Health, Education, Social Protection

News & Notes 04/2011

A bi-weekly newsletter supported by GIZ
(Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit)
13 February 2011

You can download back issues (2005 - 2011) of this newsletter at:
http://german-practice-collection.org/en/links/newsletters/hesp-news-and-notes

Table of Contents:

BOOKS ................................................................................ 4
Arab Human Development Report 2009 ................................................................................. 4
World Migration Report 2010 - The Future of Migration: Building Capacities for Change...... 4

ONLINE PUBLICATIONS .................................................... 4

Global Health.............................................................................................................. 4
2011: A perfect storm for global health ................................................................................... 4
The Right to Health and Medicines: The Case of Recent Negotiations on the Global
Strategy on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property ............................................. 5
Health Promotion – achieving good health for all.................................................................... 5
HIV - AIDS - STI ......................................................................................................... 5
Long-Term Survival of HIV-Infected Children Receiving Antiretroviral Therapy in Thailand: A
5-Year Observational Cohort Study ........................................................................................ 5
A Surprising Prevention Success: Why Did the HIV Epidemic Decline in Zimbabwe?........... 6
Children and AIDS: 5th Stocktaking Report 2010 ................................................................... 6
Social mobilisation and communication to prevent mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of
HIV........................................................................................................................................... 6
The cost-effectiveness of preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV in low- and middle-
income countries: systematic review....................................................................................... 7
Strengthening PMTCT through communication: A review of the literature............................. 7
HIV Screening and Access to Care: Exploring the Impact of Policies on Access to and
Provision of HIV Care.............................................................................................................. 7
Football Coaching Manual 2010 World Cup Edition: HIV Awareness through Football ......... 8
PEPFAR Guidance on Integrating Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV,
Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health and Pediatric HIV Services ......................................... 8
HIV/AIDS and the Environment: Impacts of AIDS and Ways to Reduce them....................... 8
Sexual & Reproductive Health .................................................................................... 9
Listening to African Voices - Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting among Immigrants in
Hamburg: Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice......................................................................... 9
Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: Data and Trends - Update 2010 ...................................... 9
Global strategy to stop health-care providers from performing female genital mutilation....... 9
Integration of HIV and sexual and reproductive health and rights .......................................... 9
COPE® for Male Circumcision Services ............................................................................... 10
COPE® Handbook: A Process for Improving Quality in Health Services ............................. 10
Maternal & Child Health............................................................................................ 10
Measles Outbreak in Africa - Is There a Link to the HIV-1 Epidemic?.................................. 10
Effect of training traditional birth attendants on neonatal mortality (Lufwanyama Neonatal
Survival Project): randomised controlled study ..................................................................... 11
Capturing the Context of Maternal Deaths from Verbal Autopsies: A Reliability Study of the
Maternal Data Extraction Tool (M-DET)................................................................................ 11
Girl Centered Program Design: A Toolkit to Develop, Strengthen and Expand Adolescent
Girls Programs ...................................................................................................................... 11

HESP-News & Notes - 04/2011 - page 1

Malaria ..................................................................................................................... 12
Impact of Malaria at the End of Pregnancy on Infant Mortality and Morbidity ...................... 12
Intermittent Preventive Treatment to Reduce the Burden of Malaria in Children: New
Evidence on Integration and Delivery ................................................................................... 12
Plasmodium vivax Recurrence Following Falciparum and Mixed Species Malaria: Risk
Factors and Effect of Antimalarial Kinetics............................................................................ 12
Intermittent Preventive Treatment to Reduce the Burden of Malaria in Children: New
Evidence on Integration and Delivery ................................................................................... 13
Report of the Expert group on the assessment of the production and use of DDT and its
alternatives for disease vector control................................................................................... 13
Synthetic ozonide drug candidate OZ439 offers new hope for a single-dose cure of
uncomplicated malaria .......................................................................................................... 13
Tuberculosis ............................................................................................................. 14
Public-Private Mix for TB Care and Control: A Toolkit .......................................................... 14
Other Infectious Diseases......................................................................................... 14
Pandemic Influenza’s 500th Anniversary .............................................................................. 14
Diagnosis and Antiviral Intervention Strategies for Mitigating an Influenza Epidemic .......... 14
The Case for Reactive Mass Oral Cholera Vaccinations...................................................... 15
Essential Medicines .................................................................................................. 15
Eye on the Ball: Medicine regulation – not IP enforcement – can best deliver quality
medicines .............................................................................................................................. 15
Registering New Drugs for Low-Income Countries: The African Challenge ......................... 15
Africa’s Epidemic of Disappearing Medicine ......................................................................... 16
Social Protection....................................................................................................... 16
Learning effect of a conditional cash transfer programme on poor rural women’s selection of
delivery care in Mexico.......................................................................................................... 16
Can Insurance Guarantee Universal Access to Health Services?........................................ 16
A qualitative study of the difficulties in reaching sustainable universal health insurance
coverage in Iran..................................................................................................................... 17
Community Based Health Insurance Schemes in Africa: the Case of Rwanda.................... 17
Water, Sanitation & Hygiene..................................................................................... 17
Making the case for sanitation and hygiene: opening doors in health .................................. 17
Human Resources.................................................................................................... 18
Systematic Review on Human Resources for Health Interventions to Improve Maternal
Health Outcomes: Evidence from Developing Countries...................................................... 18
Applying WHO’s ‘workforce indicators of staffing need’ (WISN) method to calculate the
health worker requirements for India’s maternal and child health service guarantees in
Orissa State........................................................................................................................... 18
Health Systems & Research ..................................................................................... 18
Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for Capacity Strengthening in Health
Research ............................................................................................................................... 18
Social Science Research in the Neglected Tropical Diseases ............................................. 19
On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research ................................... 19
Information & Communication Technology ............................................................... 19
Wikipedia: A Key Tool for Global Public Health Promotion................................................... 19
Harm Reduction and Drug Use................................................................................. 20
Out of harm’s way - German support for countries reducing the harm of injecting drug use
and HIV.................................................................................................................................. 20
Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health......................................................................... 20
Six rapid assessments of alcohol and other substance use in populations displaced by
conflict ................................................................................................................................... 20
Identification and optimisation of evidence-based HCV prevention in Europe for young drug
users at risk ........................................................................................................................... 21
Millennium Development Goals ................................................................................ 21
Facts and figures: minorities and the MDGs ......................................................................... 21
Global poverty estimates: Present and future ....................................................................... 21
Development Assistance .......................................................................................... 22
2010 OECD Report on Aid Predictability Survey on Donors’ For-ward Spending Plans 2010
- 2012 .................................................................................................................................... 22
Addressing corruption in the health sector: Securing equitable access to health care for
everyone................................................................................................................................ 22

HESP-News & Notes - 04/2011 - page 2

 Performance-based financing: just a donor fad or a catalyst towards comprehensive health-
care reform? .......................................................................................................................... 22
Others ...................................................................................................................... 23
Capitalizing on the Demographic Transition: Tackling Noncommunicable Diseases in South
Asia........................................................................................................................................ 23
Making Room for a Planet of Cities....................................................................................... 23
Road Traffic Injury in Africa: Implications for Surgeons ........................................................ 23
Insights on Ageing: A survey report ...................................................................................... 23

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES ............................................ 24

Bulletin of the World Health Organization (BLT) ................................................................... 24

INTERESTING WEB SITES .............................................. 24

The Indonesian Health Platform............................................................................................ 24
The Measurement, Learning & Evaluation (MLE) Project..................................................... 24

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

TIPS & TRICKS ................................................................. 26

Finding Your IP Address ....................................................................................................... 26
MS-DOS command prompt ................................................................................................... 27

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HESP-News & Notes - 04/2011 - page 3

BOOKS
Arab Human Development Report 2009

Editors: Jacques Aswad and Shukri Ruhayem

United Nations Development Programme, Regional Bureau for Arab
States (RBAS), 2009

288 pp. 3.6 MB:

http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/regional/featuredregionalreport/ahdr2009e.pdf

In Arab countries, a widespread lack of human security undermines human develop-

ment. This report argues that human security is a prerequisite for human development,
and that the widespread absence of human security in Arab countries undermines peo-
ple’s options. Human security refers not only to questions of survival, but also basic
needs such as access to clean water and quality of life concerns. Human security in the
Arab countries is often threatened by unjust political, social, and economic structures; by
competition for power and resources among fragmented social groups; and, in some
cases, by the impacts of external military intervention.

***

World Migration Report 2010 - The Future of Migration: Building Capacities

for Change

by Khalid Koser, Frank Laczko, Michele Klein Solomon et al.

International Organization for Migration, 2010

295 pp. 12.4 MB(!):

http://publications.iom.int/bookstore/free/WMR_2010_ENGLISH.pdf

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

2011: A perfect storm for global health

by Tim France
Inis Communication, February 2011

5 pp. 105 kB:

http://www.iniscommunication.com/downloads/perfectstorm.pdf

HESP-News & Notes - 04/2011 - page 4

In the coming 12 months we will see significant adjustments in the global health status
quo, as seven key forces described in this paper converge towards what appears to be
an inevitable tipping point. Some changes will be gradual, others may appear as sudden
shifts during the course of the year. Each of these forces has the potential to make a
significant difference in its own right, but as they begin to interact and influence one an-
other, business as usual is an unlikely outcome.

***

The Right to Health and Medicines: The Case of Recent Negotiations on

the Global Strategy on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property

by Germán Velásquez
South Center Research Paper 35, January 2011

72 pp. 379 kB:

http://www.southcentre.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download
&gid=1949&Itemid=182&lang=en

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.

***

Health Promotion – achieving good health for all

Director General Bjørn-Inge Larsen

Norwegian Directorate of Health, October 2010

156 pp. 5.6 MB:

http://www.helsedirektoratet.no/vp/multimedia/archive/00313/IS-
1846E_Health_Pro_313559a.pdf

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.

HIV - AIDS - STI

Long-Term Survival of HIV-Infected Children Receiving Antiretroviral Ther-

apy in Thailand: A 5-Year Observational Cohort Study

Intira J. Collins, Gonzague Jourdain, Rawiwan Hansudewechakul et al.

Clin Infect Dis. 51 (12): 1449-1457 (15 December 2010)

9 pp. 358 kB:

http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/51/12/1449.full.pdf+html

HESP-News & Notes - 04/2011 - page 5

There are scarce data on the long-term survival of HIV-infected children receiving anti-
retroviral therapy in lower-middle income countries beyond 2 years of follow-up. The
World Health Organization now recommends immediate initiation of antiretroviral ther-
apy in infants, irrespective of immunological or clinical criteria, as soon as HIV infection
is diagnosed. The findings from this study support the scale-up of early HIV diagnosis
and immediate treatment in infants, before advanced disease progression in older chil-
dren.
***

A Surprising Prevention Success: Why Did the HIV Epidemic Decline in

Zimbabwe?

by Daniel T. Halperin, Owen Mugurungi, Timothy B. Hallett et al.

PLoS Med 8(2): e1000414 (8 February 2011)

7 pp. 250 kB:

http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action;jsessionid=5D2CA6904DCA09CFB3BD
A201003EA93C.ambra02?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1000414&representation=PDF

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.

***

Children and AIDS: 5th Stocktaking Report 2010

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), November 2010

52 pp. 3.4 MB:

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.
***

Social mobilisation and communication to prevent mother-to-child trans-

mission (PMTCT) of HIV

by Nomvo Dwadwa-Hends, Sakhumzi Mfecane, Tshego Phalane et al.

Centre for AIDS Development, Research and Evaluation (CADRE) on
behalf of UNICEF South Africa, 2010

52 pp. 1.1 MB:

http://www.cadre.org.za/files/CADRE_Social%20mobilisation%20and%20commu
nication%20to%20prevent%20mother-to-child%20transmission%20of%20HIV.pdf

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

HESP-News & Notes - 04/2011 - page 6

the development of communication and social mobilization strategies to support in-
creased PMTCT uptake and efficacy.
***

The cost-effectiveness of preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV

in low- and middle-income countries: systematic review

by Mira Johri and Denis Ako-Arrey

Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation 2011, 9:3 (9 February 2011)

55 pp. 763 kB:

http://www.resource-allocation.com/content/pdf/1478-7547-9-3.pdf

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.
***

Strengthening PMTCT through communication: A review of the literature

by Kerry Frizelle, Vernon Solomon, Asta Rau et al.

Centre for AIDS Development, Research and Evaluation (CADRE), 2009

64 pp. 540 kB:

http://www.cadre.org.za/files/Strengthening%20PMTCT%20through
%20communication.pdf

This report begins with a historical contextualization of prevention-of-mother-to-child-

transmission (PMTCT) in South Africa by providing a brief overview of the political and
operational factors that have shaped policies and interventions concerning HIV and
AIDS in general. The first half of the report considers communication strategies in the
context of HIV and AIDS and the key barriers to PMTCT. The second half of the report
discusses the key participants to be reached through communication strategies as well
as the key themes and messages of PMTCT.

***

HIV Screening and Access to Care: Exploring the Impact of Policies on Ac-
cess to and Provision of HIV Care

Committee on HIV Screening and Access to Care; Institute of Medicine,

2011

100 pp. 802 kB:

http://download.nap.edu/cart/deliver.cgi?&record_id=13057

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.
***

HESP-News & Notes - 04/2011 - page 7

Football Coaching Manual 2010 World Cup Edition: HIV Awareness
through Football

by Charlie Gamble, TackleAfrica January 2010

57 pp. 6.1 MB:

http://www.aidsportal.org/repos/TackleAfrica%20Football%20Coach
ing%20Manual.pdf

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).

***

PEPFAR Guidance on Integrating Prevention of Mother to Child Transmis-

sion of HIV, Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health and Pediatric HIV Ser-
vices

AIDSTAR-One, January 2011

15 pp. 255 kB:

http://www.aidstar-one.com/sites/default/files/PEPFAR_MNCH_HIV_integration_guidance_03Jan2011.pdf

Supporting the integration of Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) and

pediatric HIV with Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health (MNCH) services at the levels of
policy, program administration, or service delivery, offers an opportunity for The Presi-
dent’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to use limited resources to leverage
other key programs and strengthen the MNCH platform in each PEPFAR country
through Partnership Frameworks. This guidance identifies an essential package of inte-
grated PMTCT/pediatric HIV/ MNCH services and health systems strengthening activi-
ties and recommend possible action steps to operationalize and evaluate integration ef-
forts.
***

HIV/AIDS and the Environment: Impacts of AIDS and Ways to Reduce them
Fact Sheet for the Conservation Community

by Judy Oglethorpe and Nancy Gelman

World Wildlife Fund, Inc., 2007

12 pp. 3.7 MB:

http://www.worldwildlife.org/what/communityaction/people/phe/WWFBinaryitem7051.pdf

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.
***

HESP-News & Notes - 04/2011 - page 8

 Sexual & Reproductive Health

Listening to African Voices - Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting among Im-

migrants in Hamburg: Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice

by Alice Behrendt
Plan International Deutschland e.V., February 2011

116 pp. 2.1 MB:

Listening to African Voices

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.
***

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: Data and Trends - Update 2010

by Charlotte Feldman-Jacobs and Donna Clifton

Population Reference Bureau, 2010

9 pp. 198 kB:

http://www.prb.org/pdf10/fgm-wallchart2010.pdf

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.
***

Global strategy to stop health-care providers from performing female geni-

tal mutilation

UNAIDS, UNDP, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNIFEM, WHO, FIGO, ICN,

IOM, MWIA, WCPT, WMA, 2010

27 pp. 544 kB:

http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2010/WHO_RHR_10.9_eng.pdf

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

by Gill Gordon, Sunita Grote, Jane Coombes et al.

International HIV/AIDS Alliance, December 2010

HESP-News & Notes - 04/2011 - page 9

 88 pp. 4.0 MB:
http://www.aidsalliance.org/includes/Publication/GPG_SRH_Eng.pdf

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.

***

COPE® for Male Circumcision Services

COPE (Client-Oriented, Provider-Efficient Services)

A Toolbook to Accompany the COPE® Handbook (see below)

by Fred Ndede, Mark Barone, Feddis Mumbaet al.

EngenderHealth, 2010

102 pp. 1.3 MB:

http://www.engenderhealth.org/files/pubs/qi/COPE_for_male-circumcision.pdf

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.

This toolbook should be used in conjunction with the:

COPE® Handbook: A Process for Improving Quality in Health Services

EngenderHealth, 2003

164 pp. 949 kB:

http://www.engenderhealth.org/files/pubs/qi/handbook/cope_handbook-a.pdf

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.

Maternal & Child Health

Measles Outbreak in Africa - Is There a Link to the HIV-1 Epidemic?

by Anna Nilsson and Francesca Chiodi

PLoS Pathog 7(2): e1001241 (10 February 2011)

HESP-News & Notes - 04/2011 - page 10

 3 pp. 214 kB:
http://www.plospathogens.org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action;jsessionid=945CC89A464E721E0E06
F08FC87EC48E.ambra01?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat.1001241&representation=PDF

It is encouraging that measles catch-up vaccination programmes have been shown to

reduce measles morbidity and mortality in southern Africa, although children born to
mothers with HIV-1 remained highly susceptible to measles infection and its lethal con-
sequences. The recommended vaccination schedule to eradicate measles may be in-
adequate in countries with a high proportion of adults and children with HIV-1. The au-
thors propose that HAART should be administered to children and adults with HIV-1
prior to measles vaccination since HAART improves the capacity to establish long-term
serological memory and maintain memory B cell responses in individuals with HIV-1.

***

Effect of training traditional birth attendants on neonatal mortality (Luf-

wanyama Neonatal Survival Project): randomised controlled study

by Christopher J Gill, Grace Phiri-Mazala, Nicholas G Guerina et al.

BMJ 2011; 342:d346 (3 February 2011)

10 pp. 160 kB:

http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.d346.full.pdf

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.
***

Capturing the Context of Maternal Deaths from Verbal Autopsies: A Reli-

ability Study of the Maternal Data Extraction Tool (M-DET)

Ann L. Montgomery, Shaun K. Morris, Rajesh Kumar et al.

PLoS ONE 6(2): e14637 (7 February 2011)

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

To characterize maternal deaths in settings without complete vital registration systems,

the authors designed and assessed the inter-rater reliability of a tool to systematically
extract data and characterize the events that precede a nationally representative sam-
ple of maternal deaths in India. This data extraction tool achieved good inter-rater reli-
ability and can be used to collect data on events surrounding maternal deaths and for
verification/improvement of underlying cause of death.

***

Girl Centered Program Design: A Toolkit to Develop, Strengthen and Ex-

pand Adolescent Girls Programs

by Karen Austrian and Dennitah Ghati

The Population Council – Kenya, 2010

231 pp. 13.8 MB(!):

http://www.ungei.org/resources/files/2010PGY_AdolGirlToolkitComplete.pdf

HESP-News & Notes - 04/2011 - page 11

As girls approach adolescence, they face the start of a narrow bridge. As they move
through adolescence they must cross this bridge, emerging at the end as adult young
women. However, the bridge through adolescence is a risky one for girls. They are sig-
nificantly more vulnerable than their male counterparts and are more likely to fall off the
bridge. Experience has shown that to reach adolescent girls, especially vulnerable ado-
lescent girls, programs must be designed with them as the target audience. This toolkit
is aimed at doing that.

Malaria

Impact of Malaria at the End of Pregnancy on Infant Mortality and Morbidity

by Azucena Bardají, Betuel Sigauque, Sergi Sanz et al.

Journal of Infect. Diseases, Vol. 203, Issue 5, pp. 691-699 (March 2011)

9 pp. 244 kB:

http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/203/5/691.full.pdf+html

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.
***

Intermittent Preventive Treatment to Reduce the Burden of Malaria in Chil-

dren: New Evidence on Integration and Delivery

by James G. Beeson, Stephen J. Rogerson, Ivo Mueller et al.

PLoS Med 8(2): e1000410 (1 February 2011)

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.
***

Plasmodium vivax Recurrence Following Falciparum and Mixed Species

Malaria: Risk Factors and Effect of Antimalarial Kinetics

by Nicholas M. Douglas, François Nosten, Elizabeth A. Ashley et al.

Clin Infect Dis. 52 (5): 612-620 (March 2011)

9 pp. 276 kB:

http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/52/5/612.full.pdf+html

HESP-News & Notes - 04/2011 - page 12

Plasmodium vivax malaria commonly follows treatment of falciparum malaria in regions
of co-endemicity. This is an important cause of preventable morbidity. This study sug-
gests that there is a coherent argument for the safe provision of a sterilizing course of
antirelapse therapy (currently, 14 days of primaquine) for all patients with malaria in re-
gions of co-endemicity.
***

Intermittent Preventive Treatment to Reduce the Burden of Malaria in Chil-

dren: New Evidence on Integration and Delivery

by James G. Beeson, Stephen J. Rogerson, Ivo Mueller et al.

PLoS Med 8(2): e1000410 (1 February 2011)

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

Third meeting Geneva, 10-12 November, 2010

23 pp. 251 kB:

http://chm.pops.int/Programmes/DDT/Meetings/DDTEG32010/tabid/1108/ctl/Dow
nload/mid/4877/language/en-GB/Default.aspx?id=2&ObjID=10623

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

by Susan A. Charmana, Sarah Arbe-Barnesb, Ian C. Bathurst et al.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Published
online before print February 7, 2011,

6 pp. 156 kB:

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/02/02/1015762108.full.p
df+html

Ozonide OZ439 is a synthetic peroxide antimalarial drug candidate designed to provide

a single-dose oral cure in humans. OZ439 has successfully completed Phase I clinical

HESP-News & Notes - 04/2011 - page 13

trials, where it was shown to be safe at doses up to 1,600 mg and is currently undergo-
ing Phase IIa trials in malaria patients. Herein, the authors describe the discovery of
OZ439 and the exceptional antimalarial and pharmacokinetic properties that led to its
selection as a clinical drug development candidate.

Tuberculosis

Public-Private Mix for TB Care and Control: A Toolkit

World Health Organization, Stop TB Department, Tuberculosis Strategy

and Health Systems (TBS), 2010

66 pp. 19.7 MB(!):

http://www.stoptb.org/wg/dots_expansion/ppm/assets/documents/
PPM%20Toolkit%20full%20version.pdf

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.

Other Infectious Diseases

Pandemic Influenza’s 500th Anniversary

by David M. Morens, Jeffery K. Taubenberger, Gregory K. Folkerset al.

Clin Infect Dis. 51 (12): 1442-1444 (15 December 2010)

3 pp. 565 kB:

http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/51/12/1442.full.pdf+html

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?

***

Diagnosis and Antiviral Intervention Strategies for Mitigating an Influenza

Epidemic

by Robert Moss, James M. McCaw, Jodie McVernon

PLoS ONE 6(2): e14505 (4 February 2011)

10 pp. 413 kB:

http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action;jsessionid=340B57BFC93BA56BDF70
5A442E056A9B.ambra02?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0014505&representation=PDF

The authors address specific real-world issues that must be considered in order to im-

HESP-News & Notes - 04/2011 - page 14

prove influenza pandemic preparedness policy in a practical and methodologically
sound way. They identify optimal delivery strategies for antiviral interventions accounting
for logistical constraints, and so determine how to improve a strategy’s impact.

***

The Case for Reactive Mass Oral Cholera Vaccinations

Rita Reyburn, Jacqueline L. Deen, Rebecca F. Grais et al.

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 5(1): e952 (25 January 2011)

10 pp. 1.7 MB:

http://www.plosntds.org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action?uri=info%3Adoi%2F
10.1371%2Fjournal.pntd.0000952&representation=PDF

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

by Jennifer Brant, Rohit Malpani, Brook Baker et al.

Oxfam International, February 2011

51 pp. 501 kB:

http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/eye-on-the-ball-
medicine-regulation-020211-en.pdf

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.

***

Registering New Drugs for Low-Income Countries: The African Challenge

by Mary Moran, Nathalie Strub-Wourgaft, Javier Guzman et al.

PLoS Med 8(2): e1000411 (1 February 2011)

6 pp. 340 kB:

http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action;jsessionid=7D1034F588045BA9DFD22
FD3FCED8FDB.ambra01?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1000411&representation=PDF

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-

HESP-News & Notes - 04/2011 - page 15

rican regulatory authorities currently have the capacity to meet these new demands. The
authors discuss the various mechanisms in which novel drugs are assessed and a p-
proved for developing country use, and put forth six recommendations to create an effi-
cient integrated system of national, regional, and international approvals.

***

Africa’s Epidemic of Disappearing Medicine

by Roger Bate - Foreign Policy, January 11, 2011

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

Learning effect of a conditional cash transfer programme on poor rural

women’s selection of delivery care in Mexico

by Sandra G Sosa-Rubí, Dilys Walker, Edson Serván et al.

Health Policy Plan. (2011) First published online: January 28, 2011

12 pp. 116 kB:

http://heapol.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/01/28/heapol.c
zq085.full.pdf+html

The Mexican programme Oportunidades/Progresa conditionally transfers money to

beneficiary families. An increase in the average number of ANC visits has been
achieved among Oportunidades beneficiaries. An indirect effect is the increased selec-
tion of a physician/nurse for delivery care among young women living in localities with
greater exposure time to Oportunidades. Disadvantaged women in Mexico (indigenous
women) continue to have less access to skilled delivery care. Developing countries must
develop strategies to increase access and use of skilled obstetric care for marginalized
women.
***

Can Insurance Guarantee Universal Access to Health Services?

by Asa Cristina Laurell

Social Medicine, Vol. 5, No. 3 (2010)

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

HESP-News & Notes - 04/2011 - page 16

world. The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and even to some extent the
World Health Organization have all proposed and promoted health insurance schemes.
Based on their faith in market solutions, they put principles of neo-classical economics
ahead of the satisfaction of human needs. In reality, these insurance schemes are de-
signed neither to open access to needed health services nor to provide universal health
coverage.
***

A qualitative study of the difficulties in reaching sustainable universal

health insurance coverage in Iran

by Hossein Ibrahimipour, Mohammad-Reza Maleki, Richard Brown et al.

Health Policy Plan. (2011); First published online: February 8, 2011

11 pp. 258 kB:

http://heapol.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/02/07/heapol.czq084.full.pdf+html

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.
***

Community Based Health Insurance Schemes in Africa: the Case of

Rwanda

by Abebe Shimeles
African Development Bank, 2010

29 pp. 810 kB:

http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Project-
related-Procurement/WORKING%20120%20word%20document%20AA.pdf

Community-based health insurance schemes (Mutuelles) in Rwanda are one of the

largest experiments in community based risk-sharing mechanisms in Sub-Saharan Af-
rica for health related problems. This study examines the impact of the program on d e-
mand for modern health care, mitigation of out-of-pocket catastrophic health expendi-
ture and social inclusiveness based on a nationally representative household survey us-
ing traditional regression approach and matching estimator popular in the evaluation lit-
erature. Our findings suggest that Mutuelles have been successful in increasing utiliza-
tion of modern health care services and reducing catastrophic health related expendi-
ture.

Water, Sanitation & Hygiene

Making the case for sanitation and hygiene: opening doors in health

by Peter Newborne
The Overseas Development Institute (ODI), June 2010

6 pp. 220 kB:

http://tilz.tearfund.org/webdocs/Tilz/Research/Background%20Note.pdf

HESP-News & Notes - 04/2011 - page 17

This Background Note summarises the perceptions of both sanitation and hygiene
(‘S&H’) and health specialists on the opportunities f or, and obstacles to, greater collabo-
ration between the two sectors, and the need to build capacity as part of the long-term
solution.

Human Resources

Systematic Review on Human Resources for Health Interventions to Im-

prove Maternal Health Outcomes: Evidence from Developing Countries

by Zulfiqar A. Bhutta, Zohra S. Lassi, Nadia Mansoor

Aga Khan University, Division of Women and Child Health, 2010

89 pp. 1.6 MB:

http://www.who.int/entity/pmnch/activities/human_resources/hrh_m
aternal_health_2010.pdf

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.
***

Applying WHO’s ‘workforce indicators of staffing need’ (WISN) method to

calculate the health worker requirements for India’s maternal and child
health service guarantees in Orissa State

by Amy Hagopian, Manmath K Mohanty, Abhijit Das et al.

Health Policy Plan. (2011); First published online: February 4, 2011

Read online at:

http://heapol.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/02/04/heapol.czr007.full

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.

Health Systems & Research

Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for Capacity Strengthen-

ing in Health Research

by Barbara Plavčak and Judith de Kroon

ESSENCE Good Practice Document Series, January 2011

16 pp. 903 kB:

http://apps.who.int/tdr/publications/non-tdr-publications/essence-
framework/pdf/essence_framework.pdf

HESP-News & Notes - 04/2011 - page 18

The Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PM&E) Framework outlined here has been
developed to improve harmonization among funders of health research capacity
strengthening. Its use should make it easier for recipients of funding to fulfil the PM&E
obligations of different funders and facilitate synergy, division of labour and sharing of
knowledge among funders.
***

Social Science Research in the Neglected Tropical Diseases

Thematic Series (4 articles), edited by Pascale Allotey and Subhash Pokhrel

http://www.health-policy-systems.com/series/neglected_tropical_diseases

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.
***

On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research

Third Edition

by Carolyn Bertozzi, John F. Ahearne, Francisco J. Ayala et al.

Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy, National Acad-
emy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering and Institute of
Medicine, 2009

82 pp. 389 kB:

http://download.nap.edu/cart/deliver.cgi?&record_id=12192

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.

Information & Communication Technology

Wikipedia: A Key Tool for Global Public Health Promotion

by James M Heilman, Eckhard Kemmann, Michael Bonert et al.

J Med Internet Res 2011;13(1):e14

Read online at: http://www.jmir.org/2011/1/e14/

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.

HESP-News & Notes - 04/2011 - page 19

 Harm Reduction and Drug Use

Out of harm’s way - German support for countries reducing the harm of in-
jecting drug use and HIV

by James Boothroyd and Patricia Kramarz

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), January
2011
Russian version (36 pp. 1.9 MB)
Проект «Уменьшение вероятности причинения ущерба»

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.
***

Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health

by Alexandra Fleischmann, Daniela Fuhr, Vladimir Poznyak et al.

World Health Organization, 2011

85 pp. 1.7 MB:

http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/publications/global_alcohol_r
eport/msbgsruprofiles.pdf

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.
***

Six rapid assessments of alcohol and other substance use in populations

displaced by conflict

by Nadine Ezard, Edna Oppenheimer, Ann Burton et al.

Conflict and Health 2011, 5:1, (11 February 2011)

45 pp. 281 kB:

http://www.conflictandhealth.com/content/pdf/1752-1505-5-1.pdf

Substance use among populations displaced by conflict is a neglected area of public

health. Alcohol, khat, benzodiazepine, opiate, and other substance use have been
documented among a range of displaced populations, with wide-reaching health and
social impacts. The authors conclude that more work is required on gathering popula-
tion-based epidemiological data, and much more experience is required on delivering
effective interventions. Presentation of these findings should contribute to increased
awareness, improved response, and more vigorous debate around this important but
neglected area.
***

HESP-News & Notes - 04/2011 - page 20

Identification and optimisation of evidence-based HCV prevention in
Europe for young drug users at risk

by Heike Zurhold, Rasa Ciceniene, Dirk Gansefort et al.

Centre for Interdisciplinary Addiction Research (CIAR), January 2011

108 pp. 1.3 MB:

http://www.zis-
hamburg.de/uploads/tx_userzis/HCV_Guidelines_Europe_Jan2011.pdf

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.

Millennium Development Goals

Facts and figures: minorities and the MDGs

by Bernadett Sebály
Minority Rights Group International, January 2011

8 pp. 245 kB:

http://www.minorityrights.org/download.php?id=933

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 estimates: Present and future

by Shatakshee Dhongde and Camelia Minoiu

Brooks World Poverty Institute (BWPI) Working Paper 133, October 2010

31 pp. 230 kB:

http://www.bwpi.manchester.ac.uk/resources/Working-
Papers/bwpi-wp-13310.pdf

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.
***

HESP-News & Notes - 04/2011 - page 21

 Development Assistance

2010 OECD Report on Aid Predictability Survey on Donors’ For-ward

Spending Plans 2010 - 2012

by Suzanne Steensen and Fredrik Ericsson

OECD Development Co-operation Directorate (DCD-DAC)

35 pp. 1.2 MB:

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/13/17/46803285.pdf

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.

***

Addressing corruption in the health sector: Securing equitable access to

health care for everyone

by Karen Hussman
Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI), January
2011

41 pp. 1.7 MB:

http://www.cmi.no/publications/file/3934-addressing-corruption-in-
the-health-sector.pdf

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.
***

Performance-based financing: just a donor fad or a catalyst towards com-

prehensive health-care reform?

by Bruno Meessen, Agnès Soucat & Claude Sekabaraga

Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2011;89:153-156, February 2011

4 pp. 788 kB:

http://www.who.int/entity/bulletin/volumes/89/2/10-077339.pdf

Performance-based financing can be defined as a mechanism by which health providers

are, at least partially, funded on the basis on their performance. The authors’ opinion is
that performance-based financing, as it is being developed in several sub-Saharan Afri-
can countries, is a strategy that could help address the structural problems plaguing
health systems.

HESP-News & Notes - 04/2011 - page 22

 Others

Capitalizing on the Demographic Transition: Tackling Noncommunicable

Diseases in South Asia

by Michael Maurice Engelgau, Sameh El-Saharty, Preeti Kudesia et al.

The World Bank, February 2011

127 pp. 1.7 MB:

Download full document

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.

***

Making Room for a Planet of Cities

by Shlomo Angel, Jason Parent, Daniel L. Civco and Alejandro M. Blei

Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, January 2011

76 pp. 6.1 MB:

http://www.lincolninst.edu/pubs/dl/1880_1195_Angel PFR final.pdf

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.
***

Road Traffic Injury in Africa: Implications for Surgeons

Surgery in Africa Monthly Reviews by Dr. Andrew W. Howard, February 2011

7 pp. 124 kB:

http://www.ptolemy.ca/members/current/Road%20Traffic%20Injury/RoadTrafficInjury.pdf

The problem is preventable death and disability. The solutions are surgical capacity and
injury prevention.
***

Insights on Ageing: A survey report

by Jennifer Williams
HelpAge International, 2011

16 pp. 588 kB:

http://zunia.org/uploads/media/knowledge/user505245_Insights on
Ageing1297327829.pdf

This survey by HelpAge International gives a glimpse into what life is like for older peo-

HESP-News & Notes - 04/2011 - page 23

ple across the globe today. It reveals what they think about ageing and what they would
like to see their governments do to make life in older age better.

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

In this month’s Bulletin:

In an editorial, Greg Fegan et al. discuss the potential of internet-based technologies for
sharing public health data. In a second editorial, Nir Eyal & Samia A Hurst suggest a
fundamental change is needed in medical education to improve the retention of doctors
in rural areas. In an interview, Chris Feudtner explains how the diabetes epidemic is a
product of modern technology.

INTERESTING WEB SITES

The Indonesian Health Platform

http://www.ighealth.org/en/home

The Consolidation Programme Health / Policy Analysis and Formulation

(PAF) has launched “The Indonesian Health Platform”. This website aims
to share products which have been developed, tested and applied by GIZ supported
Health projects in Indonesia during the last 10 years. More than 200 products on health
system development are available e.g. toolkits, software, films, evaluation tools, training
manuals, IEC materials and studies. Web users will also be able to access information
on recent and upcoming events, laws and regulation on health and more. The Indone-
sian Health Platform encourages the creation, sharing, and effective application of
knowledge on health development in Indonesia. The platform counts on its users to help
make it a valuable tool for all working in the health development sector.

***

The Measurement, Learning & Evaluation (MLE) Project

http://www.urbanreproductivehealth.org/about-us

The MLE Project is the evaluation component of the Urban Reproduc-

tive Health Initiative (Urban RH Initiative), a multi-country programme in India, Kenya,
Nigeria and Senegal that aims to improve the health of the urban poor. The goal of the
MLE project is to promote evidence-based decision-making in the design of integrated
family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH) interventions for the Urban RH Initia-
tive.

TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
Social Health Insurance

(English and French - with simultaneous interpretation and translation of documents)

HESP-News & Notes - 04/2011 - page 24

4 - 15 April 2011
International Training Centre of the ILO, Turin, Italy

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.

For more information see:

http://www.itcilo.org/en/calendar/11116/?searchterm=None&language_id=1

Applications should arrive not later than March 1, 2011 at the following address:
mailto:socpro@itcilo.org
***

Short Course in International Health Consultancy

9th - 27th May 2011

The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and Liverpool Associates in
Tropical Health

This is a postgraduate course aimed at those embarking on their consultancy careers as

well as for those consultants seeking continuing professional development opportuni-
ties.
The course aims to provide emerging national, regional and international consultants
with an opportunity to enhance and improve their professional knowledge and skills in
the provision and management of consultancy services within the context of interna-
tional health and deliver work that is robust, evidence-based and grounded in the reality
of resource-poor settings.
For further information please visit: http://www.lath.com/Training-and-Events/55

CONFERENCES
New Research in Gender, Violence and HIV

28-29 March 2011, Cape Town, South Africa

Post Symposium Workshops: March 30-31 2011

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

For more information, contact

Tamlin Petersen at tpetersen@uwc.ac.za

HESP-News & Notes - 04/2011 - page 25

or go to:
http://www.hivaids-
uwc.org.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=3:symposium&id=61:res
earch-symposium-march-2011&Itemid=50
***

6th International Workshop on HIV Transmission - Principles of Interven-

tion

14 - 15 July 2011, Rome Italy

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

TIPS & TRICKS

Finding Your IP Address

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.

***

HESP-News & Notes - 04/2011 - page 26

MS-DOS command prompt

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.

In the Run box, type

cmd. This will open
Command Prompt.

And there, if you

know the correct
commands, you can
find or do just about
anything.

Below, when systeminfo.exe was typed in, the System Information was displayed.

Best regards,

Dieter Neuvians MD

HESP-News & Notes - 04/2011 - page 27