Health Equity: 08/14/12

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

[EQ] Equal power to shape society and one's own life - The Swedish Government's gender equality policy

Equal power to shape society and one’s own life

The Swedish Government’s gender equality policy 2010–2014

14 August 2012 - Ministry of Education and Research

Available online PDF [16P.] at: http://bit.ly/RQBVZO

“….The struggle for gender equality has a long history and widespread support in Sweden. In the 1900s we progressed and made a lot of achievements - but plenty still remains to be done. As already mentioned gender equality policy today is about tearing down barriers and ensuring equal opportunities for women and men, for girls and boys. This is done by changing norms and attitudes that restrain people from becoming who and what they want to be. Every person has a right to the same opportunity to develop and shape their own life, without being confronted with obsolete perceptions about gender.

One of the most important tasks is to improve equality in the labour force, schools and the business sector. Other urgent challenges involve combating men's violence against women, honour-related violence and oppression, and prostitution and human trafficking for sexual purposes….” press release

“…..Gender equality between men and women, girls and boys, is about tearing down barriers, creating opportunities and changing norms and attitudes that hold people back. Every girl and boy should have the same opportunity to grow and develop without being restrained by violence, preconceptions or injustices.

“…..Gender equality is a right in line with the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The overall objective of the Swedish gender equality policy, which is to promote an equal distribution of power and resources, is that women and men are to have the same power to shape society and their own lives.

“….The Government’s objectives for gender equality and high economic growth go hand in hand. Gender equality contributes to economic growth by promoting and making use of people’s skills and creativity. If women’s labour market participation and pay were the same as men’s, it would have a significant impact on the GDP.

The following objectives indicate the direction of the Government’s gender equality policy:

- Equal division of power and influence

Women and men must have the same rights and opportunities to be active citizens and to shape the conditions for decision-making.

- Economic equality

Women and men must have the same opportunities and conditions for education and paid work that provides lifelong economic independence.

- Equal distribution of unpaid housework and provision of care

Women and men must have the same responsibility for housework and have the opportunity to give and receive care on equal terms.

- An end to men’s violence against women

Women and men, girls and boys, must have the same right and opportunity to physical integrity……”

Content

Foreword

Gender equality policy

Equal power to shape society and one’s own life

Power and influence

Economic equality

Unpaid housework and provision of care

An end to men’s violence against women

Gender mainstreaming as a strategy

Gender equality in international cooperation

Gender equality central in development cooperation

Follow-up aids development

Gender disaggregated statistics reveal differences

KMC/2012/HSS
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[EQ] For the Publics Health: Investing in a Healthier Future

For the Public's Health: Investing in a Healthier Future

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

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation asked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) – 2012…to examine three topics in relation to public health:
measurement, the law, and funding.

IOM prepared a three report series--one report on each topic--that contains actionable recommendations for public health agencies and other stakeholders with roles in the health of the U.S. population.

The final book in the series assesses the financial challenges facing the governmental public health infrastructure. The book provides recommendations about what is needed for stable and sustainable funding, and for its optimal use by public health agencies.

Building on the other two volumes in the series, this book makes the argument that adequate and sustainable funding for public health is necessary to enable public health departments across the country to inform and mobilize action on the determinants of health, to play other key roles in protecting and promoting health, and to prepare for a range of potential threats to population health….”

Content:

Summary

1 Introduction and Context

2 Reforming Public Health and Its Financing

3 Informing Investment in Health

4 Funding Sources and Structures to Build Public Health

Appendix A: Acronyms

Appendix B: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: Opportunities for Public Health Agencies and Population Health--Sara Rosenbaum

Appendix C: Financing Mission-Critical Investments in Public Health Capacity Development--Eileen Salinsky

Appendix D: Financing State and Local Public Health Departments: A Problem of Chronic Illness--Samuel Y. Sessions

Appendix E: Funding Diagram for Public Health

Appendix F: For the Public's Health: The Role of Measurement in Action and Accountability: Report Summary

Appendix G: For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges; Report Summary

KMC/2012/HSS
Twitter http://twitter.com/eqpaho

Thank you.

[EQ] The Economics of Public Health Care Reform in Advanced and Emerging Economies

The Economics of Public Health Care Reform in Advanced and Emerging Economies

Edited by Benedict Clements, David Coady, and Sanjeev Gupta

International Monetary Fund IMF - ISBN: 978-1-61635-244-8 - April 2012

PDF [35p.] of an excerpt online at: http://bit.ly/Mu6anq

“….The projected increases in public health spending will take place at a time when most countries need to undertake large fiscal adjustments to help bring public debt ratios down to more prudent levels.

In this light, public health care spending is indeed an important macro-fiscal issue. Moderating the growth of age-related spending, including on health, will have to be a major element of the fiscal consolidation strategy in the advanced economies over the coming years.

For many emerging economies, the outlook for health spending is better, and immediate pressures are expected to be more benign. But it will by no means be easy for emerging economies to expand access to and improve the quality of health care services in light of the limited fiscal space to increase public health spending.

Despite the fiscal importance of health care reform, there has been relatively little systematic work on the macro-fiscal implications of reforms in advanced economies and emerging markets. Recent work by the Fiscal Affairs Department has tried to fill that void, both by projecting future health care spending if current policies were to be maintained and by estimating the potential fiscal impact of various reform options to contain health spending growth.

This book draws on a recent study on the macro-fiscal implications of health care reforms presented to the IMF Executive Board in January 2011 and on papers prepared by outside experts for conferences at the IMF Regional Offices for Europe and Asia and the Pacific in June 2011 and October 2011, respectively.

An important objective of the IMF’s analytical work in this area—and of our continued dialogue with health experts—is to improve our understanding of how feasible it would be to slow down the projected growth of health spending. This, in turn, has an important bearing on the composition of fiscal consolidation strategies going forward, since insufficient scope for containing health spending increases would shift…”

Content

PART I TRENDS AND OUTLOOK FOR PUBLIC HEALTH SPENDING

1 The Challenge of Health Care Reform in Advanced and Emerging Economies

2 Public Health Care Spending: Past Trends

3 New Projections of Public Health Spending, 2010–50

PART II THE ROLE OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR IN HEALTH CARE FINANCING AND DELIVERY

4 The Future of Public and Private Health Care Insurance in Asia

5 Perspective on the Appropriate Role of the Private Sector in Meeting Health Care Needs

PART III CROSS-COUNTRY STUDIES

6 Containing Public Health Spending: Lessons from Experiences of Advanced Economies

7 Health Reform Lessons from Experiences of Emerging Economies

8 Health Financing Systems in East Asia and the Pacific: Early Successes and Current Challenges

9 Measuring the Health Effects of Health Care Reform

PART IV COUNTRY CASE STUDIES: ADVANCED ECONOMIES

10 Public Health Expenditure Reforms in Canada, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States

11 Challenges in Reforming the Japanese Health Care System

12 Coverage Expansion and Cost Containment in the Republic of Korea

13 Containing Public Health Spending through Market-Based Health Reform in Germany

14 Taiwan Province of China’s Experience with Universal Health Care Coverage

PART V COUNTRY CASE STUDIES: EMERGING ECONOMIES

15 Health Care Financing Reform in India’s Decentralized Health Care System

16 Evidence-Based Health Financing Reform in Thailand

17 The Challenge of Health Care Reform in Estonia, Hungary, China, Chile, and Mexico

KMC/2012/HSS
Twitter http://twitter.com/eqpaho

Thank you.