Dear Colleagues,
This week half of our editing team is in
During the two coming weeks, the editing team will be on leave part of the time, therefore we will come back on January the 8th 2010. We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
Enjoy your reading.
David Hercot, Kristof Decoster, Josefien Van Olmen & Wim Van Damme
Global Health
1. EU consultation on Global Health
http://www.actionforglobalhealth.eu/
The online consultation finished on the 9th of December and more than 100 contributions have been received, over 600 pages; the challenge is now for the Commission to reflect them in just 9 pages. All the contributions can be found online in one large zip file (Zip ; 20 MB).
2. Xinhuanet – China
Alanna Shaikh ; http://news.xinhuanet.com/
The Chinese deputy permanent representative to the United Nations called for efforts to strengthen cooperation in response to the global public health crisis [the influenza crisis] and to increase support to the health sector of developing countries.
It is one of the first declaration by a Chinese official on global health according globalhealtheurope.org/ .
Health Financing
3. EU oda & tobin tax
http://www.actionforglobalhealth.eu/
The European Union Leaders have reaffirmed their commitment to the 0,7% ODA and called for the IMF to study ways to regulate the financing sector, including a global financial transaction tax.
Aid coordination / Paris agenda
4. Health Policy – Stakeholder perceptions of aid coordination implementation in the Zambian health sector
Jesper Sundewall, Kristina Jönsson, Caesar Cheelo and Göran Tomson
Online first Dec 9
Stakeholders are generally satisfied with the implementation of health-sector aid coordination in
5. TMIH – Linking programmes and systems: lessons from the GAVI Health Systems Strengthening window
B. Galichet, L. Goeman, P. S. Hill, M. S. Essengue, N. Hammami, D. Porignon, P. Kadama, W. Van Lerberghe ; http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/
A rather positive analysis of the first four rounds of country applications to the GAVI alliance health systems strengthening funding window.
Health Systems
6. IHP online – The Kampala Declaration on the partnership between the Public and Private Not For Profit subsectors in the Ugandan Health System
Our colleagues here at the Institute contributed to the emergence of this awaited renewed dialogue between the Ministry of Health and the Private Not For Profit Health (PNFP) Services actors in
The relationship between PNFP Services and the state health system is under strain in many countries. PNFP Services provide an important share of health care delivery to the population in many sub-Saharan countries, but the (formalised) relationship with the government and donors is not without problems. In a 2 days workshop, stakeholders of different subsectors and different levels in the health sector met with each other to discuss the results of a study on contract relations in the PNFP sector and came to a consensus declaration about how to mover forward together towards a strengthened partnership.
Access to Medicines
7. Lancet – Drug development for neglected diseases: pharma’s influence
The Lancet ; http://www.thelancet.com/
Editors of the Lancet discuss the influence the pharmaceutical industry has on WHO intergovernmental working group on public health, innovation and intellectual property (IGWG). They call for another outcry to protest again the private pharmaceutical companies’ practices to prevent the development of drugs for neglected diseases.
8. KFF – More Details Emerge About UNITAID’s Plan For Patent Pool For HIV/AIDS Drugs
UNITAID voted on Monday to create a board to run the new patent pool, and set a target of having five AIDS drugs in the pool by mid-2010. Pharmaceutical companies resist the inclusion of emerging economies into the deal.
If you want some background information you can also read these two articles in forbes magazine :
aids-hiv-gilead-business-health-care-patent-pool
health-gilead-glaxosmithkline-hiv-next-aids-crisis
Family Planning
9. KFF – McClatchy Series Examines Africa ‘s Population
McClatchy published a three-part series examining the “population boom” in
Climate Change
10. Climate change: a time of need and opportunity for the health sector
AJ McMichael, M Neira, R Bertollini, D Campbell-Lendrum, S Hales ; Full Text
Climate change already has effects on health in some parts of the world. It will have more in the coming years and we should prepare for it. At the same time, mitigating the effects of climate change could prove benefic for health outcome if implemented cautiously by choosing those options that improve health and reduce social inequities.
11. NYT – Four Sides to Every Story
This interesting piece claims that sceptics and warners are mostly scientists, while denialists and calamitists (the two extreme categories) tend to be politicians.