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CONTENTS
Interactive HIV/AIDS game being developed in UAE A new publication from the International HIV/AIDS Alliance: 'NGO Capacity Analysis - A toolkit for assessing and building capacities for high quality responses to HIV/AIDS.' This toolkit can be used to identify capacity building needs of NGOs plan technical support interventions and monitor and
Who is this toolkit for? How can you help more people get this toolkit? If you wish to place an order by post for a free printed copy please contact the Alliance for an order form at: New online resource: the Health eCommunication HCP and The Communication Initiative have now launched a new on-line resource for health communication practitioners. The Health e Communication (HealtheComm) site , is designed to provide easy access to a growing collection of case studies, planning models, research and evaluation documents, and lectures and speeches submitted and peer reviewed by yourselves or your colleagues. Pakistan: AGEHI Resource Center, project on gender and health for youth Advocates of gender, education and health information (AGEHI) resource centre is working for Pakistani youth on diverse gender issues. A FHI/USAID funded project meant for behaviour change in adolescents regarding HIV/AIDSis currently implemented by AGEHI. It is a very challenging project. We are working with 25 different educational institutions to raise awareness and sensitization among youngpeople. Pakistan has the largest cohort of young people. [Moderator's Note: For more information about AGEHI and its work in Pakistan, please log onto http://sachet.org.pk/home/agehi_resource_center/.] Dr.Rakhshinda PERVEEN WHO Report: Knowledge for Better Health New WHO report calls for a new and innovative approach to health systems research--Urgent need for research to bridge the "know-do" gap The WHO World Report on Knowledge for Better Health: Strengthening Health Systems highlights aspects of health research that, if managed more effectively, could produce even more benefits for public health in future. It sets out the strategies that are needed to reduce global disparities in health by strengthening health systems. Inequities in health are among the major development challenges in the new millennium and malfunctioning health systems are at the heart of the problem. Moreover, the culture and practice of health research should reach beyond academic institutions and laboratories to involve health service providers, policy-makers, the public and civil society. The Report also argues that science must help to improve public health systems and should not be confined to producing drugs, diagnostics, vaccines and medical devices. Biomedical discoveries cannot improve people's health without research to find out how to apply them within different health systems and diverse political and social contexts, thus ensuring that they reach those who need them the most. "There is a sense that science can do more, especially for public health," said Dr LEE Jong-wook, WHO Director-General. "There is a gap between today's scientific advances and their application - between what we know and what is actually being done. Health systems are under severe pressure and there is an urgent need to generate knowledge for strengthening and improving them." A team of 12 internationally prominent health researchers in both developed and developing countries, coordinated by Dr Tikki Pang, WHO Director for Research Policy & Cooperation, developed the 143-page World Report on Knowledge for Better Health over 18 months. Based-on a wide-ranging consultative process and on previous reviews of global health research, the report advocates that health equity can only be achieved through better management of health research and increased investment in health systems Health systems research suffers from a poor image and has been under-funded compared to biomedical research despite widespread recognition of its importance. The field attracts less than one tenth of 1 per cent of total health expenditure in low-income countries. The lack of attention given to this field is also reflected in the fact that only 0.7 per cent of scientific articles published globally in the year 2000 were in the area of health systems research. "It is extremely important to get this report out now. The report demonstrates the enormity and complexity of the problem and outlines a way to go forward," said Eva Harris, President of the Sustainable Science Institute based at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. "It anticipates how the global community can get a handle on the problem in a constructive manner instead of lamenting a lack of action". In Africa, for example, it is estimated that only between 2-15 per cent of children slept under bed-nets in 2001 - a simple, effective and proven method to prevent malaria. "We need to put a stronger emphasis on translating knowledge into actions - health systems research will help us to bridge this "know-do" gap". Also, that research is an investment, not a cost", said Dr Pang. The report also illustrates how health systems research can strengthen human resources for health, health financing as well as information and delivery of health services, with some projects already yielding impressive results. Among the research projects mentioned in the report is the Tanzania Essential Health Interventions Project (TEHIP) which was set up to find new ways to plan, set priorities and allocate resources as part of a major reform of the country's health-care system. The aim was to evaluate Researchers found that in two Tanzanian districts, malaria alone accounted for 30 per cent of all healthy years of life lost due to deaths in 1996-97. In response, government planners increased the budget for malaria prevention and treatment programmes from 10 per cent to 26 per cent by 2000-2001. Overall, the research has resulted in a better match between disease burden and health budget allocation, and the child mortality rate has been reduced by more than 40 per cent since the late 1990's. "Health systems should nurture a stronger culture of learning and problem-solving to tackle the major health challenges of our times," said Tim Evans, Assistant Director-General, WHO. "This could be achieved by understanding how elements within a health system interact with each other and by finding innovative ways to solve complex problems." e-TALC CD-ROM TALC, Teaching-Aids at Low Cost is a UK-based charity which supplies low-cost healthcare, training and teaching materials. e-TALC, is the avenue through which TALC provides free information to health workers in developing countries on CD-ROM. TALC also produces CD-ROMs on behalf of other development NGOs. For those interested in the e-TALC CD-ROM project we have produced a GIS (Geographic Information System) of global distribution statistics. A summary of this is available at http://www.talcuk.org/etalc/pdf/summary.pdf The Link: HIV/AIDS Communication The first issue of the Healthlink Worldwide newsletter, 'The Link', looks at the efficacy and appropriateness of HIV/AIDS communication - which become ever more critical as the epidemic's complexity and spread continue to grow. Get an overview of Healthlink's approach to HIV/AIDS communication, and how we are applying it in practice. And for a more detailed look at our position on HIV/AIDS. [http://www.healthlink.org.uk/pubs/hiv-position-paper.html] For a Southern-based perspective, read about our Peru-based partner Calandria's experience in communicating about HIV/AIDS. [http://www.healthlink.org.uk/world/la3.html] And we reflect on the positive outcomes from the child-centred approaches to HIV/AIDS project in Kenya and Uganda, which came to an end this summer. [http://www.healthlink.org.uk/world/ewa-ccath-reflection.html] Exchange contributes strategic thinking on the role of communication in HIV/AIDS programming, including the latest Findings paper: HIV/AIDS: What about very young children? [http://www.healthcomms.org/comms/hiv-aids/hiv.html] Finally, resources on the theme of HIV/AIDS communication are provided by Source International Information Support Centre. You can find more information about Healthlink's recent work in our Annual Review 2003 (this is a pdf file - you can choose a high or a low resolution and the latter is better if you are running on a slow connection). We hope you find this information useful. We will be producing our themed newsletter twice yearly, with a limited number also in print. The full print-version can be downloaded . Yours faithfully, We welcome your comments, please reply to: New Website: ITCAN ITCAN-Using ICTs to Improve Sexual and Reproductive Health This website forms the focal point of the ITCAN project. It acts as the central portal for ITCAN member organisations, as well as a source for resources, events and news for stakeholders interests in ICTs for development, especially HIV/AIDS. Aden Project: ICT in sub-Saharan Africa As we all know there is a huge digital gap between the *Western*, *Southern* and *Transitional* world. This comes along with undemocratic and expensive IT in southern countries through huge companies who hold kind of a monopoly. The French Foreign Ministry supports the Aden project, promoting solutions and access points. The project website is available in English, French and Portuguese and it's probably worth having a look from time to time. Source: HIF-net at WHO listserv New publication: 'Communicating Health' Communicating Health - an action guide to health education and health promotion in developing countries. 2nd edition 2004 Macmillan Education. Hubley, J. The second edition of the above book is now available. It is a completely revised edition of the book first published in 1993. Chapters include: introduction to health education and health promotion, understanding behaviour, teaching and learning, communication planning, interpersonal communication and patient education, folk media, schools and young people, working with communities, mass media and advocacy and political change. A special feature of this new edition is the inclusion of mini case studies from the Leeds Health Education Database of evaluated health education interventions from developing countries. A dedicated web site for the book has been set up with details of the book, links, case studies and powerpoint presentations and training resources. http://www.communicatinghealth.com Request From HCMN Member Oyebisi Oluseyi Dear HCMN Members, I would like to request for promotional materials on HIV/AIDS, Violence, Gender issues and the MDGs from organizations within and outside the network working in these areas of interest. These materials are needed for distribution to our audience who would be attending lectures organized by our organization to mark the International Volunteers day in Nigeria. Posters, pamphlets and other promotional materials relating to the MDGs will be appreciated in large quantities, as they would be distributed to states and local government areas where this day will be marked. Promotional Materials may be that of the organization or other organizations-the aim is that we are volunteering to help distribute information's from this organizations to their Nigerian audience here in Nigeria. Materials could be sent us by post at: Oyebisi Babatunde Oluseyi P.O.Box 29439 Warm regards IEEE CBMS 2005: The 18th IEEE Symposium on Computer-Based Medical Systems Trinity College Dublin, Ireland CBMS 2005 is co-sponsored by the IEEE Computer Society (Technical Committee on Computational Medicine, TCCM), and Department of Computer Science, Trinity College Dublin. More information on IEEE CBMS 2005 may be found on the conference web site: http://conferences.computer.org/CBMS2005/index.html IMPORTANT DATES New Members Pauline K. Wamulume Kayafa Mwansa Joseph Kolawole Oreoluiwa Amrita Bahl Mohamed Shariff Ali Calefato Paola Kesha Morant Wanda Godar, MPH, CHES Lisa McArthur Dr.Girum Hailu Lloyd Howell MAAA (Mankind Aids Arts Awareness) Yubaraj Baral Dr. Vishal Bhimajiani Christiana Onuoha Brenda Hamilton |
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Disclaimer: The information provided on this web site is not official U.S. Government information and does not represent the views or positions of the U.S. Agency for International Development or the U.S. Government. |
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