care from a health care provider and uninterrupted access to anti-
HIV medications. The Institute of medicine (IOM) identifies federal, state, and private
health insurance policies that inhibit HIV-positive individuals from initiating or continuing
their care.
***
This manual is designed for peer educators and football coaches to provide HIV educa-
tion to children and young people through football training. It incorporates the SAVE ap-
proach which provides a holistic way of preventing HIV by incorporating the principles of
the ABC approach (Abstinence, Be faithful, and Condom use).
***
HIV/AIDS and the Environment: Impacts of AIDS and Ways to Reduce them
Fact Sheet for the Conservation Community
AIDS affects 39.5 million people worldwide, and nearly two-thirds live in Sub-Saharan
Africa. This fact sheet observes the links between HIV/AIDS and rural livelihoods, and
impacts on conservation and natural resources. Specifically noted are the impacts on
the conservation organizations, their staff in biodiversity areas, and funding. Also dis-
cussed is community resource management, how to reduce the impacts of HIV/AIDS
amongst the community and on the natural resources, and scaling up responses to
HIV/AIDS.
***
by Alice Behrendt
Plan International Deutschland e.V., February 2011
Little attention has been given to the perceptions of African immigrants in relation to
Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C). It can be estimated that at least 30% of
women immigrants from Sub-Saharan Africa underwent FGM/C before migrating to
Europe. The purpose of the current project was to listen to the opinions, perceptions
and propositions of immigrants from Sub-Saharan Africa regarding the practice of
FGM/C.
***
An estimated 100 million to 140 million girls and women worldwide have undergone fe-
male genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), and more than 3 million girls are at risk for cut-
ting each year on the African continent alone. Increasingly, media, NGOs, and commu-
nity leaders are speaking out against this harmful traditional practice. The flow of infor-
mation is critical to this effort.
***
This global strategy against medicalization of female genital mutilation (FGM) has been
developed in collaboration with key stakeholders, including UN organizations and
health-care professional bodies, national governments and NGOs. The strategy is in-
tended for a broad audience of policy-makers in governments, parliamentarians, interna-
tional agencies, professional associations, community leaders, religious leaders, NGOs
and other institutions.
***
Integration of HIV and sexual and reproductive health and rights
This guide is aimed at civil society organisations who want to increase the
impact of their Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) and HIV work with
communities and vulnerable people. It is relevant for managers, resource
mobilisers, implementers, technical support providers, programme officers
and directors who may want to link their HIV programmes to SRH pro-
grammes, or include HIV interventions in their family planning, maternal health or sexu-
ally transmitted infection (STI) programmes.
***
This toolbook contains tools that are essential to the COPE process - Self-Assessment
Guides, a Client Record-Review Checklist, a Client-Interview Guide, a Client-Flow
Analysis, and an Action Plan with Follow-Up Forms. These tools enable supervisors and
their staff to discuss the quality of Male Circumcision services, identify problems that in-
terfere with the delivery of quality services, identify the root causes of those problems,
recommend ways to solve the problems, implement the recommendations, and follow
up to ensure resolution of the problems.
EngenderHealth, 2003
COPE encourages and enables service providers and other staff at a fa-
cility to assess the services they provide jointly with their supervisors. Using various
tools, they identify problems, find the root causes, and develop effective solutions. The
Handbook reflects lessons that EngenderHealth and its counterparts in more than 45
countries have learned over the past decades in developing, applying, evaluating, and
adapting COPE.
***
The authors conclude that training traditional birth attendants to manage several com-
mon perinatal conditions significantly reduced neonatal mortality in a rural African set-
ting in Zambia. This approach has high potential to be applied to similar settings with
dispersed rural populations.
***
7 pp. 94 kB:
http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action;jsessionid=3885A599F5F411366C404
B15585E3CBB.ambra01?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0014637&representation=PDF
***
Malaria
There is some consensus that malaria in pregnancy may negatively affect infant’s mor-
tality and malaria morbidity, but there is less evidence concerning the factors involved.
The authors conclude that malaria infection at the end of pregnancy and maternal clini-
cal malaria negatively impact survival and malaria morbidity in infancy. Effective clinical
management and prevention of malaria in pregnancy may improve infant’s health and
survival.
***
3 pp. 74 kB:
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action;jsessionid=4331D12BCB23C5F51F11E
B6990875D0A.ambra01?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1000410&representation=PDF
Based on the present evidence, the authors support the call for the implementation of
Intermittent Preventive Treatment during childhood (IPTc) as a population-level interven-
tion in specific settings to reduce the burden of malaria in children. However, there is still
much we need to know about when, how, and under what circumstances to implement
IPTc and how to mitigate the potential impact of increasing drug resistance and impair-
ing immune acquisition. These questions need to be a high priority for ongoing re-
search, not only for IPTc, but alongside other interventions in a multi-faceted approach
to malaria control.
***
3 pp. 74 kB:
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action;jsessionid=D4D4873703BC3EBEC281
776ADCD5D226.ambra02?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1000410&representation=PDF
One approach to help reduce the burden of malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum
is intermittent preventive treatment (IPT), which involves periodic therapeutic doses of
antimalarials to reduce the incidence of malaria and prevalence of anemia. Since ma-
laria is a major cause of illness and death of children under 5 years , recent studies
have evaluated the potential for using IPT during childhood (known as IPTc), including
three new papers in PLoS Medicine that add to the growing evidence base.
***
Report of the Expert group on the assessment of the production and use of
DDT and its alternatives for disease vector control
UN-Experts on DDT recommend stricter rules when DDT is used for malaria vector con-
trol. Their report published ahead of the 5th Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm
Convention (COP-5, Geneva April 25-29, 2011), shows more and more concern about
effects of DDT on human health as well as on the environment. Their report shows that
the international community might be moving towards new rules on the use of DDT.
***
Synthetic ozonide drug candidate OZ439 offers new hope for a single-dose
cure of uncomplicated malaria
Tuberculosis
The Stop TB Strategy of the World Health Organization (WHO), adopted by most coun-
tries, recommends systematic engagement of all care providers in TB care and control
through public-private mix (PPM) approaches. The toolkit is designed to provide infor-
mation at a glance and practical guidance. The toolkit consists of 14 tools, the first
seven tools outline basic aspects of PPM implementation, while the remaining seven
tools address engagement of specific types of care providers.
It is impossible to know with certainty the first time that an influenza virus infected hu-
mans or when the first influenza pandemic occurred. However, many historians agree
that the year 1510 a.d. - 500 years ago - marks the first recognition of pandemic influ-
enza. On this significant anniversary it is timely to ask: what were the circumstances
surrounding the emergence of the 1510 pandemic, and what have we learned about this
important disease over the subsequent five centuries?
***
The authors address specific real-world issues that must be considered in order to im-
***
The authors show that reactive vaccine use can prevent cholera cases and is a rational
response to cholera outbreaks in endemic and non-endemic settings. In large and long
outbreaks a reactive vaccination with a two-dose vaccine can prevent a substantial pro-
portion of cases. Most importantly, the decision makers in donor and recipient countries
have to be convinced of the benefit of reactive cholera vaccinations.
Essential Medicines
Eye on the Ball: Medicine regulation – not IP enforcement – can best de-
liver quality medicines
The report notes that poor-quality, or "substandard", medicines threaten patients and
public health in developing countries. Prioritization of medicines regulation by develop-
ing-country governments, with the technical and financial support of rich countries, is
badly needed. Yet under the guise of helping to address dangerous and ineffective
medicines, rich countries are pushing for new intellectual-property (IP) rules and reli-
ance on police - rather than health regulatory - action. This approach will not ensure that
medicines consistently meet quality standards.
***
A recent shift in the drug product environment for Africa has seen a score of new prod-
ucts being developed specifically for diseases of the developing world, creating new
challenges for regulators in Africa and elsewhere. However, it is not at all certain that Af-
***
Read online:
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/01/11/africas_epide
mic_of_disappearing_medicine?utm_&&&=
The arrival of nearly US$ 10 million worth of donated antimalarial drugs in the small
West African country of Togo starting in 2005 should have been fantastic news for the
hundreds of thousands of impoverished people who fall sick with malaria there each
year. The several million doses of treatments were meant to be handed out free in go v-
ernment clinics, helping those who couldn’t afford the drugs. But that’s not what hap-
pened. Instead, a third of the drugs were stolen, "diverted" away from free government
clinics to be sold in street markets and for-profit pharmacies.
Social Protection
2 pp. 57 kB:
http://www.socialmedicine.info/index.php/socialmedicine/article/download/490/970
Insurance programs stand at the center of health policy debates in many parts of the
The results of the study show the following seven major obstacles to universal health in-
surance coverage in Iran: unknown insured rate; regressive financing and non-
transparent financial flow; fragmented and non-compulsory system; non-scientifically
designed benefit package; non-health-oriented and expensive payment system; uncon-
trolled demands; and administrative deficiency. A long-term systematic plan is required
to address the above problems.
***
by Abebe Shimeles
African Development Bank, 2010
Making the case for sanitation and hygiene: opening doors in health
by Peter Newborne
The Overseas Development Institute (ODI), June 2010
Human Resources
Although the scientific literature or the web are crowded with different examples of ad-
dressing Human Resources for Health (HRH) needs for better maternal and child health
outcomes, there is a need to systematize the findings, recommendations and lessons
learned from the different studies and country experiences. This literature review fo-
cuses on identifying lessons learned, gaps and recommendations that derive from stud-
ies and implementation experiences of HRH interventions for better maternal health out-
comes.
***
The study established time standards in minutes for each MCH activity promised by In-
dia’s National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), which could be applied elsewhere in India
by government planners and civil society advocates. The calculations indicate significant
numbers of new health workers are required to deliver the services promised by the
NRHM.
The neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of conditions identified as affecting
the poorest and most disadvantaged populations in the world. The scale of social sc i-
ence research in the neglected tropical diseases is particularly less prominent compared
to other areas of research. This series attempts to identify whether there are increased
roles for the social sciences in the activities for the control of neglected tropical dis-
eases.
***
The scientific research enterprise is built on a foundation of trust. Scientists trust that the
results reported by others are valid. Society trusts that the results of research reflect an
honest attempt by scientists to describe the world accurately and without bias. But this
trust will endure only if the scientific community devotes itself to exemplifying and
transmitting the values associated with ethical scientific conduct.
The Internet has become an important health information resource for patients and the
general public. Wikipedia, a collaboratively written Web-based encyclopedia, has be-
come the dominant online reference work. Since April 2004, editors have formed a
group called WikiProject Medicine to coordinate and discuss the English-language
Wikipedia’s medical content. This paper, written by members of the WikiProject Medi-
cine, discusses the intricacies, strengths, and weaknesses of Wikipedia as a source of
health information and compares it with other medical wikis.
Out of harm’s way - German support for countries reducing the harm of in-
jecting drug use and HIV
A key to HIV prevention and other social benefits is reducing the harms of drug use, a
major mode of HIV transmission, accounting for about 30% of all new HIV infections
outside sub-Saharan Africa. Harm reduction measures include providing easy (low-
threshold) access to sterile drug paraphernalia and contact centres, drug consumption
rooms and clinics for medically assisted substitution therapy (with methadone or bupre-
norphine) and they have helped Germany, and other countries, to control outbreaks of
HIV and other infectious diseases.
***
The Global status report on alcohol and health (2011) presents a comprehensive per-
spective on the global, regional and country consumption of alcohol, patterns of drink-
ing, health consequences and policy responses in Member States. It represents a co n-
tinuing effort by the WHO to support Member States in collecting information in order to
assist them in their efforts to reduce the harmful use of alcohol, and its health and social
consequences.
***
The European project on prevention of hepatitis C among young drug users at risk will
contribute to the exchange of information and good practice in the area of harm-
reduction. In particular the design of the project is in line with the priority to enhance the
prevention of viral infections among young drug users at risk for acquiring blood-borne
diseases. In this respect the transnational project aims at raising the awareness for the
need of effective hepatitis C prevention by the development of new prevention ap-
proaches.
by Bernadett Sebály
Minority Rights Group International, January 2011
The 2008 financial and food crises have jeopardized the realization of the MDGs and
undermined the progress towards them which has been made to date. As a result of the
crises, it is estimated that an additional 64 million people will be living in extreme poverty
by the end of 2010, 260,000 children under the age of five could die unnecessarily in
2015, 350,000 more children will be unable to complete primary school in 2015, and 100
million more people will remain without access to safe drinking water.
***
Global poverty monitoring has been brought to the forefront of the international policy
arena with the introduction of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The first
MDG proposes the elimination of severe poverty globally, and has led to renewed inter-
est in estimating poverty at the national, regional and global level. Nevertheless, the e s-
timation of poverty at the global level is made difficult by data limitations and methodo-
logical challenges.
***
This report brings together most bilateral and multilateral aid spending plans 1-3 years
ahead with the aim of improving global predictability of future aid flows. It provides an
assessment of indicative forward programming to countries that need it the most in or-
der to reach the MDGs. The report is intended both for policy makers in recipient coun-
tries as a guide to overall planning of aid resources and for aid managers in donor coun-
tries and international agencies to inform their aid allocation decisions.
***
by Karen Hussman
Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI), January
2011
The development community is striving to achieve results and value for money with its
investments in health around the world. Yet, donors often work in countries where the
risk of corruption is high and where public management and oversight systems are
weak. In many countries, international assistance has strengthened accountability bod-
ies such as anti-corruption commissions and the Office of the Auditor General. As the
capacity of these bodies increases, so does the likelihood of corruption being uncovered
at the sector level. Sector advisers need the knowledge and skills to prevent, detect and
address corruption in their sectors.
***
South Asia is home to a large, fast-growing population with a substantial proportion liv-
ing in poverty. The population is relatively young and average life expectancy is now at
64 years and rising. Lifestyle changes associated with urbanization and globalization is
increasing the risk factors and disease onset at younger ages. As a result, South Asians
are becoming more vulnerable to heart disease, cancers, diabetes, and obesity, and
creating significant new pressures on health systems to treat and care for them. The
current health systems have failed to adjust to people’s changing needs.
***
In a rapidly urbanizing world - over half the world’s population lives in urban areas, in-
cluding many millions in informal settlement - the large cities of the developing world in
particular are expanding. Yet there is little in the way of planning and preparation for this
explosive growth in urban population.
***
The problem is preventable death and disability. The solutions are surgical capacity and
injury prevention.
***
by Jennifer Williams
HelpAge International, 2011
This survey by HelpAge International gives a glimpse into what life is like for older peo-
ELECTRONIC RESOURCES
Bulletin of the World Health Organization (BLT)
Volume 89, Number 2, February 2011, 81-160
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/89/2/en/index.html
http://www.ighealth.org/en/home
***
http://www.urbanreproductivehealth.org/about-us
TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
Social Health Insurance
The course will review the importance of social health insurance in crisis
and post crisis situations, issues related to the feasibility of introducing a
scheme and planning for implementation; designing the appropriate con-
tribution levels and benefits, monitoring the provision of services and en-
suring the sound governance and financing of the scheme.
The course is aimed at executives, managers, planners, financial officers and other r e-
sponsible professionals of health care and health insurance schemes, both in govern-
ment and non-governmental sectors.
Applications should arrive not later than March 1, 2011 at the following address:
mailto:socpro@itcilo.org
***
CONFERENCES
New Research in Gender, Violence and HIV
The University of the Western Cape (UWC) Centre for Research in HIV and AIDS, UWC
School of Public Health, Cape Town
The two-day Symposium will review and debate the state of the art in research, policy
and practice to support ongoing and emerging research that makes difference. Post-
Symposium Workshops offer opportunities and mentoring for a limited number of par-
ticipants to write for publication or public engagement, strengthen research and commu-
nications skills, and develop new research ideas
The main objectives of this meeting are to provide a forum for basic scientists, clinicians,
virologists, epidemiologists, and public health officials to present and to discuss the
various aspects of the transmission of HIV. The ultimate goal of the meeting is the int e-
gration of efforts from all relevant disciplines in order to constrain the spread of (drug-
resistant) HIV.
For more information see the workshop web site
CARTOON
Your Internet Protocol (IP) address is analogous to your home address. Your home ad-
dress tells your city, state, zip code, and house (or apartment) number and street. It's
where you are on the vast Information Superhighway.
The easiest way to find it is to use a website. In the URL window (normally the top win-
dow in a browser, either Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE), Firefox or some other
browser), type http://ip-address-lookup-v4.com/lookup.php? Voila! It lists your IP ad-
dress with the location of your Internet Provider. For more details about your network
node click the newly found IP number.
***
A “Command Prompt” is where you enter text commands to the computer. This type of
entry was used prior to graphical user interfaces (GUI). Although it is not often used in
Windows, it is still the preferred method of input for certain operating systems like Linux
and Unix.
The Command Prompt is still used sometimes during Windows installations and repairs,
so it remains a good feature to be familiar with. To bring up Command Prompt, hold the
Windows key and hit the R key (Win+R). This opens Run.
Below, when systeminfo.exe was typed in, the System Information was displayed.
Best regards,
Dieter Neuvians MD