Health Equity: June 2012

Friday, June 29, 2012

[EQ] Pillars for progress on the right to health

Pillars for progress on the right to health:
Harnessing the potential of human rights through a Framework Convention on Global Health

Eric A. Friedman and Lawrence O. Gostin
O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law

Georgetown University Law Center

Health and Human Rights: An International Journal 14(1) (June 2012)

Available online at: http://bit.ly/LyKlCZ

“…….Ever more constitutions incorporate the right to health, courts continue to expand their right to health jurisprudence, and communities and civil society increasingly turn to the right to health in their advocacy. Yet the right remains far from being realized.

Even with steady progress on numerous fronts of global health, vast inequities at the global and national levels persist, and are responsible for millions of deaths annually.

We propose a four-part approach to accelerating progress towards fulfilling the right to health:

1) national legal and policy reform, incorporating right to health obligations and principles including equity, participation, and accountability in designing, implementing, and monitoring the health sector, as well as an all-of-government approach in advancing the public’s health;

2) litigation, using creative legal strategies, enhanced training, and promotion of progressive judgments to increase courts’ effectiveness in advancing the right to health;

3) civil society and community engagement, empowering communities to understand and claim this right and building the capacity of right to health organizations; and
4) innovative global governance for health, strengthening World Health Organization leadership on health and human rights, further clarifying the international right to health, ensuring sustained and scalable development assistance, and conforming other international legal regimes (e.g., trade, intellectual property, and finance) to health and human rights norms.

We offer specific steps to advance each of these areas, including how a new global health treaty, a Framework Convention on Global Health, could help construct these four pillars…..”

KMC/2012/HSD
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[EQ] Socioeconomic inequality in the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries

Socioeconomic inequality in the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries:
Results from the World Health Survey

Ahmad Reza Hosseinpoor1, Nicole Bergen1, Shanthi Mendis2, Sam Harper 3, Emese Verdes1, Anton Kunst4, Somnath Chatterji1

1 Department of Health Statistics and Informatics, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland

2 Department of Chronic Diseases and Health Promotion, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland

3 Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics & Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

4 Department of Public Health, AMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

BMC Public Health – 22 June 2012, 12:474 doi:10.1186/1471-2458-12-474

Available online PDF [26p.] at: http://bit.ly/LGmhwJ

“……Noncommunicable diseases are an increasing health concern worldwide, but particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This study quantified and compared education- and wealth-based inequalities in the prevalence of five noncommunicable diseases (angina, arthritis, asthma, depression and diabetes) and comorbidity in low- and middle-income country groups.

Methods

Using 2002-04 World Health Survey data from 41 low- and middle-income countries, the prevalence estimates of angina, arthritis, asthma, depression, diabetes and comorbidity in adults aged 18 years or above are presented for wealth quintiles and five education levels, by sex and country income group. Symptom-based classification was used to determine angina, arthritis, asthma and depression rates, and diabetes diagnoses were self-reported. Socioeconomic inequalities according to wealth and education were measured absolutely, using the slope index of inequality, and relatively, using the relative index of inequality.

Results

Wealth and education inequalities were more pronounced in the low-income country group than the middle-income country group. Both wealth and education were inversely associated with angina, arthritis, asthma, depression and comorbidity prevalence, with strongest inequalities reported for angina, asthma and comorbidity. Diabetes prevalence was positively associated with wealth and, to a lesser extent, education. Adjustments for confounding variables tended to decrease the magnitude of the inequality. ….”

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[EQ] Natural disasters and communicable diseases in the Americas

Natural disasters and communicable diseases in the Americas:
contribution of veterinary public health

Maria Cristina Schneider, Maria Cristina Tirado, Shruthi Rereddy, Raymond Dugas, Maria Isabel Borda, Eduardo Alvarez Peralta,
Sylvain Aldighieri & Ottorino Cosivi - Pan American Health Organization PAHO/WHO

Rivista trimestrale di Sanità Pubblica Veterinaria
edita dall'Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise G. Caporale

2012 - Volume 48 (2), April-June

Available online PDF [26p.] at: http://bit.ly/N3lDr2

“……The consequences of natural disasters on the people living in the Americas are often amplified by socio-economic conditions. This risk may be increased by climate-related changes.

The public health consequences of natural disasters include fatalities as well as an increased risk of communicable diseases. Many of these diseases are zoonotic and foodborne diseases.

The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the importance of natural disasters for the Americas and to emphasise the contribution of veterinary public health (VPH) to the management of zoonotic and foodborne disease risks. An analysis was conducted of natural disasters that occurred in the Americas between 2004 and 2008. Five cases studies illustrating the contributions of VPH in situations of disaster are presented.

The data shows that natural disasters, particularly storms and floods, can create very important public health problems. Central America and the Caribbean, particularly Haiti, presented a higher risk than the other areas of the Americas.

Two priority areas of technical cooperation are recommended for this region, namely: reducing the risk of leptospirosis and other vector-borne disease outbreaks related to floods and hurricanes and improving food safety. The contribution of different disciplines and sectors in disaster preparedness and response is of paramount importance to minimise morbidity and mortality….”

KMC/2012/HSD
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[EQ] Selected articles from Universal Coverage: Can We Guarantee Health For All?

Volume 12 Supplement 1

Selected articles from Universal Coverage: Can We Guarantee Health For All?

Proceedings from Universal Coverage: Can We Guarantee Health For All?

BMC Public Health 2012, Volume 12 Supplement 1 (22 June 2012)

Website: http://bit.ly/N38z6Q

Bandar Sunway, Malaysia

3-4 October 2011

Edited by Pascale Allotey, Daniel D Reidpath, Shenglan Tang, Shajahan Yasin, Su Lin Chong and Julius Chee Ho Cheah

Supported by Global Public Health, Monash University Sunway Campus; Philips Healthcare; Deloitte and Touche, Singapore; and Sanofi Aventis Malaysia

Universal coverage in an era of privatisation: can we guarantee health for all?

Pascale Allotey, Shajahan Yasin, Shenglan Tang, Su Lin Chong, Julius Cheah, Daniel D Reidpath

“……A government that claims to provide universal health coverage (UHC) needs to establish that access to health services is available for the whole population for the full spectrum of services without risk of undue financial hardship. Embedded within the idea of UHC are two distinct notions.
First, access to the full spectrum of health services needs to include access to preventive care through to palliative care and rehabilitative services.
Second, access to services for a whole population means that everyone should be able to enjoy the benefits of the health system, regardless of individual economic, social, or geographic position.

Those in favour of UHC see health as a public good not simply an individual benefit, and they recognise that, as a consequence of this view, the implementation of UHC requires a level of regulation and a kind of investment that is inconsistent with an unconstrained free market.

The challenge for government is in selecting the mix of regulatory and financing mechanisms for the chosen, universally available, health services. This also presupposes that the parcel of health services that will be available has been identified, and there are systems in place to monitor and evaluate the system. ….”

Vulnerability, equity and universal coverage – a concept note

Sharuna Verghis, Fatima Alvarez-Castillo, Daniel D Reidpath

The fallacy of the equity-efficiency trade off: rethinking the efficient health system

Daniel D Reidpath, Anna Olafsdottir, Subhash Pokhrel, Pascale Allotey

Universal access: making health systems work for women

TK Sundari Ravindran

The role of insurance in the achievement of universal coverage within a developing country context:
South Africa as a case study

Alex M van den Heever

Why has the Universal Coverage Scheme in Thailand achieved a pro-poor public subsidy for health care?

Supon Limwattananon, Viroj Tangcharoensathien, Kanjana Tisayaticom, Tawekiat Boonyapaisarncharoen, Phusit Prakongsai

Financing Universal Coverage in Malaysia: a case study

Hong Teck Chua, Julius Cheah

Controlling cost escalation of healthcare: making universal health coverage sustainable in China

Shenglan Tang, Jingjing Tao, Henk Bekedam

On residents’ satisfaction with community health services after health care system reform in Shanghai, China, 2011

Zhijian Li, Jiale Hou, Lin Lu, Shenglan Tang, Jin Ma

Policy initiation and political levers in health policy: lessons from Ghana’s health insurance

Anthony Seddoh, Samuel Akor

KMC/2012/HSS
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Thursday, June 28, 2012

[EQ] Global Symposium on Health Systems Research: Inclusion and Innovation Towards Universal Health Coverage - 31 October- 3 November 2012 - Beijing

Second Global Symposium on Health Systems Research:

Inclusion and Innovation Towards Universal Health Coverage

31 October- 3 November 2012 - Beijing, People's Republic of China

Website: http://bit.ly/LiL5It

Marketplace and Satellite session registrations remain open until August 15, 2012

Health Systems Global, the new society for health systems research that will be launched at the Symposium

Preliminary list of 9 suggested thematic working groups, to be discussed at the general members’ meeting in Beijing at the global symposium (3 Nov 2012).:

1. The Health Systems Researcher: This group focuses on transforming and scaling up the education and training of health professionals, addressing metrics, standards and curriculum development. What does it take to become a health systems researcher? What training materials and courses are needed and are available?

2. Methods to Measure Health System Performance: This group will explore current methodological debates in the field of health systems research. Topics could include developing new theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of innovation; evaluation, methodologies currently being used to measure equity; and conducting systematic reviews of health systems research.

3. Mentoring Young Researchers: A working group focusing on those under 40 that will support abstract development and help young researchers with their research/article writing Young researchers will organize their own session at symposia and be in touch throughout the year on issues they select.

4. Priority-setting in Health: A working group to look at health policies, models and theories related to setting priorities and taking decisions, and the role of the community in decision-making. Practical experiences will also be shared and discussed.

5. Health Systems and the Law: This working group will address the legal aspects of health systems. Key issues could include legal constraints to task-shifting in the health-care workforce, patient rights and the legal structure of health care centres and organizations.

6. Fragile Sates: This working group will looks at health systems and fragile states. How do health systems function in such settings and how are they best rebuilt? What is the relationship between national and international players?

7. Universal Health Insurance and Health Care Financing: This working group will continue the debate about how best to achieve universal access including risk protection and what are the barriers. Who pays and how much?

8. Knowledge Translation: Studying and evaluating knowledge transfer and exchange in public policy-making and program environment.

9. Urban Health: This working groups aims to look at how to redress inequities in the urban space. For the first time in history, the majority of the world’s population lives in cities, almost all of this growth will occur in cities of the developing world and overwhelmingly, among the urban poor. The group aims to galvanize research and policy attention towards the heath-related needs of the urban poor, with particular attention to the underlying social determinants of inequities

KMC/2012/HSS
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[EQ] Achieving Health Equity in Ontario: POWER Study Release

The POWER Study’s final chapter is now available for download – June 27, 2012
Conclusions

Achieving Health Equity in Ontario: Opportunities for Intervention and Improvement (chapter 13)

Available online in a ZIP file at: http://bit.ly/MYbkod

“……The Project for an Ontario Women’s Health Evidence-Based Report (POWER) Study has produced a comprehensive provincial women’s health report. We examined an extensive set of evidence-based indicators bridging population health and health system performance.

The Women's Health Equity Report provides actionable data for policy makers, providers, and consumers in their efforts to improve health and reduce health inequities in Ontario.

POWER has examined gender differences in access to care, as well as quality and outcomes of care for the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the province and how they differ by gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and geography.

Important patterns emerged as we reviewed the findings across all of the POWER chapters. This final chapter describes these patterns and uses evidence from the POWER Study to identify opportunities to improve health equity in Ontario. A summary of the key findings from each of the POWER reports are also presented.

The POWER Study’s proposed Leading Set of Health Equity Indicators are presented and key opportunities for improving data capacity in the province are outlined. Finally, we provide the POWER Health Equity Road Map, a ten-step plan to support efforts to achieve health equity in the province.

This road map emerged from the themes identified across the POWER Study chapters and from broad community consultation and dialogue. The time to move forward is now. What is needed is the will and commitment. …”

Ashley Johns, MSc
Research Coordinator, The POWER Study
Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute

KMC/2012/SDE
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[EQ] The Future We Want - RIO+20 conference outcome document

The Future We Want - RIO+20 conference outcome document

United Nations A/CONF.216/L.1* 22 June 2012

PDF file [53p.] Available online at: http://bit.ly/MY5uRR

Website: http://bit.ly/OCCEh7

….includes the agreements on principles, priorities and follow up action to achieve sustainable development.

The future we want

“….. Our common vision

1. We, the Heads of State and Government and high-level representatives, having met at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 20 to 22 June 2012, with the full participation of civil society, renew our commitment to sustainable development and to ensuring the promotion of an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable future for our planet and for present and future generations.

2. Eradicating poverty is the greatest global challenge facing the world today and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development. In this regard we are committed to freeing humanity from poverty and hunger as a matter of urgency.

3. We therefore acknowledge the need to further mainstream sustainable development at all levels, integrating economic, social and environmental aspects and recognizing their interlinkages, so as to achieve sustainable development in all its dimensions.

4. We recognize that poverty eradication, changing unsustainable and promoting sustainable patterns of consumption and production and protecting and managing the natural resource base of economic and social development are the overarching objectives of and essential requirements for sustainable development.

We also reaffirm the need to achieve sustainable development by promoting sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth, creating greater opportunities for all, reducing inequalities, raising basic standards of living, fostering equitable social development and inclusion, and promoting integrated and sustainable management of natural resources and ecosystems that supports, inter alia, economic, social and human development while facilitating ecosystem conservation, regeneration and restoration and resilience in the face of new and emerging challenges. ….”

KMC/2012/SDE
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