Wednesday, October 13, 2010

[EQ] National Poverty Reduction Strategies and HIV/AIDS Governance in Malawi: A preliminary study of shared health governance

National poverty reduction strategies and HIV/AIDS governance in Malawi:
A preliminary study of shared health governance


Catherine Wachiraa and Jennifer Prah Ruger, Yale University, New Haven, United States

Social Science & Medicine, 2010

 

Website: http://bit.ly/9sXntH

 

“…..The public health and development communities understand clearly the need to integrate anti-poverty efforts with HIV/AIDS programs. This article reports findings about the impact of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) process on Malawi’s National HIV/AIDS Strategic Framework (NSF).

In this article we ask, how does the PRSP process support NSF accountability, participation, access to information, funding, resource planning and allocation, monitoring, and evaluation?

In 2007, we developed and conducted a survey of Malawian government ministries, United Nations agencies, members of the Country Coordination Mechanism, the Malawi National AIDS Commission (NAC), and NAC grantees (N = 125, 90% response rate), seeking survey respondents’ retrospective perceptions of NSF resource levels, participation, inclusion, and governance before, during, and after Malawi’s PRSP process (2000–2004). We also assessed principle health sector and economic indicators and budget allocations for HIV/AIDS.

These indicators are part of a new conceptual framework called shared health governance (SHG), which seeks congruence among the values and goals of different groups and actors to reflect a common purpose. Under this framework, global health policy should encompass:

(i) consensus among global, national, and sub-national actors on goals and measurable outcomes;
(ii) mutual collective accountability; and
(iii) enhancement of individual and group health agency. Indicators to assess these elements included:

       (i) goal alignment;
       (ii) adequate resource levels;
       (iii) agreement on key outcomes and indicators for evaluating those outcomes;
       (iv) meaningful inclusion and participation of groups and institutions;
       (v) special efforts to ensure participation of vulnerable groups; and
       (vi) effectiveness and efficiency measures.

Results suggest that the PRSP process supported accountability for NSF resources. However, the process may have marginalized key stakeholders, potentially undercutting the implementation of HIV/AIDS Action Plans…..”

Contact information: christina.lazar@yale.edu

 

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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/ KMC 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] Financing the Millennium Development Goals for health and beyond: sustaining the Big Push

Financing the Millennium Development Goals for health and beyond:
sustaining the ‘Big Push’

Gorik Ooms,Institute of Tropical Medicine, Department of Public Health, Antwerp, Belgium

David Stuckler, Oxford University, Department of Sociology, Oxford, UK - London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Department of Public Health and Policy

Sanjay Basu, University of California San Francisco, Department of Medicine, and San Francisco General Hospital,  San Francisco CA  

Martin McKee, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, European Centre on Health of Societies in Transition, London, United Kingdom

Globalization and Health 2010, 6:17 doi:10.1186/1744-8603-6-17
           

Available online at: http://bit.ly/9816Vo

 

“…….Many of the Millennium Development Goals are not being achieved in the world’s poorest countries, yet only five years remain until the target date. The financing of these Goals is not merely insufficient; current evidence indicates that the temporary nature of the financing, as well as challenges to coordinating its delivery and directing it to the most needy recipients, hinder achievement of the Goals in countries that may benefit most.

 

Traditional approaches to providing development assistance for health have not been able to address both prevalent and emergent public health challenges captured in the Goals; these challenges demand sustained forms of financial redistribution through a coordinated mechanism.

 

A global social health protection fund is proposed to address recurring failures in the modern aid distribution mechanism. Such a Fund could use established and effective strategies for aid delivery to mitigate many financial problems currently undermining the Millennium Development Goals initiative….”

 

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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/ KMC 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] Primary Care Economics

Primary Care Economics

Philip Jacobs, Departments of Medicine and Family Medicine, University of Alberta
Jessica Moffatt, Institute of Health Economics
John Rapoport, Institute of Health Economics
Neil Bell, Department of Family Medicine, University of Alberta

Institute of Health Economics, University of Alberta, Canada 2010

Available online PDF [36p.] at: http://bit.ly/cLvC6G

"……There have been numerous criticisms of family medicine in recent years and many suggestions for more spending and for reform of organization and finance. Despite the attention paid, there is no overview on the current economic situation in terms of costs and outcomes and little economic evidence. The authors of this report provide an analysis of the economic landscape of primary care in Alberta and a discussion of the proposed reforms in terms of ends and means.

"…….We have choices – there are a number of different ways of organizing and funding primary care in Alberta and Canada, and the choices that we make impact considerably on equity, quality, costs, and health outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to outline the resource problem, providing an overview of the choices we make and resources we have at hand. Economic information, often absent from the primary care debate, can help us prioritize the research that is needed to better inform policy alternatives. This document was informed by a workshop on primary care economics held at the Institute for Health Economics in June, 2010, which brought together key leaders, experts, and policy makers in primary care. It reflects the opinions of the report authors…."

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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/ KMC 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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in error, please dispose of and delete this transmission.

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