Health Equity: 05/30/08

Friday, May 30, 2008

[EQ] Soaring Food Prices: Facts, Perspectives, Impacts and Actions Required

High-Level Conference on World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy

Rome, 3-5 June 2008

Website: http://www.fao.org/foodclimate/hlc-home/en/

“….Securing world food security in light of the impact of climate change may be one of the biggest challenges we face in this century.

An estimated 850 million people in the world today suffer from hunger. Of those, about 820 million live in developing countries, the very countries expected to be most affected by climate change. Governments, international organizations, civil society, the private sector and other actors, must work together to address these challenges and to devise appropriate strategies and responses….”

SOARING FOOD PRICES: FACTS, PERSPECTIVES, IMPACTS AND ACTIONS REQUIRED

United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 28 May 2008

Available online PDF [50p.] at: http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/foodclimate/HLCdocs/HLC08-inf-1-E.pdf

“….Further sharp price hikes and continued volatility in markets for food supplies appear to be likely for the next few seasons, according to a report released by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in the run-up to a summit on the global food crisis which is being held in Rome.

FAO lists 22 countries that it says are particularly vulnerable to food price increases because of high levels of chronic hunger and because they are net importers of both food and fuel. The report cites Eritrea, Niger, Comoros, Haiti and Liberia as being especially at risk.

Participants at the 3-5 June summit will discuss how agriculture can be harnessed to produce enough food to meet the demands of the world’s growing population. Many Heads of State and Government , as well as UN Secretary-General and the heads of many UN organizations and the Bretton Woods institutions, will attend the event. The new international task force – brings together the heads of key UN agencies, the International Monetary Fund IMF, the World Bank and other international experts – on the global food crisis is due to present its action plan….”

Content:

I. Introduction

II. Brief assessment of recent developments

III. What next?

IV. Likely impacts of rising food prices

A. Country-level impacts

B. Household-level impacts of high food prices

V. Policies for addressing high food prices: responses to date and policy options

Information documents
HLC/08/INF/1	Soaring food prices: facts, perspectives, impacts and actions required
HLC/08/INF/2	Climate change adaptation and mitigation: challenges and opportunities for food security	>
HLC/08/INF/3	Bioenergy, food security and sustainability - towards an international framework	border=0>
HLC/08/INF/4-Rev.1	Financial mechanisms for adaptation to and mitigation of climate change in the food and agriculture sectors	border=0>
HLC/08/INF/5	Climate change, bioenergy and food security: options for decision-makers identified by expert meetings	border=0>
HLC/08/INF/6	Climate change, bioenergy and food security: civil society and private sector perspectives	>
HLC/08/INF/7	Climate-related transboundary pests and diseases	>
HLC/08/INF/8	Provisional list of documents	>
HLC/08/INF/9-Rev.1	Arrangements for the High-level Conference and information for participants
Technical background documents
HLC/08/BAK/1	Climate change adaptation and mitigation in the food and agriculture sector
HLC/08/BAK/2	Climate change, water and food security
HLC/08/BAK/3	Climate change and biodiversity for food and agriculture
HLC/08/BAK/4	Climate-related transboundary pests and diseases
HLC/08/BAK/5	Climate change and disaster risk management
HLC/08/BAK/6	Climate change and fisheries and aquaculture
HLC/08/BAK/7	Bioenergy policy, markets and trade and food security

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This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues. [DD/ IKM Area]

“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings
and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American
Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members”.
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[EQ] Our cities, our health, our future

Our cities, our health, our future

Report to the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health from the Knowledge Network on Urban Settings (KNUS) 2008

Chair and Lead Writer: Tord Kjellstrom

Available online as PDF file [199p.] at: http://www.who.int/social_determinants/resources/knus_final_report_052008.pdf

Which aspects of urban settings influence health equity?

This KNUS report summarizes the findings concerning structural and intermediate social determinants of health that are of importance in the urban setting. The framework of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) guided the work. While unmasking the health inequities and inequalities in urban settings, it was decided at an early stage to make a strategic focus on slums and informal settlements where one billion people live in deplorable conditions.

This number may double in coming decades unless appropriate policies for economic, social and health equity are developed and implemented. An example of the health inequalities in these circumstances is the strong gradient in infant and child mortality rates within Nairobi, Kenya, with rates in the slums more than three times higher than the city average and possibly ten or more times higher than in the richer parts of the city. Other data from Africa shows that these mortality Rates among the urban poor are, on average, almost as high as the rates among the rural poor, while among the richer urban groups the rates are the lowest.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. INTRODUCTION

2. URBANIZATION AND THE URBAN SETTING AS HEALTH DETERMINANTS

2.1 Urbanization in a global context

2.2 Slum formation with rapid urbanization

2.3 A conceptual framework for urban health

2.4 The economics of urban health development

2.5 Poverty, deprived urban living conditions and health vulnerability

2.6 Healthy urban governance

3. THE URBAN HEALTH SITUATION

3.1 Burden of disease and communicable diseases

3.2 Injuries and violence

3.3 Mental health and substance abuse

3.4 Noncommunicable diseases and nutritional disorders

4. KEY ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN ACHIEVING HEALTH EQUITY

5. A BROAD SPECTRUM OF INTERVENTIONS

6. APPROACHES AND POLICIES TO MAKE INTERVENTIONS HAPPEN

7. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

7.1 The urban setting as a health determinant

7.2 The urban health situation

7.3 Key issues and concepts of health equity impacts

7.4 A broad spectrum of interventions

7.5 Approaches and policies to make interventions happen

ENDNOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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[EQ] Social determinants of health: a call for papers

Social determinants of health: a call for papers

The Lancet, Volume 371, Number 9627, 31 May 2008

Website: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140673608607722/fulltext

“…..On Nov 8, 2008, The Lancet will publish a theme issue devoted to the social determinants of health. We invite submission of research papers, reviews, viewpoints, and comments with an emphasis on action—what the doctor, public-health worker, policy maker, and politician can do to reduce inequalities and tackle the broad interplay of economic and social forces affecting health.

This theme issue will be produced in parallel with a conference being held in London (Nov 6–7,2008) called :
Closing the Gap in a Generation: Health Equity Through Action on the Social Determinants of Health

The conference also aims to identify actions based on recommendations set out by the WHO Commission on the Social Determinants of Health. That Commission, chaired by Michael Marmot, will publish its final report after the summer. Launched in 2005, the Commission has used an ambitious process of knowledge networks, country consultations, and wide engagement with civil society and academia to devise a global strategy to realise longstanding hopes for health equity.

One telling example of the complexity the Commission will have to grapple with was provided last week by Save the Children. In its report The Road Less Travelled: Barriers to Poor Children's Healthcare Utilisation in Developing and Transitional Countries, Save the Children described how the child mortality gap is widening in the world's poorest countries. Transport can cost as much as half the total cost of health care. Corruption can be a major obstacle to preventive services, such as vaccination. And high drug prices can dissuade families from purchasing the care they need.

In the Commission's interim report, Marmot described health as “a universal human aspiration and a basic human need”. Although that view commands wide medical and political support, translating this vision into a practical, realisable, and affordable plan has proven beyond the ability of most nations. The Commission's work is an opportunity to turn advocacy into action. The Lancet invites clinical and public-health scientists and practitioners to make their contribution to this unprecedented international event….”

WHO: http://www.who.int/social_determinants/en/

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