Health Equity: 10/05/11

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

[EQ] Social participation in Egypt: Civil society's former experience and new opportunities

Social participation in Egypt: Civil society's former experience and new opportunities
Civil Society's former experience and new opportunities

Abd El Razak Abo El Ela
Al-Shehab Institution for Comprehensive Development, Egypt
Background paper: WHO - World Conference on Social Determinants of Health, 19-21 October 2011, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Available online PDF [19p.] at: http://bit.ly/pv435n

“……This case study explores the experience of Al Shehab Institution for Comprehensive Development, a civil society organization which has been working since 2001 in one of the biggest urban informal settlements in Greater Cairo. The objective of the organization’s activities is to build and strengthen the capabilities of people so that they can actively participate in addressing their unfulfilled needs, and influence the shaping of policies that affect their local community and well being.

Egypt is undergoing a peaceful transition that began on January 25th 2011. The recent political and social changes are expanding opportunities for citizens and civil society organizations to actively participate, to prioritize their needs to realize a just and equitable society, and provide them with opportunities to make their demands heard. In such a changing environment with promising democratic spaces for people and civil society groups, poverty, exclusion, and ill-health remain pressing problems.

To change national social and economic policies and priorities will take time; to have an impact on people’s lives will taken even longer. Therefore, it is important to document the activities carried out by Al Shehab and identify and address the key constraints to social participation experienced by the people of Ezbet el Hagana.

This analysis also provides a guide on how to address social determinants of health and involve community members in different activities in order to promote among them the sense of inclusion, empowerment and the ability to have some control over measures that determine their health. It also provides an example of the important role of civil society groups in addressing health inequities and gaps within the country. The study highlights the vital role of other civil society organization actors such as the Cairo based organizations, the Association for Health Environment and Development (AHED), and the Development Support Center (DSC) to develop the capacities of local leaders and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to realize their desired goals. …..”

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[EQ] Health in All Policies: South Australia's country case study on action on the social determinants of health

Health in All Policies:
South Australia's country case study on action on the social determinants of health

Kevin Buckett, Carmel Williams, Deb Wildgoose
Health in All Policies, Department of Health; Adelaide, Australia
Background paper: WHO - World Conference on Social Determinants of Health, 19-21 October 2011, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Available online PDF [21p.] at: http://bit.ly/oK1yji

“……The successful adoption and implementation of Health in All Policies (HiAP) in South Australia (SA) has been influenced by the following four essential factors:
- a high level mandate from central government,
- an overarching policy framework which can accommodate health lens application to diverse program areas,
- a commitment to work collaboratively and in partnership across agencies, and
- a strong evaluation process.

This represents a practical and applied inter-sectoral approach to complex policy issues.

As is the case for many other countries and jurisdictions, the South Australian health system is struggling with escalating health care costs, the growing burden of an ageing population and an increasing incidence of chronic disease. At the same time the evidence base has been clearly documenting that the best opportunities to change the dynamics that influence health lay outside the direct control of the health sector. The social determinants of health provide the social, economic and environmental levers to influence population health outcomes.

It was within this context that Professor Ilona Kickbusch proposed that South Australia adopt a HiAP approach and that this approach be applied to targets contained within South Australia’s Strategic Plan (SASP); the Government’s overarching vision for its State.

The unique advantage of this proposal was the significant and strategic importance of SASP to all South Australian government agencies. SASP contains 98 targets under 6 objectives and there is comfortable alignment between the SASP objectives and the social determinants of health. Oversight for HiAP was placed under the auspices of the high level committee (the Executive Committee of Cabinet) responsible for overseeing the implementation of SASP, reflecting the strategic importance of the work.

Investing in building strong inter-sectoral relationships provides an opportunity to explore some of the interconnections between the SASP targets, and to identify joint areas of work to achieve a win-win solution; that is to work towards the achievement of partner agencies’ targets as well as improve the health of the population. HiAP provides a mechanism for agencies to jointly reflect on a particular policy issue, and work in a collaborative and deliberative way to determine issues and take timely and proper policy decisions. …..”

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[EQ] Canadian Reference Group on social determinants of health

Canadian Reference Group on social determinants of health

Strategic Issues and Innovations Directorate, Public Health Agency of Canada
Background paper: WHO - World Conference on Social Determinants of Health, 19-21 October 2011, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Available online PDF [13p.] http://bit.ly/oJfxRb

“……Canadians are one of the healthiest populations in the world and enjoy a broad range of social benefits and services, including the provision of universal access to health services. This national mechanism was needed to further address disparities among Canada’s disadvantaged populations.

This multi-sectoral group serves as a catalyst for action and as forum to review evidence, explore opportunities for action and augment attention and resources devoted to health inequalities across member organizations. The group has realized several areas of early success including: the establishment of strong partnerships and synergies across sectors; building and sharing knowledge, with a focus on the economic argument for action on social determinants of health and best practices for inter-sectoral collaboration; and mobilizing action in Canada to reduce health inequalities. Within their current mandate, the group has identified poverty, food security, and Aboriginal Peoples as priority areas of focus.

The Canadian Reference Group remains a unique, innovative and progressive response to the challenges associated with action on the social determinants of health in order to meaningfully address health inequalities in Canada. The group proudly serves as a catalyst for action and provides a model for countries striving to establish an inter-sectoral mechanism for action to meaningfully improve the health of the Canadian population…..”

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