Gega Activities
GEGA would like to welcome the group from the department of Community Health Sciences (CHS), Aga Khan University (AKU), Karachi, Pakistan as the newest member to the Alliance. After the addition of Peru and Maharashtra Equity Gauges earlier this year, the group from Pakistan is the third one to be added to GEGA this year. The group has been awarded the newly created status of GEGA Associate.

The CHS/AKU Equity-group has been involved in many equity-related areas of work. For example, Equity is a central concept that is taught in one of the teaching modules for the students of the two Master's programmes of CHS; and it is integrated in the short courses in which the CHS-Equity Group members are involved. One member of the group is also member of the AKU Task Force for the development of a Master's programme in Bioethics, and has developed a module on equity and health policy. Currently, the Equity Group is involved in introducing the Benchmarks of Fairness in Health Care at different levels (district, provincial and national). A central effort of this initiative is to find how disparities in health could be identified by different stakeholders (community, elected representatives). The group is also part of the process of People's Health Movement in Pakistan.

Members of this Equity Group participated in the June 2004 conferences in Durban, and also attended the GEGA course: Health Equity: Research to Action. Subsequently they expressed their interest in joining GEGA. After some initial consultation within GEGA, the group was formally invited to join as a 'GEGA Associate'. We look forward to this new partnership and the benefits it will bring to both parties.

The South African Equity Gauge, as part of the Health Systems Trust's Healthlink Programme, has recently contributed to this year's 'South African Health Review (SAHR) 2003/04', an annual publication of the Health Systems Trust:
'The promotion of equity in health is one of the basic ideologies underlying South African health policy. Therefore, it is befitting after ten years of democracy to gauge how far the health system has moved towards providing equitable health services to all citizens is concerned. This 2003/04 SAHR, the 9th edition, consists of an overview and 24 chapters, each describing a key health concern. Unlike many of the previous Reviews, this year's is data driven. It uses different sources of information to measure and assess the health and well-being of South Africans quantitatively.' The publication is available online at: http://www.hst.org.za/publications/423 . A wide selection of health and health system indicators that support the monitoring of equity are included in the Review and are fully accessible electronically.

Global Health Watch (GHW) Launches Spanish Version of the Website.[www.ghwatch.org]
It contains all the basic information about this initiative: its
origins, aims, co-ordination organisations, as well as an outline of the structure of the 2005 GHW Report and the ways in which individuals and organisations can become involved.

GET INVOLVED! Time to submit Case Studies
The GHW has put out a call for the submission of country or region-specific case studies. These case studies will form part of the electronic accompaniment to the alternative World Health Report to be launched in July 2005 at the Peoples health Assembly in Ecuador. Some examples of case studies are:

PUBLICATIONS:
Human Development Report 2004

Available online at:
English: http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2004/
French: http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2004/francais/
Spanish: http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2004/espanol/

Cultural Liberty in Today's Diverse World

"Human development is first and foremost about allowing people to lead the kind of life they choose - and providing them with the tools and opportunities to make those choices.' 'Accommodating people's growing demands for their inclusion in society, for respect of their ethnicity, religion, and language, takes more than democracy and equitable growth. Also needed are multicultural policies that recognize differences, champion diversity and promote cultural freedoms, so that all people can choose to speak their language, practice their religion, and participate in shaping their culture-so that all people can choose to be who they are.'

FORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONS:

World Development Report 2006: Equity and Development
The World Development Report (WDR) 2006 will explore the role of equity in development.
"Inequalities in incomes, in health and in educational outcomes have long been a stark fact of life in many developing countries.
These are often accompanied by profound differences in influence, power and social status, whether at the level of individuals or groups.
See the Outline of the report PDF file [22p.] at:
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTWDR2006/Resources/WDR_on_Equity_Final Outline_July_public.pdf

Why a focus on equity: High inequalities strike many people as intrinsically unfair. But ethical concerns are not the only reasons to care about equity High levels of inequalities in different dimensions make it harder to reduce poverty and to meet the Millennium Development Goals. High inequalities can also be associated with a greater prevalence of crime and violence and, in some cases, broader social conflicts. Crime, and social conflict.

The World Development Report 2006 will:

Political and Economic Determinants of Population Health and Well-Being: Controversies and Developments
Edited by Vicente Navarro and Carles Muntaner

"The field of social inequalities in health continues its vigorous growth in the early years of the 21st century. This volume, following in the footsteps of Vicente Navarro's edited collection The Political Economy of Social Inequalities, is a compilation of recent contributions to the areas of social epidemiology, health disparities, health economics, and health services research. The overarching theme is to describe and explain the ever-growing health inequalities across social class, race, and gender, as well as neighbourhood, city, region, country, and continent. The approach of this book is distinctly multi-, trans-, and interdisciplinary: the fields of public health, population health, epidemiology, economics, sociology, political science, philosophy, medicine, and history are all represented here."

To read more about the book and for ordering information go to:
http://baywood.com/books/previewbook.asp?id=0-89503-278-3

PUBLICATION OPPORTUNITY:
Call for Papers on Primary Health Care
Pan American Journal of Public Health:
http://www.paho.org/English/dd/pub/call-papers-2004.htm

Deadline for submission of all manuscripts is September 15, 2004

Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública/Pan American Journal of Public Health is seeking original research papers and other works dealing with primary health care.
The papers are for a special issue that will be published in 2005 as part of PAHO's celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the world's first International Conference on Primary Health Care, which was held in Alma Ata, Kazakhstan (former Soviet Union) on 6-12 September 1978.

Papers submitted for publication can be in English, Spanish, or Portuguese and can cover any issue related to structure, processes, and outcomes in primary health care. There is particular interest in documenting the strides made since Alma Ata in countries of the Region in terms of equity, access, coverage, referral systems, and attention to the needs of vulnerable segments of the population; health education and promotion; preventive, curative, and rehabilitative services; food supply and proper nutrition; supply of safe water and basic sanitation; maternal and child health care and family planning; immunization against the major infectious diseases; prevention and control of locally endemic diseases; appropriate treatment of common health problems and injuries; provision of essential drugs.

All original research papers will be submitted to peer review. The deadline for submission of all manuscripts is September 15, 2004
Contact Information:
Publications: Dr. Maria Luisa Clark, email: clarkmar@paho.org
Pan American Health Organization
525 Twenty-third Street NW
Washington, DC 20037
Tel.: (202) 974-3055 Fax: (202)338-0869

Call for papers on Human Resources and Health Workforce Constraints
'The Bulletin of the World Health Organization is seeking original research papers dealing with human resources for health care, to accompany commissioned Policy and Practice papers in a theme issue on this subject in the first quarter of 2005.
Papers should cover aspects of current shortfalls in specific health service delivery, particularly in developing countries, with evidence of the implications to the relevant burden of disease. We would like to encourage authors to submit original research, done to find ways of improving equitable access and referral systems, through better use of existing human resources, or sustainable increases in the local workforce.

We will also consider related submissions to the other sections of the Bulletin: Perspectives, Round Tables, and Public Health Reviews. Manuscripts should be submitted to http://submit.bwho.org by October 1st, 2004, following the usual guidelines for contributors, with a cover letter mentioning this call for papers.'
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/82/hrtheme_call_for_papers/en/

The International Journal of Economic Development (IJED), a peer-reviewed electronic journal, invites development scholars and practitioners from healthcare related-disciplines and from different regions and countries to contribute articles addressing any of the following sub-themes:

Social Development
Economic Development
Legal and Political Development

Submission deadlines:

Send your manuscript proposal (via e-mail attachment) to guest-editor:
Dr. Patricia A. Cholewka, EdD, MPA, RN,BC, CPHQ
Teachers College, Columbia University E-mail: pacholewka@aol.com

WEBSITES:

The Reproductive Health Initiative (RHI), a project of the American
Medical Women's Association (AMWA), works to improve reproductive health
by providing resources that support and strengthen medical education and
services worldwide. RHI promotes faculty, student, and provider
involvement in improving reproductive health medical education through
valuable publications, lecture presentations, and communication
networks. RHI Website at: www.amwa-doc.org/RHI

CONFERENCES:

African Economic Research Institutions and Policy Development:
Opportunities and Challenges
An International Conference by: The Secretariat for Institutional Support for Economic Research in Africa (SISERA) January, 2005

The main objective of the international conference is to permit economic researchers to share information and experiences with respect to their roles in policy making in their respective countries and region. The emphasis will be on identifying the challenges that these research institutions face and opportunities that have emerged for these centers to play a better role in the design and development of economic policies.

Deadline for papers submission:
September 15, 2004: submission of the contributed papers
October 31, 2004: authors will be notified of the status of their submissions

Contact for submissions: Authors are requested to submit their papers electronically using MS Word. Send all submissions to cdaffe@idrc.org.sn.

For more information go to:
http://web.idrc.ca/uploads/user-S/10818613611First_Announcement_and_Call_for_Papers.htm

Lessons Learned from Rights Based Approaches to Health
Emory University Conference Center, Atlanta, Georgia, USA - April 14-16, 2005

Call for Abstracts and Collaborating Partners Available Now!

The Institute of Human Rights of Emory University, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), CARE USA, the Carter Center human rights office, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Doctors for Global Health.

The conference will explore evidence-based relationships between health and human rights. Featured speakers include former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health Paul Hunt, along with other leaders in the fields of health and human rights.

Call for Abstracts
Conference cosponsors are pleased to invite individuals to submit abstracts within the conference theme of Lessons Learned from Rights Based Approaches to Health. Each proposal must explicitly outline its relevance to health, to human rights, and to the interrelationship between the topics. Although evidence-based lessons learned (i.e. case studies and field examples) are of particular interest to the selection committee, a diverse array of abstracts will be accepted for presentation. Examples of acceptable abstracts include research and program frameworks, assessment strategies, methodologies, curricula and evaluation programs.

For details go to website: http://humanrights.emory.edu

TOOLS FOR ACTION, ADVOCACY AND COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT:

Rethinking Domestic Violence: A Training Process for Community Activists
Website: http://www.raisingvoices.org/trainingprocess.shtml

"……..This program tool was developed by Raising Voices in collaboration with the Center for Domestic Violence Prevention. The Training Process is a tool for strengthening the capacity of a wide range of community members to prevent domestic violence. It is a series of training sessions that can be used individually or as a part of a longer process. It will help participants think about, discuss and take action to prevent domestic violence. It is a practical tool for trainers and activists who want to begin a process of change in their community.

The Training Process is organized in six parts. Each section offers a series of two-hour modules designed to strengthen capacity of participants to prevent domestic violence. All the interactive modules have been extensively field-tested in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya and designed to be easy to follow, even for those with minimal training experience.

The Magenta Book: Guidance Notes for Policy Evaluation and Analysis

Government Chief Social Researcher's Office
UK Prime Minister's Strategy Unit - Cabinet Office -London, 2003

"….providing a user-friendly guide for specialists and generalists alike on the methods used by social researchers when they commission, undertake and manage policy research and evaluation. It endeavours to provide guidance on social research methods for policy evaluation in readable and understandable language. It provides examples of evaluations that have used the available methods appropriately and effectively, and it highlights what it is that is good about them.
The Magenta Book is organised around a number of questions that are frequently asked about policy evaluation and analysis…."

Content:

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.