Gega Activities
GEGA, along with EQUINET and HST, is hosting the 3rd International Conference of ISEqH 'Pathways to Equity in Health' from the 10th to 12th of June 2004 in Durban, South Africa. Several other events are planned along with this conference. These include Equinet's writers workshop from the 4th to 7th, GEGA's 'Equity Research to Action Short-course' from the 7th to 9th and then again from 15th to 17th June, Public Health Association of South Africa (PHASA) and International Association of Health Policy (IHAP) conference 'Partnerships for Health Equity' from the 6th to 8th, Equinet Meeting 'Reclaiming the State' on the 8th and 9th and GEGA conference on the 13th and 14th of June 2004

The GEGA conference is aimed at strengthening alliances for health equity through building coalitions and sharing experiences for evidence-based, action-oriented health equity work. The conference will focus on building global advocacy coalitions in support of equitable health development. The conference will provide a platform for developing a participatory process to shape the global advocacy strategy for the Global Health Watch (GHW). The GHW is an initiative being coordinated by GEGA jointly with the People's Health Movement and Medact that aims to put forward an alternative and equity-enhancing perspective of key global health issues and for strengthening global and regional coalitions and networks in support of equitable health development. The conference will also provide delegates with an opportunity to learn about GEGA, our activities, and opportunities to work with the organisation. Exchange panels on particular challenges for promoting health equity will be organised, based on participants' interests. There is no registration fee for this conference but registration is compulsory. For details go to: http://www.gega.org.za/other/gegameet0604.php

Global Health Watch Website: www.ghwatch.org GEGA, along with the People's Health Movement and Medact propose to mobilise a fragmented global health community around values which stress the need to tackle the fundamental causes of ill-health and inequity in our societies. The vehicle for this advocacy is through publication of an annual Global Health Watch, which would address a topical development issue at the global level that is relevant to health equity. Of particular interest is identifying the ways that global processes, policies, and bodies influence health inequities. The Watch is designed to contribute to the global support of health equity issues and help sustain political pressure for those issues to be addressed. Country level Gauges will participate actively in developing the Watch, contributing their findings as well as shaping discussion for analysis, implications, and recommendations. By developing the Watch in cooperation with other large and small organisations, as well as those from the North and the South, the Watch will also support GEGA's informal network.

Publications:

Embodying Inequality: Epidemiologic Perspectives
Edited by Nancy Krieger Policy, Politics, Health and Medicine Series
Series Editor: Vicente Navarro

'To advance the epidemiological analysis of social inequalities in health, and of the ways in which population distributions of disease, disability, and death reflect embodied expressions of social inequality, this volume draws on articles published in the International Journal of Health Services between 1990 and 2000. Framed by ecosocial theory, it employs ecosocial constructs of "embodiment," "pathways of embodiment," "cumulative interplay of exposure, susceptibility, and resistance across the lifecourse," and "accountability and agency" to address the question; who and what drives current and changing patterns of social inequalities in health?' For ordering information visit: http://baywood.com/books/tableofcontents.asp?id=0-89503-294-5#stay

Improving the Health of the World's Poorest People
by Dara Carr
Population Reference Bureau, 2004

"…This Bulletin focuses largely on economic inequalities in health. In most countries, however, important disparities also exist by sex, race, ethnic group, language, occupation, and residence. Researchers in Bangladesh, for instance, have found multiple disparities in childhood vaccination, with girls, ethnic minorities, and children in isolated regions less likely than others to be immunized. The effects of poverty on health are often exacerbated by social discrimination and exclusion from health, education, and other services. Disparities by social group can be more pronounced than differences based on income alone…" Available online as PDF file [39p.] at:
http://www.prb.org/pdf/ImprovingtheHealthWorld_Eng.pdf

World Development Indicators 2004
World Bank, Washington, April 23, 2004 'The World Development Indicators (WDI) is the World Bank's premier annual compilation of data about development. WDI 2004 includes approx. 800 indicators in 87 tables, organized in six sections: World View, People, Environment, Economy, States and Markets, and Global Links. The tables cover 152 economies and 14 country groups-with basic indicators for a further 55 economies.' "The report found that the disparities that persist between regions and within countries on life expectancy, child and maternal mortality, school enrolment and completion, gender equity and progress against communicable diseases remain a major obstacle to achieving many of the development goals. "Continued progress in poverty reduction," the WDI notes, "depends on economic growth and the distribution of income" Website: http://www.worldbank.org/data/wdi2004/

Training:

MA IN PARTICIPATION, DEVELOPMENT, AND SOCIAL CHANGE
The Participation Group at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK, will offer a new Master's Program in Participation, Development and Social Change. The first course will run for fifteen months from May 2004 to July 2005, including a 9-month period of field-based learning or action research. This new program aims to deepen knowledge, innovation, and practice of participatory approaches for engaging people in decision-making and citizenship in diverse contexts. Designed to help experienced practitioners deepen their abilities for critical reflection and analysis, the program combines two periods of intensive coursework and group learning in residence at IDS with a period of practical learning and action research with an organization engaged in participatory approaches. For deadlines, applications and other programs details go to the IDS website [http://www.ids.ac.uk/ids/teach/mapart.html], or contact: Julia Brown, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RE, UK. Email: J.L.Brown@ids.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0) 1273 606261 Fax: +44 (0) 1273 621202.

Websites:

Website on National Health Accounts: World Health Organization (WHO) - April 2004
The National Health Accounts Framework has become an important tool to capture the flow of resources through the health system by their sources, their intermediaries, and their beneficiaries. These are critical for the development of policies to enhance the performance of country's health systems. As part of a large informal consortium of partners, World Health Organization (WHO) is actively supporting the development and propagation of NHA across countries around the world. The National Health Accounts web site is an example of WHO efforts in this direction. The web site can be viewed at www.who.int/nha.

The site is intended to be a site for policy-makers and technicians wishing to seek and share information about NHA. Policy-makers can learn more about the benefits of NHA and how it can be used as a tool in health policy formulation. Technicians can learn more about how to produce NHA and how to obtain advice from the Expert group. Anyone with an interest in health expenditure information can benefit from the country information (databases, focal points etc.) as well as the NHA documents and links to other NHA sites or have a look at NHA events. It is a one-stop web site linking to all other work on NHA that could be identified. For any queries, further information and suggestions contact nhaweb@who.int.

The Capability Approach Freedom, Development and Justice website
This site is for researchers, teachers, practitioners, activists, students, or anyone else. It is for those inspired by the writings of Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum and who want to learn more, to encounter other people, to see what listservs and groups are around and what is happening, to find an intellectual and policy community. This site has the most comprehensive collection of bibliographic resources in this area on the web.

The participatory nature of the site is designed to be enriched by everyone. This includes conference or workshop announcements, editing a special issue of a journal, working on applying the capability approach as an individual or as a group and even comments on drafts to be published can be posted on the site. For more details visit: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~freedoms/

Geo-Health is a discussion list for anyone interested in the geography of health or any spatial or locational aspects of public health, community health, environmental health or epidemiology. Members may post queries and comments, initiate discussions and forward conference announcements, workshops and seminars and job vacancies. To join, go to https://listserver.flinders.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/geo-health

Conferences:

11th Canadian Conference on International Health
The Conference on International Health, following the path set in the previous two years, further examines the global stage and the conflicting forces that shape the politics of health and impact our own health. The conference theme this year is: THE POLITICS OF HEALTH: WHOSE REALITY COUNTS? The conference is being organized from October 24-27, 2004 in Ottawa, Canada Call for Abstracts - Deadline for Submission: May 31, 2004. Organized by the Canadian Society for International Health
"The Conference objective is to provide an open and stimulating forum for practitioners, researchers, educators, policy makers, and community advocates to: analyze controversial issues related to global health policy from a variety of perspectives; share knowledge and experiences; learn about success stories, effective strategies, and new opportunities to influence the global health agenda through research, advocacy, and action.

Who sets the global health agenda?
Who makes decisions about our health?
Who is left aside and why?
Is this agenda reducing poverty, enhancing equity, or improving health?
Which values, interests, and evidence influence the process?
What are the options for making this process more open, more inclusive, and more participatory?"

For more information http://www.csih.org/what/conferences2004.html

World Health Organization: Forum 8 + World Summit on Health Research
Mexico City, November 16-20, 2004

World Health Organization
Website: http://www.globalforumhealth.org/pages/index.asp
Call for abstracts: Deadline for receipt of proposals is 31 May 2004.

Key topics include:

Tools for Action, Advocacy and Community Empowerment.

Integrative approaches to qualitative and quantitative evidence
by UK Health Development Agency - 2004 - ISBN: 1-84279-229-6

"…This report is an informal review of the literature on integrating qualitative and quantitative forms of evidence. It explores five key themes: First, it discusses the role of qualitative approaches in traditional trials and experimental studies. Second, the report discusses at what point in the development of a field of knowledge it is appropriate to pull qualitative and quantitative learning together. Third, the report addresses the complex question of how to determine what constitutes good evidence from qualitative studies. Fourth, the authors offer a brief discussion of whether there are hierarchies of evidence. Finally, the report considers in some detail how the findings of qualitative and quantitative evidence may be synthesised..." Available online as PDF file [28p] at: www.hda.nhs.uk/documents/integrative_approaches.pdf

WRITING FOR CHANGE An Interactive Guide to Effective Writing, Writing for Science, and Writing for Advocacy by Alan Barker and Firoze Manji
International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
IDRC/fahamu - ISBN 0-88936-932-1
Free Online Version at: http://web.idrc.ca/IMAGES/books/WFC_English/WFC_English/
Writing for Change has been developed, designed, and published by fahamu, in collaboration with Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC). It has an interactive format and is a useful resource for effective writing for both scientific and advocacy work. It takes a stepwise approach from the conceptualization to organization of idea and then shaping the content of the message to suit the audience for effective delivery.

EVALUATING CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT Experiences from Research and Development Organizations around the World
Douglas Horton et al.
ISNAR/IDRC/CTA 2003 - ISBN 1-55250-111-6
International Development Research Centre, IDRC Canada
Available online at: http://web.idrc.ca/en/ev-32194-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html
".. The international aid community is placing a growing emphasis on developing local capacity as the key to alleviating poverty and hunger in the developing world. Although ensuring the effectiveness of a capacity-building effort requires appropriate use of evaluation, few organizations have implemented a system for monitoring or evaluating the changes taking place during organisational development. This book explains how the project used an action-learning approach, bringing together people from various countries and different types of organizations. The ideas and examples given in this book move the field of evaluation forward significantly. The contributors have taken on board the concept that every evaluation of a capacity-development effort should contribute to the effort itself and, ultimately, to the organization's performance. Too many evaluations are wasted in producing bulky reports that are seldom read, or that arrive too late to influence decisions. This book shows that a greater impact and a broader vision are both needed in theory and possible in practice…"

Information provided in this newsletter is taken from a variety of sources including websites and listserves like Equidad list, Health Equity Network list, spirit of 1848 list.