Health Equity: 04/10/12

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

[EQ] Caribbean Human Development Report 2012 - Human Development and the Shift to Better Citizen Security

Caribbean Human Development Report 2012
Human Development and the Shift to Better Citizen Security

United Nations Development Programme UNDP – 2012

Available online PDF [ 246p.] at: http://on.undp.org/Hz3n6J

“…..Crime has become one of the main challenges threatening economies and livelihoods in Caribbean countries, but the right mix of policies and programmes can halt the problem, according to the Caribbean Human Development Report 2012.

“This report stresses the need to rethink our approaches to tackling crime and violence and providing security on the ground. We need to follow approaches that are centered on citizen security and address the causes of this recent increase in violent crime, including social, economic, and political exclusion,”

The Caribbean Human Development Report reviews the current state of crime as well as national and regional policies and programmes to address the problem in seven English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean countries:
Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Key recommendations from the Report

•High rates of violent crime can be turned around by achieving a better balance between legitimate law enforcement and preventive measures, with a stronger focus on prevention;
• Governments should create or invest more in units to address gender-based violence and adopt more preventive measures to ensure that violence against girls and women is no longer tolerated
• Because crime harms social cohesion, Caribbean nations must better address youth violence and street gangs, whose crimes are rarely prosecuted
• Public security requires community collaboration…”

Content:

Chapter 1 Crime Trends since Independence and the Impact on Vulnerable Groups
Chapter 2 Youth Violence: Reducing Risk and Enhancing Resilience
Chapter 3 Reducing the Contribution of Street Gangs and Organized Crime to Violence
Chapter 4 The Police: Transitioning to Citizen Security
Chapter 5 Criminal Justice Systems
                Regional Bodies Focused on Police, Prosecution, and Corrections
Chapter 6 State Policies and the Policy Orientation of Populations
               The Evolution of Policy, Deterring Social Violence, and the War on Narco-Trafficking
               Public Attitudes towards Crime and Punishment
               Social Tolerance and Ideals of Justice
               Public Opinion on Mechanisms for Preventing and Controlling Crime
Chapter 7 Conclusions and Recommendations
References
Technical Notes

KMC/2012/SDE
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[EQ] Equity in maternal, newborn, and child health interventions in Countdown to 2015- retrospective review of survey data from 54 countries

Equity in maternal, newborn, and child health interventions in Countdown to 2015:
a retrospective review of survey data from 54 countries

Aluísio JD Barros a , Carine Ronsmans b, Henrik Axelson c d, Edilberto Loaiza f, Andréa D Bertoldi a, Giovanny VA França a, Jennifer Bryce g, J Ties Boerma e,
Cesar G Victora a
The Lancet, Volume 379, Issue 9822, Pages 1225 - 1233, 31 March 2012 doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60113-5

Website: http://bit.ly/IALEgS

Countdown to 2015 tracks progress towards achievement of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5, with particular emphasis on within-country inequalities. We assessed how inequalities in maternal, newborn, and child health interventions vary by intervention and country.

Methods

We reanalysed data for 12 maternal, newborn, and child health interventions from national surveys done in 54 Countdown countries between Jan 1, 2000, and Dec 31, 2008. We calculated coverage indicators for interventions according to standard definitions, and stratified them by wealth quintiles on the basis of asset indices. We assessed inequalities with two summary indices for absolute inequality and two for relative inequality.

Findings

Skilled birth attendant coverage was the least equitable intervention, according to all four summary indices, followed by four or more antenatal care visits. The most equitable intervention was early initation of breastfeeding. Chad, Nigeria, Somalia, Ethiopia, Laos, and Niger were the most inequitable countries for the interventions examined, followed by Madagascar, Pakistan, and India. The most equitable countries were Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Community-based interventions were more equally distributed than those delivered in health facilities. For all interventions, variability in coverage between countries was larger for the poorest than for the richest individuals.

Interpretation

We noted substantial variations in coverage levels between interventions and countries. The most inequitable interventions should receive attention to ensure that all social groups are reached. Interventions delivered in health facilities need specific strategies to enable the countries' poorest individuals to be reached. The most inequitable countries need additional efforts to reduce the gap between the poorest individuals and those who are more affluent.

Funding

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Norad, The World Bank.

a Postgraduate Program in Epidemiology, Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, Brazil

b London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK

c Department of Economics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

d Partnership for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland

e Department of Measurement and Health Information Systems, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland

f UNFPA, New York, NY, USA

Thank you.