Health, Education, Social Protection News & Notes 20/2012

A bi-weekly newsletter supported by GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Internationale Zusammenarbeit)

23 September 2012
You can download back issues (2005 - 2012) of this newsletter at: http://german-practice-collection.org/en/links/newsletters/hesp-news-and-notes or search all issues there with:

Table of Contents: BOOKS ................................................................................ 4

Neurology in Africa: Clinical Skills and Neurological Disorders .............................................. 4 Health in the Americas 2012 Edition - Regional Outlook and Country Profiles ...................... 4 Demographic Yearbook 2009-2010 ........................................................................................ 4 The Little Data Book on Information and Communication Technology 2012.......................... 5

ONLINE PUBLICATIONS .................................................... 5

Global Health.............................................................................................................. 5
Governance for Health in the 21st Century............................................................................. 5 21st century determinants of health and wellbeing: a new challenge for health promotion ... 5 Untreated surgical conditions in Sierra Leone: a cluster randomised, cross-sectional, countrywide survey.................................................................................................................. 6

HIV - AIDS - STI ......................................................................................................... 6

Integrating HIV treatment with primary care outpatient services: opportunities and challenges from a scaled-up model in Zambia ....................................................................... 6 Rwanda's Mixed Epidemic: Results-based Strategy Refocuses Prevention Priorities ........... 6 Reinvigorating Condoms as an HIV prevention Tool .............................................................. 7 CD4, viral load & other tests.................................................................................................... 7

Sexual & Reproductive Health .................................................................................... 7

Costs of Induced Abortion and Cost-Effectiveness of Universal Access to Modern Contraceptives in Uganda ....................................................................................................... 7 Procuring family planning methods for every woman in the world.......................................... 8 Population Dynamics, Climate Change, and Sustainable Development in Africa .................. 8 Developing a Strategy for Female Condom Parallel Programming ........................................ 8 The L word: An evaluation of corrective rape in South Africa ............................................... 9

Maternal & Child Health.............................................................................................. 9

Equity in Child Survival, Health, and Nutrition......................................................................... 9 Reduction in child mortality in Niger: a Countdown to 2015 country case study .................... 9 Private Enterprise for Public Health: Opportunities for Business to Improve Womens and Childrens Health ................................................................................................................... 10 Addressing maternal healthcare through demand side financial incentives: experience of Janani Suraksha Yojana program in India ............................................................................ 10 Human Rights for Women and Children with Disabilities...................................................... 10 Measuring the child mortality impact of official aid for fighting infectious diseases, 20002012....................................................................................................................................... 11 Levels & Trends in Child Mortality - Report 2012.................................................................. 11 Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed .............................................................. 11 New Frontiers in Child Survival: Reaching the Most Vulnerable........................................... 12

Malaria ..................................................................................................................... 12
Malaria elimination: moving forward with spatial decision support systems ......................... 12

HESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 1

Malaria prevention in pregnancy, birthweight, and neonatal mortality: a meta-analysis of 32 national cross-sectional datasets in Africa ............................................................................ 12 Diagnosis, Clinical Presentation, and In-Hospital Mortality of Severe Malaria in HIVCoinfected Children and Adults in Mozambique ................................................................... 13 Effect of intermittent preventive treatment for malaria during infancy on serological responses to measles and other vaccines used in the Expanded Programme on Immunization: results from five randomised controlled trials ................................................ 13 Field evaluation of permethrin long-lasting insecticide treated nets (Olyset) for malaria control in an endemic area, southeast of Iran ....................................................................... 13 From intervention to impact: modelling the potential mortality impact achievable by different longlasting, insecticide-treated net delivery strategies.......................................................... 14 Are Patent Medicine Vendors Effective Agents in Malaria Control? ..................................... 14

Tuberculosis ............................................................................................................. 15
High initial default in patients with smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis at a regional hospital in Accra, Ghana ....................................................................................................... 15 The use of clusters to estimate recent transmission of TB ................................................... 15

Other Infectious Diseases......................................................................................... 15

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Three Leprosy Case Detection Methods in Northern Nigeria ............................................................................................................................................... 15

Food & Nutrition........................................................................................................ 16

Food insecurity and malnutrition in Africa: Current trends, causes and consequences ....... 16 The Effect of Adding Ready-to-Use Supplementary Food to a General Food Distribution on Child Nutritional Status and Morbidity: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial ................... 16

Essential Medicines .................................................................................................. 16

Priority life-saving medicines for women and children 2012 ................................................. 16 Antibiotic prescribing practice in management of cough and/or diarrhoea in Moshi Municipality, Northern Tanzania: cross-sectional descriptive study...................................... 17 Travel and fake artesunate: a risky business........................................................................ 17

Social Protection....................................................................................................... 17
Coordinating Healthcare and Pension Policies: An Exploratory Study ................................. 17

Water, Sanitation & Hygiene..................................................................................... 18

Addressing the shortfall: The urgent need for increased and better targeted aid to the water and sanitation sector ............................................................................................................. 18 Building Effective Drinking Water Management Policies in Rural Africa: Lessons from Northern Uganda................................................................................................................... 18

Human Resources.................................................................................................... 18
Task-shifting: experiences and opinions of health workers in Mozambique and Zambia..... 18 Health Worker Satisfaction and Motivation: An Empirical Study of Incomes, Allowances and Working Conditions in Zambia .............................................................................................. 19 Economic evaluation of task-shifting approaches to the dispensing of anti-retroviral therapy ............................................................................................................................................... 19

Health Systems & Research ..................................................................................... 19

Effectiveness of interventions to strengthen national health service delivery on coverage, access, quality, and equity in the use of health services in low and lower middle income countries ................................................................................................................................ 19 What is a Focus Group Discussion? ..................................................................................... 20

Information & Communication Technology ............................................................... 20

Practicing medicine without borders: tele-consultations and tele-mentoring for improving paediatric care in a conflict setting in Somalia? .................................................................... 20 Ten years on from the Budapest Open Access Initiative: setting the default to open .......... 20 Collecting High Frequency Panel Data in Africa Using Mobile Phone Interviews ................ 21 ICT in Health care delivery system: A Framework for developing nations ........................... 21

Education ................................................................................................................. 21
Education and Development in Africa: Lessons of the Past 50 Years for Beyond 2015 ...... 21 Asia-Pacific End of Decade Notes on Education for All: Early Childhood Care and Education ............................................................................................................................................... 22

Harm Reduction & Drug Use .................................................................................... 22

Harmful substances and hazardous waste ........................................................................... 22 Scale-Up of Harm Reduction in Malaysia ............................................................................. 22

Millennium Development Goals ................................................................................ 23

HESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 2

Millennium Development Goal 8 - The Global Partnership for Development: Making Rhetoric a Reality................................................................................................................................. 23 Righting the MDGs: contexts and opportunities for a post-2015 development framework... 23

Development Assistance .......................................................................................... 23

Mutual Review of Development Effectiveness in Africa........................................................ 23 Countdown to 2015: changes in official development assistance to maternal, newborn, and child health in 2009-10, and assessment of progress since 2003 ........................................ 24 Faith and Accountability in International Development: A Study of the Global Fund............ 24 Financing for Development: Review of progress of the EU and its Member States ............. 24 External Financial Aid to Blood Transfusion Services in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Need for Reflection .............................................................................................................................. 25 Where Will the Worlds Poor Live? Updated Data on the Distribution of Global Poverty ..... 25

Others ...................................................................................................................... 25
Emergency preparedness and disaster planning in Africa.................................................... 25 Health Situation in the Americas: Basic Indicators 2012 ...................................................... 26 Promoting Action on Equity Issues: A Knowledge-To-Action Handbook .............................. 26

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES ............................................ 26

Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine - Vol. 13, No. 3 (2012)........................................ 26

INTERESTING WEB SITES .............................................. 27

Arab Humanitarian Portal ...................................................................................................... 27

TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES............................................ 27
E-Learning Course: Basic of Health Economics ................................................................... 27

CONFERENCES................................................................ 28
Malaria Vaccines for the World ............................................................................................. 28

CARTOON ......................................................................... 28 TIPS & TRICKS ................................................................. 28

Locate the Mouse Pointer ..................................................................................................... 28 More iPad Punctuation Tips .................................................................................................. 29

Fair Use: This Newsletter is produced under the principles of 'fair use'. We source relevant news articles, resources and research documents and strive to attribute sources by providing reference and/or direct links to authors and websites. Disclaimer: The views expressed in this newsletter, do not necessarily represent those of GIZ or the editor of HESP-News & Notes. While we make every effort to ensure that all facts and figures quoted by authors are accurate, GIZ and the editor of the Newsletter cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies contained in any articles. Please contact dneuvians@gmx.de if you believe that errors are contained in any article and we will investigate and provide feedback.

To subscribe for free to the newsletter send an e-mail to:

Majordomo@mailserv.gtz.de
leave the Subject line empty with the following commands in the body of the message:

subscribe hpn-news-notes end (If you have problems subscribing, send me a note (dneuvians@gmx.de) that you would like to receive the newsletter).

We encourage you to share the newsletter with your friends & colleagues.
HESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 3

BOOKS
Neurology in Africa: Clinical Skills and Neurological Disorders
by William P. Howlett Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, Tanzania and University of Bergen, Norway, 2012 432 pp. 50.3 MB(!!): http://www.uib.no/filearchive/neurologyinafrica_bora-complete-book.pdf To download chapter by chapter go to: http://www.uib.no/cih/en/resources/neurology-in-africa This is a new textbook on neurological disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa. The author has spent many years working as physician and neurologist in Tanzania. The book is written specifically for medical students and doctors in Africa. The book has 20 chapters divided into two main sections: the first on clinical skills and the second on neurological diseases. The chapters are written in an easy style and are particularly well illustrated with diagrams and pictures appropriate to Africa with many tables and summary key points. ***

Health in the Americas 2012 Edition - Regional Outlook and Country Profiles
Pan American Health Organization, 2012 English Edition (227 pp. 108 MB(!!):
http://www.paho.org/saludenlasamericas/docs/hia-2012-summary.pdf

Spanish Edition: http://www.paho.org/saludenlasamericas/docs/sa-2012-resumen.pdf Portuguese Edition:

http://new.paho.org/saludenlasamericas/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=61&Itemid=

Published every five years, the publication reports on the Region of the Americas health conditions and their determinants and trends. It analyzes the health situation region wide and in each of the countries and territories of the Americas, reporting on both progress made and challenges to be faced. ***

Demographic Yearbook 2009-2010

Sixty-first issue United Nations - Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2011 825 pp. 10.7 MB:
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dybsets/2009-2010.pdf

The Demographic Yearbook 2009-2010 is the sixty-first in a series published by the United Nations since 1948. It contains tables including a world summary of selected demographic statistics, statistics on the size, distribution and trends in national populations, fertility, foetal mortality, infant and maternal mortality, general mortality, nuptiality and divorce. Data are shown by urban/rural residence, as available. HESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 4

The Little Data Book on Information and Communication Technology 2012

by Azita Amjadi, Federico Escaler, Buyant Erdene Khaltarkhuu et al. The World Bank and the International Telecommunication Union, June 2012 250 pp. 893 kB: http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/publications/material/LDB_ICT_2012.pdf Research has shown that investment in information and communication technologies is associated with such economic benefits as higher productivity, lower costs, new economic opportunities, job creation, innovation, and increased trade. ICTs also help provide better services in health and education, and strengthen social cohesion. The book illustrates the progress of this revolution for 216 economies around the world. It provides comparable statistics on the sector for 2005 and 2010 across a range of indicators, enabling readers to readily compare economies. The Glossary contains definitions of the terms used in the tables.

ONLINE PUBLICATIONS
Global Health Governance for Health in the 21st Century
by Ilona Kickbusch and David Gleicher Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland, 2012 128 pp. 2.3 MB: http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/171334/RC62BD01Governance-for-Health-Web.pdf Governance for health describes the attempts of governments and other actors to steer communities, whole countries or even groups of countries in the pursuit of health as integral to well-being. This study tracks recent governance innovations to address the priority determinants of health and categorizes them into five strategic approaches to smart governance for health. It relates the emergence of joint action by the health sector and non-health sectors, by public and private actors and by citizens, all of whom have an increasing role to play in achieving seminal changes in 21st-century societies. ***

21st century determinants of health and wellbeing: a new challenge for health promotion
by Ilona Kickbusch Global Health Promotion 2012, 19:5 3 pp. 668 kB: http://ped.sagepub.com/content/19/3/5.full.pdf+html The author challenges health promotion to link three debates to the global health agenda: wellbeing, sustainability and social investment. She also suggests to expand the action areas of the Ottawa Charter to include the 21st century determinants of HESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 5

health such as unsustainable lifestyles, flow of people and stress, thereby challenging not only professionals but also politicians to find actual means for their solution. ***

Untreated surgical conditions in Sierra Leone: a cluster randomised, cross-sectional, countrywide survey
by Reinou S Groen, Mohamed Samai, Kerry-Ann Stewart et al. The Lancet, Vol. 380, Issue 9847, pp. 1082-1087, 22 September 2012 6 pp. 635 kB: http://download.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140673612610812.pdf Surgical care is increasingly recognised as an important part of global health yet data for the burden of surgical disease are scarce. The Surgeons OverSeas Assessment of Surgical Need (SOSAS) was developed to measure the prevalence of surgical conditions and surgically treatable deaths in low-income and middle-income countries. Their results show a large unmet need for surgical consultations in Sierra Leone and provide a baseline against which future surgical programmes can be measured. Additional surveys in other low-income and middle-income countries are needed to document and confirm what seems to be a neglected component of global health.

HIV - AIDS - STI Integrating HIV treatment with primary care outpatient services: opportunities and challenges from a scaled-up model in Zambia
by Stephanie M Topp, Julien M Chipukuma, Matimba M Chiko et al. Health Policy Plan. (2012) - First published online: July 11, 2012 11 pp. 179 kB: http://heapol.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2012/09/12/heapol.c zs065.full.pdf+html Between 2008 and 2011, the Lusaka District Health Management Team piloted and scaled-up a model of integrated HIV and general outpatient department (OPD) services in 12 primary health care clinics. While resource and allocative efficiencies are associated with this model of integration, a more important finding was the models demonstrated potential for strengthening organizational culture and staff relationships, in turn facilitating more collaborative and motivated service delivery in chronically underresourced primary healthcare clinics. ***

Rwanda's Mixed Epidemic: Results-based Strategy Refocuses Prevention Priorities

by Leigh Ann Evanson and Margaret Dadian AIDSTAR-One Case Study Series, August 2012 16 pp. 429 kB: http://aidstarone.com/sites/default/files/AIDSTAROne_CaseStudy_MixedEpidemic_Rwanda.pdf

HESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 6

Data from a 2009 modelling exercise suggested that Rwanda has a mixed HIV epidemic, meaning that transmission occurs within both most-at-risk populations as well as the general population. This case study documents how Rwanda, with support from PEPFAR, created one of Africas first comprehensive HIV programmes, covering prevention, care, treatment, and impact mitigation. ***

Reinvigorating Condoms as an HIV prevention Tool

by Krishna Jafa and Steven Chapman AIDSTAR-One Project, September 2012 8 pp. 135 kB: http://www.aidstar-one.com/sites/default/files/Prev_Spotlight_Condoms_Final.pdf The world is enticingly close to realizing the vision of an AIDS-free generation. More HIV-infected individuals are accessing treatment earlier in the course of their disease, and elimination of vertical (mother-to-child) transmission - while still a challenge - is closer to becoming a reality. However, this vision cannot be achieved through treatment alone. HIV will only slow down when new infections, currently at two for every one person put on treatment, diminish dramatically. ***

CD4, viral load & other tests

Second edition 2012 by Selina Corkery and Keith Alcorn NAM - aidsmap 72 pp. 538 kB:
http://www.aidsmap.com/v634768256244370000/file/1052452/CD4_VL_ENG_2012_Web.pdf

This booklet provides information on tests you will have at your HIV clinic to monitor your health. Some of these tests are to see how HIV is affecting you or how well any treatment you are on is working. Other tests are to monitor your general health. You can expect to have some of these tests every time you have a check-up at your clinic. But other tests will only be undertaken if they are needed.

Sexual & Reproductive Health Costs of Induced Abortion and Cost-Effectiveness of Universal Access to Modern Contraceptives in Uganda
by Mahesh Karra and James N. Gribble Population Reference Bureau Research Brief, September 2012 5 pp. 545 kB: http://www.prb.org/pdf12/poppov-costs-induced-abortion.pdf This Population and Poverty (PopPov) Research Network brief highlights findings from two recent studies led by Joseph Babigumira and researchers at the University of Washington and in Uganda. Both studies use health economics methods to: HESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 7

Investigate the economic consequences of not responding to unmet need for contraception. Inform policymakers about the benefits of increasing family planning coverage. ***

Procuring family planning methods for every woman in the world

by Rosie Smith and Jos M Belizn Reproductive Health 2012, 9:21 (15 September 2012) 4 pp. 185 kB: http://www.reproductive-health-journal.com/content/pdf/1742-4755-9-21.pdf Contraceptive use is a viable route to achieving the Millennium Development Goals 4 & 5 - reducing child and maternal mortality by 2015. However, access to family planning is not yet globally available to all women who want to space, delay or avoid pregnancy. This editorial will discuss the importance of family planning and how access to contr aception should be a fundamental right for all women. ***

Population Dynamics, Climate Change, and Sustainable Development in Africa

by Clive Mutunga, Eliya Zulu, Roger-Mark De Souza Population Action International (PAI) and African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP), September 2012 28 pp. 4.8 MB: http://populationaction.org/wpcontent/uploads/2012/09/Sustainable-Development-in-Africa.pdf This report calls on governments, donors, and civil society to invest more in population and climate change work, to address the two issues together in policies and programs, and to build the technical capacity to develop programs and research. Ensuring women in sub-Saharan Africa who wish to avoid pregnancy have access to family planning can reduce population pressures and reduce vulnerability to climate change impacts. It can also help meet other development goals, including reducing poverty and maternal mo rtality, and improving education. ***

Developing a Strategy for Female Condom Parallel Programming

Proceedings of an Expert Meeting, 23 - 24 November 2011, Durban, South Africa Universal Access to Female Condoms Joint Programme, MatCH (Maternal, Adolescent and Child Health), University of the Witwatersrand, 2012 44 pp. 1.1 MB: http://www.hst.org.za/sites/default/files/Developing%20a%20Strate gy%20for%20Female%20Condom_0.pdf Male and female condoms (FC) are currently the only effective dual protection methods against unintended pregnancy and the transmission of STIs and HIV. In recent years, an important development has been the emergence of new FC products, differing in design and materials, that have the potential to lower cost, improve acceptability and inHESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 8

crease choice and options for couples who choose to use FCs as their prevention method. This meeting presented an update on FC product technology, shared exper iences and plans for FC programming and reviewed current FC programmes and initiatives that will support FC programming more broadly. ***

The L word: An evaluation of corrective rape in South Africa

by Ishan Asokan Consultancy Africa Intelligence (Pty) Ltd., 17 September 2012 Read online at:
http://www.consultancyafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1123:the-lword-an-evaluation-of-corrective-rape-in-south-africa&catid=91:rights-in-focus&Itemid=296

Rape takes on new meaning in South Africa (SA), where it serves as a supposed cure for lesbianism across provincial townships. Non-white lesbians are especially subject to corrective rape practices, carried out with the intention of eliminating nonconforming sexual orientation. The downstream effects of such violence include a greater predisposition to abuse, unwanted pregnancy, depression, and HIV infection. In extreme cases, corrective rape can result in the victims murder. Despite SA embracing post-apartheid progress, this problem is pervasive and must be eliminated.

Maternal & Child Health Equity in Child Survival, Health, and Nutrition
The Lancet - Published September 20, 2012 http://www.thelancet.com/series/child-equity In a Comment, Anthony Lake, Executive Director of UNICEF, writes "For decades, many have believed that reaching the remote, the poorest and most-in-need children is a moral imperative ...however, it has often been considered by policymakers as too costly, time-consuming and difficult to pursue with the limited purses of international aid and public finance." The Lancets two-part Series presents an analysis by UNICEF to challenge this assumption. Although progress on child mortality and undernutrition has seen widening inequ ities, recent process and technological innovations have provided effective options to reach the most deprived populations. ***

Reduction in child mortality in Niger: a Countdown to 2015 country case study

by Agbessi Amouzou, Oumarou Habi DESS-ASAD, Khaled Bensad et al. The Lancet, Early Online Publication, 20 September 2012 10 pp. 799 kB: http://download.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140673612613762.pdf The Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4) is to reduce by two-thirds the mortality rate of children younger than 5 years, between 1990 and 2015. The 2012 Countdown profile shows that Niger has achieved far greater reductions in child mortality and gains HESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 9

in coverage for interventions in child survival than neighbouring countries in west Africa. Countdown therefore invited Niger to do an in-depth analysis of their child survival programme between 1998 and 2009. Government policies supporting universal access, provision of free health care for pregnant women and children, and decentralised nutrition programmes permitted Niger to decrease child mortality at a pace that exceeds that needed to meet the MDG 4. ***

Private Enterprise for Public Health: Opportunities for Business to Improve Womens and Childrens Health
A Short Guide for Companies by Barbara Bulc, Angela Barmettler, Laura Herman et al. The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health, World Health Organization, 2012 44 pp. 2.2 MB:
http://www.who.int/pmnch/topics/part_publications/private_enterprise_for_public_health_guide.pdf

This document highlights a broad range of specific and practical opportunities for improving the health of women and children while also generating value for private enterprise. It provides information about the health needs of women and children in developing and emerging economies to help companies from various business sectors, including pharmaceutical, medical devices, ICT, media and financial identify investment opportunities - through their core business, philanthropy, employees as well as public policy and advocacy. ***

Addressing maternal healthcare through demand side financial incentives: experience of Janani Suraksha Yojana program in India
by Saji S Gopalan and D. Varatharajan BMC Health Services Research 2012, 12:319 (15 September 2012) 22 pp. 1.3 MB: http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1472-6963-12-319.pdf Demand side financing (DSF) is a widely employed strategy to enhance utilization of healthcare. Yet, its effect on financial access to care, out-of-pocket spending and provider motivations is not considerably established. Without such evidence, DSFs may not be recommendable to build up any sustainable healthcare delivery approach. This study explores the above aspects on Indias Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) programme. ***

Human Rights for Women and Children with Disabilities

Human Rights Watch, 2012 16 pp. 3.7 MB: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/related_material/0912_disabili ties_brochure.pdf There are an estimated one billion people, or 15 percent of the worlds population, living with a disability. Women and children with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to discrimination. They experience multiple discrimination - both from their disability and their HESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 10

age or gender. Governments meeting at the United Nations about the needs of women and children with disabilities should develop a clear plan of action to promote and uphold their rights. Among others steps, they should make a commitment to address the needs of women and children with disabilities through international development pr ograms. ***

Measuring the child mortality impact of official aid for fighting infectious diseases, 2000-2012
by Roberto Burguet and Marcelo Soto Institute for Economic Analysis (CSIC) and Barcelona GSE, March, 2012 23 pp. 173 kB: http://pareto.uab.es/wp/2012/89712.pdf Aid for fighting infectious and parasitic diseases has had a statistically significant role in the under-five mortality reduction in the last decade. Point estimates indicate a country average reduction of 1.4 deaths per thousand under fives live-born attributable to aid at its average level in 2000-2010. The effect would be an average drop of 3.3 in the underfive mortality rate at the aid levels of 2010. By components, a dollar per capita spent in fighting malaria has caused the largest average impact, statistically higher than a dollar per capita spent in STD/HIV control. ***

Levels & Trends in Child Mortality - Report 2012

by Danzhen You, Jin Rou New and Tessa Wardlaw United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) on behalf of the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN-IGME), September 2012 32 pp. 1.8 MB: http://www.unicef.org/media/files/UNICEF_2012_IGME_child_mortality_report.pdf Rates of child mortality have fallen in all regions of the world in the last two decades down by at least 50 per cent in Eastern Asia, Northern Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, South-eastern Asia and Western Asia. The UN-IGME report calls for systematic action to reduce neonatal mortality as the proportion of under-five deaths during the neonatal period is rising in every region and almost all countries. Highly costeffective interventions are feasible even at the community level. ***

Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed

Edited by David Anthony and Eric Mullerbeck United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), September 2012 44 pp. 5.3 MB: http://www.apromiserenewed.org/files/APR_Progress_Report_201 2_final_web.pdf The 2012 Progress Report examines trends in child mortality estimates since 1990, and shows that major reductions have been made in under-five mortality rates in all regions and diverse countries. This has translated into a sharp drop in the estimated number of HESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 11

under-five deaths worldwide. Data released also by UNICEF and the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (see above) show that the number of children under the age of five dying globally fell from nearly 12 million in 1990 to an estimated 6.9 million in 2011. ***

New Frontiers in Child Survival: Reaching the Most Vulnerable

by Rosalyn Tamming, Jennifer Weiss, Elizabeth Wright et al. Concern Worldwide, 2012 28 pp. 2.2 MB: http://www.concernusa.org/media/pdf/2012/06/CWChildSurvivalBo oklet_FINAL.pdf Interventions to prevent or treat the major causes of child death are more effective now than in the past, and new interventions are on the horizon. This report features programs, innovations and results - including Concerns experience in Rwanda - that span more than a decade of work at multiple levels of health and community systems. This report details important lessons that can be learned from as we chart the way forward in child and maternal health.

Malaria Malaria elimination: moving forward with spatial decision support systems
by Gerard C Kelly, Marcel Tanner, Andrew Vallely et al. Trends in Parasitology, Vol. 28, Issue 7, July 2012, pp. 297-304 8 pp. 1.4 MB: http://www.malarianexus.com/_common/updateable/files/articles/ 634826370336523234.pdf Although mapping and geographical reconnaissance (GR) has traditionally played an important role in supporting malaria control and eradication, its full potential as an applied health systems tool has not yet been fully realised. As accessibility to global pos itioning system (GPS), geographic information system (GIS) and mobile computing technology increases, the role of an integrated spatial decision support system (SDSS) framework for supporting the increased operational demands of malaria elimination r equires further exploration, validation and application; particularly in the context of resource-poor settings. ***

Malaria prevention in pregnancy, birthweight, and neonatal mortality: a meta-analysis of 32 national cross-sectional datasets in Africa
by Thomas P Eisele, David A Larsen, Philip A Anglewicz et al. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Early Online Publication, 18 September 2012 8 pp. 368 kB: http://download.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/laninf/PIIS1473309912702220.pdf Malaria prevention in pregnancy is associated with substantial reductions in neonatal mortality and low birthweight under routine malaria control programme conditions. MaHESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 12

laria control programmes should strive to achieve full protection in pregnant women by both intermittent preventive therapy in pregnancy (IPTp) and insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs) to maximise their benefits. Despite an attempt to mitigate bias and p otential confounding by matching women on factors thought to be associated with access to malaria prevention in pregnancy and birth outcomes, some level of confounding bias possibly remains. ***

Diagnosis, Clinical Presentation, and In-Hospital Mortality of Severe Malaria in HIV-Coinfected Children and Adults in Mozambique
by Ilse C. E. Hendriksen, Josefo Ferro, Pablo Montoya et al. Clin Infect Dis. (2012) 55 (8): 1144-1153 - First published online: July 2, 2012 10 pp. 225 kB: http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/55/8/1144.full.pdf+html Severe falciparum malaria with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coinfection is common in settings with a high prevalence of both diseases, but there is little inform ation on whether HIV affects the clinical presentation and outcome of severe malaria. The authors conclude that severe malaria in HIV-coinfected patients presents with higher parasite burden, more complications, and co-morbidity, and carries a higher case fatality rate. Early identification of HIV coinfection is important for the clinical management of severe malaria. ***

Effect of intermittent preventive treatment for malaria during infancy on serological responses to measles and other vaccines used in the Expanded Programme on Immunization: results from five randomised controlled trials
by Jane Crawley, Charalambos Sismanidis, Tracey Goodman et al. The Lancet, Volume. 380, Issue 9846, pp. 1001-1010, 15 September 2012 10 pp. 401 kB: http://download.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140673612607752.pdf The authors conclude that intermittent preventive treatment for malaria during infancy (IPTi) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine does not affect serological responses to EPI vaccines. This analysis supports the WHO recommendation for co-administration of IPTi with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine to infants at the time of the second and third doses of DTP and measles vaccination, in areas of sub-Saharan Africa with moderate to high malaria transmission and where malaria parasites are sensitive to these drugs. It also suggests that treatment of clinical malaria at or around the time of vaccination does not compromise vaccine responsiveness. ***

Field evaluation of permethrin long-lasting insecticide treated nets (Olyset) for malaria control in an endemic area, southeast of Iran
by M Soleimani-Ahmadi, H Vatandoost, M Shaeghi et al. Acta Tropica, Vol. 123, Issue 3, September 2012, pp. 146-153

HESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 13

8 pp. 659 kB: http://www.malarianexus.com/_common/updateable/files/articles/63 4831656096335581.pdf Long lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs) have been advocated as an effective tool for prevention and control of malaria. Olyset net was the first LLINs which became commercially available and obtained WHO approval. According to the national strategic plan on evaluation of Olyset net, a field trial was conducted to determine the efficacy of these nets against malaria vectors in an endemic area in the southeast of Iran. This study indicated that Olyset nets have a major impact on malaria vectors and disease burden; therefore it could be recommended as an effective personal protection tool for malaria control in malarious areas. ***

From intervention to impact: modelling the potential mortality impact achievable by different longlasting, insecticide-treated net delivery strategies
by Lucy C Okell, Lucy Smith Paintain, Jayne Webster et al. Malaria Journal 2012, 11:327 (13 September 2012) 26 pp. 3.0 MB: http://www.malariajournal.com/content/pdf/1475-2875-11-327.pdf A simple dynamic mathematical model was developed of delivery and impact of longlasting, insecticide-treated nets (LLINs) among children under five years of age and their household members, incorporating data on age-specific malaria death rates, net use by household structure, and net efficacy over time. The results from this study indicate that LLIN delivery policies must take into account the age of greatest malaria risk. Emphasis should be placed on supporting routine delivery of LLINs to young children as well as campaigns. ***

Are Patent Medicine Vendors Effective Agents in Malaria Control?

Using Lot Quality Assurance Sampling to Assess Quality of Practice in Jigawa, Nigeria by Sima Berendes, Olusegun Adeyemi, Edward Adekola et al. PLoS ONE 7(9): e44775 (12 September 2012) 9 pp. 222 kB:
http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action;jsessionid=C01B57973242C46B3 C1A07792FF944BD?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0044775&representation=PDF

Patent medicine vendors (PMV) provide antimalarial treatment and care throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, and can play an important role in the fight against malaria. The authors conclude that the irrational use of antimalarials in the ACT era revealed in this study bears a high risk of economic loss, death and development of drug resistance. Lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) has been shown to be a suitable method for monitoring malaria-related indicators among PMV, and should be applied in Nigeria and elsewhere to improve service delivery. ***

HESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 14

Tuberculosis High initial default in patients with smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis at a regional hospital in Accra, Ghana
by F.K. Afutu, R. Zachariah, S.G. Hinderaker Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, August 2012 3 pp. 122 kB: http://fieldresearch.msf.org/msf/bitstream/10144/245413/1/Afutu% 20High%20initial%20default%20in%20patients%20-%20TRSTMH%202012-05-30.pdf Sputum smear-positive TB patients, diagnosed in the laboratory, who never start anti-TB treatment are classified as initial defaulters. In Ridge Hospital, Accra, Ghana, there were 84 laboratory confirmed TB cases in 2009, of whom 32 (38%) were initial defaulters. This study highlights the problem of initial defaulters, and shows that programme performance may be poor when patients in laboratory registers are used as the cohort to evaluate treatment outcomes. ***

The use of clusters to estimate recent transmission of TB

by Pieter Uys South African Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis (SACEMA) Quarterly, September 12, 2012 5 pp. 789 kB:
http://sacemaquarterly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Pieter-Uys_The-use-of-clusters.pdf

This article discusses the methods for estimating the proportion of TB cases due to recent transmission by using cluster analysis. Sputum specimens from cases reporting to clinics are cultured and the TB strains are identified, commonly using molecular techniques of DNA fingerprinting. By comparing these fingerprints from various patients it becomes possible to classify them as unique or clustered. The proportion of clustered individuals can then be used as an indicator of the proportion of on-going or recent transmission.

Other Infectious Diseases Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Three Leprosy Case Detection Methods in Northern Nigeria
by Charles Ezenduka, Erik Post, Steven John et al. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 6(9): e1818 (20 September 2012) 8 pp. 170 kB:
http://www.plosntds.org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action;jsessionid=BDE36290C1E0DC40 40A9278AE78AE978?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pntd.0001818&representation=PDF

Despite several leprosy control measures in Nigeria, child proportion and disability grade 2 cases remain high while new cases have not significantly reduced, suggesting continuous spread of the disease. Hence, there is the need to review detection methods to enhance identification of early cases for effective control and prevention of permanent HESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 15

disability. The authors conclude that complementing routine practice with household contact examination is the most cost-effective approach to identify new leprosy cases and they recommend that, depending on acceptability and feasibility, this intervention is introduced for improved case detection in Northern Nigeria.

Food & Nutrition Food insecurity and malnutrition in Africa: Current trends, causes and consequences
by Temitope Folaranmi Consultancy Africa Intelligence (Pty) Ltd., 17 September 2012 Read online at:
http://www.consultancyafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1122:food-insecurity-andmalnutrition-in-africa-current-trends-causes-and-consequences&catid=61:hiv-aids-discussion-papers&Itemid=268

This paper provides a brief overview of food insecurity in Africa. Africa has experienced episodes of food insecurity causing loss of life and livelihoods over the past decade. This situation is growing worse and the outlook is worrisome as Africas population is expected to increase. How will Africa cope with its food security challenge? This paper examines the scope, current trends and the vulnerabilities of Africa to the causes and consequences of food insecurity and malnutrition. ***

The Effect of Adding Ready-to-Use Supplementary Food to a General Food Distribution on Child Nutritional Status and Morbidity: A ClusterRandomized Controlled Trial
by Lieven Huybregts, Freddy Houngb, Ccile Salpteur et al. PLoS Med 9(9): e1001313 (18 September 2012) 11 pp. 544 kB:
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action;jsessionid=D9F39DD8F8B1E077 3DB5EF74021568E6?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001313&representation=PDF

This study examined the effect of a ready-to-use supplementary food (RUSF) on the prevention of wasting in 6- to 36-months-old children within the framework of a general food distribution program. The authors conclude that providing RUSF as part of a general food distribution resulted in improvements in hemoglobin status and small improvements in linear growth, accompanied by an apparent reduction in morbidity.

Essential Medicines Priority life-saving medicines for women and children 2012
World Health Organization, Department of Essential Medicines and Health Products, 2012 4 pp. 251 kB: http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/documents/s19290en/s19290en.pdf This list of priority life-saving medicines for women and children was developed to help HESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 16

countries and partners select and make available those medicines that will have the biggest impact on reducing maternal, newborn and child morbidity and mortality. The medicines on this list were chosen according to the global burden of disease and the evidence of efficacy and safety for preventing or treating major causes of sexual and r eproductive, maternal, newborn and child mortality and morbidity. In addition, medicines were included for palliative care. ***

Antibiotic prescribing practice in management of cough and/or diarrhoea in Moshi Municipality, Northern Tanzania: cross-sectional descriptive study
by Judith John Gwimile, Seif Abdallah Shekalaghe, Gibson Nsokolo Kapanda et al. The Pan African Medical Journal; 12:103 (13 August 2012) Read online at: http://www.panafrican-med-journal.com/content/article/12/103/full/ Irrational use of antibiotics has been documented all over the world. World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than half of all medicines are prescribed, dispensed or sold inappropriately, and that half of all patients fail to take them correctly. This study observed a high antibiotic prescription rate by clinicians and that the treatment guidelines for management of patients who presented with cough and/or diarrhoea were not followed. Updating health training programmes for clinicians on how to prescribe medicines e.g. continuing education on disease management would help in r educing irrational prescribing practices. ***

Travel and fake artesunate: a risky business

by Carlos J Chaccour, Harparkash Kaur, David Mabey et al. The Lancet, Vol. 380, Issue 9847, pp. 1120, 22 September 2012 1 pp. 305 kB: http://download.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140673612606497.pdf Fake artesunate has been reported to be circulating in Africa at least since 2001. Counterfeit and substandard antimalarial drugs can effectively kill people taking them in endemic areas. They may also have a role in the genesis of resistance, since some samples have been found to contain subtherapeutic quantities of artesunate. Counterfeit drugs should be considered as a cause of treatment failure, and global efforts to discourage the commercialisation of artemisinin-based monotherapies must continue with further international consensus taken to counteract the fake drug trade.

Social Protection Coordinating Healthcare and Pension Policies: An Exploratory Study

by Azad Singh Bali and and Mukul G. Asher Asian Development Bank Institute, August 2012 26 pp. 205 kB:
http://www.adbi.org/files/2012.08.16.wp374.coordinating.healthcare.pension.policies.pdf

HESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 17

Rapid ageing of the population globally represents an unprecedented historical trend. As pension and healthcare costs are positively correlated with rising incomes, ageing, urbanization, and a shift from communicable to life-style diseases, managing these costs is a major challenge. This paper discusses the rationale for coordination between various programs to better manage the cost of ageing. The current difficult macroeconomic environment, including fiscal stringency conditions, strengthens the case for such coordination.

Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Addressing the shortfall: The urgent need for increased and better targeted aid to the water and sanitation sector
by Asma Zubairi, Daniel Coppard, Mariella Di Ciommo et al. WaterAid and Development Initiatives, 2012 205 pp. 7.3 MB: http://www.wateraid.org/documents/addressing_the_shortfall_final.pdf The publication aims to complement UN Water's 2012 GLAAS report by putting resourcing of the water and sanitation sector - specifically the role of Official Development Assistance, or aid - under the spotlight. In particular, it argues that donor countries should act with urgency to improve their support to those who face water and sanitation poverty on a daily basis though increased financing that is better targeted towards the world's poorest people who lack these essential services. ***

Building Effective Drinking Water Management Policies in Rural Africa: Lessons from Northern Uganda
by Christopher Opio The Africa Initiative and The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), September 2012 20 pp. 1.9 MB: http://www.cigionline.org/sites/default/files/no6.pdf This discussion paper describes a water quality study undertaken in Northern Uganda, to test the potability and potential contamination of water taken from wells, open water sources and households. Key lessons from the study include the fact that clean well water can be contaminated during transportation to, and storage in, homes. Building on the data from the water quality tests, this paper explores the policy implications for national governments, non-governmental organizations and individuals at the household level.

Human Resources Task-shifting: experiences and opinions of health workers in Mozambique and Zambia
by Paulo Ferrinho, Mohsin Sidat, Fastone Goma et al. Human Resources for Health 2012, 10:34 (17 September 2012) HESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 18

17 pp. 1.1 MB: http://www.human-resources-health.com/content/pdf/1478-4491-10-34.pdf This paper describes the task-shifting taking place in health centres and district hospitals in Mozambique and Zambia. The objectives of this study were to identify the perceived causes and factors facilitating or impeding task-shifting, and to determine both the positive and negative consequences of task-shifting for the service users, for the services and for health workers. ***

Health Worker Satisfaction and Motivation: An Empirical Study of Incomes, Allowances and Working Conditions in Zambia
by Jeff Gow, Gavin George, Sylvia Mwamba et al. International Journal of Business and Management Vol. 7, No. 10; May 2012 12 pp. 207 kB: http://www.heard.org.za/downloads/health-worker-satisfaction-and-motivation.pdf Health worker salaries in Zambia are low by any standard. Salary reductions in recent times has resulted in significant attrition in the public sector as health workers are attracted to the private sector or leave Zambia entirely, leaving a large deficit in public sector health workers. The authors suggest that ways to address the problem include increasing public sector health salaries and benefits and considering non-income related factors such as recruiting from rural areas. ***

Economic evaluation of task-shifting approaches to the dispensing of antiretroviral therapy

by Nicola Foster and Diane McIntyre Human Resources for Health 2012, 10:32 (13 September 2012) 21 pp. 424 kB: http://www.human-resources-health.com/content/pdf/1478-4491-10-32.pdf A scarcity of human resources for health has been identified as one of the primary constraints to the scale-up of the provision of Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART). In South Africa there is a particularly severe lack of pharmacists. The study aims to compare two task-shifting approaches to the dispensing of ART: Indirectly Supervised Pharmacists Assistants (ISPA) and Nurse-based pharmaceutical care models against the standard of care which involves a pharmacist dispensing ART.

Health Systems & Research Effectiveness of interventions to strengthen national health service delivery on coverage, access, quality, and equity in the use of health services in low and lower middle income countries
by Barbara Willey, Lucy Smith Paintain, Lindsay Mangham et al. EPPI-Centre, Social Science Res. Unit, Inst. of Education, Univ. of London, July 2012 HESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 19

29 pp. 495 kB: http://www.dfid.gov.uk/r4d/pdf/outputs/systematicreviews/HealthSer vice2012WilleyProtocol.pdf The focus of this systematic review is to describe recent experience from low and lower middle income countries of interventions to improve the delivery of health services by front-line workers. This review will assess these interventions using a range of indicators, which describe the effect on the availability and quality of services, utilization and equity in use of health services, and where possible patients health status and mortality. ***

What is a Focus Group Discussion?

Health Inc Capacity Building & Research Network Newsletter No. 5, 17 September 2012 2 pp. 423 kB: http://healthinc.eu/PDF/Health_IncWP1_newsletter_5.pdf Asking what exactly a focus group discussion (FGD) is seems to be a trivial question. It is not. First, definitions are many, and can be quite contradictory. Second, how we define an FGD will also determine how we construct, conduct and analyse an FGD. Third and most important, how we define, construct, conduct and analyse FGDs depends largely on what we want from them.

Information & Communication Technology Practicing medicine without borders: tele-consultations and tele-mentoring for improving paediatric care in a conflict setting in Somalia?
by R. Zachariah, B. Bienvenue, L. Ayada et al. Tropical Medicine and International Health, Vol. 17, No 9, pp 1156-1162, September 2012 7 pp. 149 kB: http://fieldresearch.msf.org/msf/bitstream/10144/245392/1/Zachari ah%20.Practicing%20medicine%20-%20TM%26IH%2017-09%202012-09.pdf In a district hospital in conflict-torn Somalia, the authors assessed (i) the impact of introducing telemedicine on the quality of paediatric care, and (ii) the added value as perceived by local clinicians. They conclude that the introduction of telemedicine signif icantly improved quality of paediatric care in a remote conflict setting and was of high added value to distant clinicians. ***

Ten years on from the Budapest Open Access Initiative: setting the default to open
Read online at: http://www.soros.org/openaccess/boai-10-recommendations Ten years ago the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) launched a HESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 20

worldwide campaign for open access (OA) to all new peer-reviewed research. Today we are no longer at the beginning of this worldwide campaign, and not yet at the end. We are solidly in the middle, and draw upon a decade of experience in order to make new recommendations for the next ten years and we specifically set the new goal that within the next ten years, OA will become the default method for distributing new peerreviewed research in every field and country. ***

Collecting High Frequency Panel Data in Africa Using Mobile Phone Interviews
by Kevin Croke, Andrew Dabalen, Gabriel Demombybes et al. The World Bank, Africa Region, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Unit, June 2012 29 pp. 827 kB: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/9313/WPS6097.pd f?sequence=1 As mobile phone ownership rates have risen in Africa, there is increased interest in using mobile telephony as a data collection platform. This paper draws on two pilot projects that use mobile phone interviews for data collection in Tanzania and South Sudan. The experience was largely a success. High frequency panel data have been collected on a wide range of topics in a manner that is cost effective, flexible (questions can be changed over time) and rapid. And once households respond to the mobile phone inte rviews, they tend not to drop out: even after 33 rounds of interviews in the Tanzania su rvey, respondent fatigue proved not to be an issue. ***

ICT in Health care delivery system: A Framework for developing nations

by A. Omotosho, O.J. Emuoyibofarhe, O. Adegboola et al. Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, 2012 14 pp. 313 kB: http://www.wikehealth.org/sites/default/files/whitepapers/139/ICTforHealthPaper.pdf The aim of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for Health (also known as eHealth) is to improve significantly the quality, access and efficacy of healthcare for all citizens. This paper aims to discuss how ICT has contributed of health in different part of the world, its cost effectiveness and provide a framework for implementation in developing countries with evidences to why developing nations must embrace the opportunity and benefits of ICT in their health sector reform.

Education Education and Development in Africa: Lessons of the Past 50 Years for Beyond 2015
by Kenneth King and Simon McGrath Centre of African Studies, 6-8 June 2012, Edinburgh, UK, (Unpublished)

HESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 21

20 pp. 518 kB:

http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/1640/1/Kenneth.King%26Simon.McGrath.CAS%4050.pdf

As we move to discuss the nature of development targets post 2015, it is timely to consider what lessons can be learnt from 50 years of experiences of attempts to link education and development in Africa. This paper offers a historical account of key themes in African education and development and raises questions particularly about who sets targets and priorities and for whom. ***

Asia-Pacific End of Decade Notes on Education for All: Early Childhood Care and Education
by Chemba Raghavan, Karen Emmons, Maki Hayashikawa et al. UNESCO Bangkok, Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education, 2012 68 pp. 1.3 MB:
http://www.ungei.org/files/End_Decade_Note_-_Education_for_All_.pdf

This publication is the first in a series of six Asia-Pacific End of Decade Notes on Education for All (EDN). This first book of the series covers EFA goal 1: Expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children. The EDN present a review of regional and national progress toward the six EFA goals, take stock of the progress, persisting issues and remaining challenges in achieving the goals, and highlight examples of innovative policy reforms and strategies, particularly those aimed at reducing disparities in access to and quality of education.

Harm Reduction & Drug Use Harmful substances and hazardous waste
by David Piper United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), September 2012 8 pp. 286 kB: http://www.unep.org/pdf/brochures/HarmfulSubstances.pdf The potential cost of pesticide-related illnesses in sub-Saharan African between 2005 and 2020 could reach US$ 90bn, according to the report highlighting the growing health and environmental hazards from chemicals. It said the estimated cost of pesticide poisoning exceeds the total amount of international aid for basic health services for the region, excluding HIV/AIDS. The report warns that the increasing production of chemicals, especially in emerging economies where there are weaker safeguards, is damaging the environment and increasing health costs. ***

Scale-Up of Harm Reduction in Malaysia

Effective paradigm shifts towards an improved national response to drugs and HIV/AIDS Ministry of Health, Malaysia and Regional Office for the Western Pacific, World Health Organisation, March 2011 HESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 22

61 pp. 1.2 MB: http://www.who.int/hiv/pub/idu/good_practices_asia_malaysia.pdf This report documents the good practices in harm reduction programmes in Malaysia and the progress to date in addressing the transmission of HIV among people who use drugs. It highlights and discusses how policies and programmes have addressed this through strong and committed leadership, community participation, sustained partnerships, and multisectoral collaboration and coordination.

Millennium Development Goals Millennium Development Goal 8 - The Global Partnership for Development: Making Rhetoric a Reality
United Nations MDG Gap Task Force Report 2012 107 pp. 2.7 MB: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/mdg_gap/mdg_gap2 012/mdg8report2012_engw.pdf The report that focuses specifically on MDG8 (developing a global partnership for development) has been released by the MDG Gap Task Force, whose job it is to monitor the global commitments contained in MDG 8. The Task Force argues that international solidarity is still the compelling, moral case for partnership for development, as well as more pragmatic reasons. This report contains a sobering warning. The Task Force has had difficulty identifying areas of significant new progress towards the MDGs. Yet, signs of promise can be found. Global health initiatives have proven effective in making important medicines more easily available. ***

Righting the MDGs: contexts and opportunities for a post-2015 development framework
ActionAid International, September 2012 12 pp. 340 kB: http://www.actionaid.org.uk/doc_lib/mdg_report.pdf As the 2015 deadline for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) approaches, discussions about what replaces them are taking place in a fundamentally changed world to the one in which the original goals were conceived. This paper sets out the key contextual shifts since the MDGs were developed, and lays out key principles and approaches that should guide a new framework in response to this changed landscape.

Development Assistance Mutual Review of Development Effectiveness in Africa

by Brian Ngo, Francis Ikome, Dan Coppard et al. United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), May 2012

HESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 23

72 pp. 3.2 MB: http://new.uneca.org/Portals/mrde/Documents/2012/MRDE2012English.pdf The Mutual Review of Development Effectiveness is an exercise in mutual accountability undertaken jointly by the UN Economic Commission for Africa and the OECD. The report assesses what has been done by Africa and its development partners to deliver commitments in relation to development in Africa, what results have been achieved, and what the key future priorities are. ***

Countdown to 2015: changes in official development assistance to maternal, newborn, and child health in 2009-10, and assessment of progress since 2003
by Justine Hsu, Catherine Pitt, Giulia Greco et al. The Lancet - Published Online September 20, 2012 12 pp. 820 kB: http://download.thelancet.com/flatcontentassets/pdfs/S0140673612614159.pdf Tracking of financial resources to maternal, newborn, and child health provides crucial information to assess accountability of donors. The recent slowdown in the rate of funding increases is worrying and likely to partly result from the present financial crisis. Tracking of donor aid should continue, to encourage donor accountability and to monitor performance in targeting aid flows to those in most need. ***

Faith and Accountability in International Development: A Study of the Global Fund

by Omobolaji Ololade Olarinmoye Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance, Princeton University, May 2012 29 pp. 320 kB: http://www.princeton.edu/~pcglobal/conferences/GLF/olarinmoye.pdf Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs) play an increasing role in developing countries as recipients of aid, providers of services and as political actors in their own right, yet they are under-studied. This paper systematically examines the accountability of FBOs, and it does so by focusing on the role they play in relation to the Global Fund. Drawing from in-depth case studies of three FBOs in Nigeria, Somalia and Zambia, the paper shows that PBF have not successfully achieved the goal of making participation the driver of country ownership. ***

Financing for Development: Review of progress of the EU and its Member States
EU Accountability Report 2012 on Financing for Development, July 2012 109 pp. 3.0 MB: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/what/developmentpolicies/financing_for_development/documents/swp-199-main-report.pdf This Staff Working Document is the tenth in a series of annual progress reports drafted HESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 24

since 2003 for the purpose of assessing where the EU and its Member States stand in relation to their common commitments on financing for development, including aid effectiveness, aid for trade, fast-start climate finance and good governance in tax matters. ***

External Financial Aid to Blood Transfusion Services in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Need for Reflection
by Fereydoun Ala, Jean-Pierre Allain, Imelda Bates et al. PLoS Med 9(9): e1001309 (11 September 2012) 5 pp. 214 kB:
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action;jsessionid=8E85A53A770AE905E C71768309B03651?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001309&representation=PDF

Development aid to sub-Saharan African blood services has brought benefits but also some unintended negative consequences. Policies and practices from funding countries, particularly exclusive use of volunteer non-remunerated donors, centralisation, and systematic preparation of blood components are not necessarily appropriate for subSaharan Africa where the vast majority of transfusions are done as emergencies. Implementation of these policies and practices adds significantly to the cost of a unit of blood, making the transfusion services unaffordable in resource poor settings and creating long term reliance on external funding. ***

Where Will the Worlds Poor Live? Updated Data on the Distribution of Global Poverty
by Andy Sumner Center for Global Development, 13 September 2012 33 pp. 861 kB:
http://www.cgdev.org/files/1426481_file_Sumner_where_in_the_world_FINAL.pdf

New estimates for global poverty in 2008 confirm that middle-income countries are home to most of the worlds poor, 74 percent of those living on less than US$ 1.25 a day and 79 percent of those on less than US$ 2. The 2020 projections show that most of the worlds poor will live in countries that have the financial ability to end at least extreme poverty. The author argues that global poverty is becoming more and more an issue of domestic income distribution and that traditional aid (the transfer of resources from rich countries to poor) is becoming less relevant.

Others Emergency preparedness and disaster planning in Africa

by Shannon Rupp Consultancy Africa Intelligence (Pty) Ltd., 17 September 2012 Read online at:
http://www.consultancyafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1114:emergencypreparedness-and-disaster-planning-in-africa&catid=57:africa-watch-discussion-papers&Itemid=263

HESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 25

This paper examines challenges to disaster management strategies, particularly preparedness planning, in Africa, primarily referring to the two major natural crises that most affect the continent: drought and flooding. Future improvements to disaster planning and how effective these plans are in saving lives and reducing risk are also discussed. The case of South Africa is examined as an exemplar of an African state that is working to meet the challenges of emergency preparedness in the face recurring natural and manmade disasters. ***

Health Situation in the Americas: Basic Indicators 2012

Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), 2012 12 pp. 1.7 MB: http://ais.paho.org/chi/brochures/2012/BI_2012_ENG.pdf On a yearly basis since 1995 the Regional Core Health Data Initiative of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) presents the most recent information on health indicators for 48 countries/territories in the Region of the Americas. This edition highlights the mortality due to external causes (EC); those causes of death different from natural causes and recognized as avoidable such as suicides, homicides and accidents. From the data reported by the countries, it is estimated that over 5.5 million people died from EC in the Region between 1999 and 2009. ***

Promoting Action on Equity Issues: A Knowledge-To-Action Handbook

by Sarah Bowen, Ingrid Botting & Jeannine Roy Canadian Institutes of Health Research, September 2011 Handbook: 74 pp. 11.9 MB: http://www.publichealth.ualberta.ca/research/~/media/publichealth/Research/Res earch%20Publications/action_equity.pdf Worksheets: 23 pp. 86 kB: http://www.publichealth.ualberta.ca/research/~/media/publichealth/Research/Res earch%20Publications/action_equity_worksheets.doc The increasing diversity of national populations is accompanied by growing attention to issues of equitable treatment and access. This handbook is intended to provide practical guidance and support to those working to address health inequities and promote organizational cultural diversification. It will be of interest to health-service administrators and managers, quality and safety officers, managers of interpreter and other diversity programs, organizational change managers, and leaders within ethno-cultural communities.

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES
Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine - Vol. 13, No. 3 (2012)
The Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine is a quarterly medical journal focused on HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention and related topics relevant to clinical and public health practice. The latest issue of SAJHIVMED has been published online (open access) at: HESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 26

http://www.sajhivmed.org.za You are invited to review the Table of Contents and to read/download articles of interest. Highlights in this issue: Adult ART guidelines; Abacavir use in Gauteng Province; TB/HIV integration in primary care; Revised ARV drug dosing chart for children and adolescents.

INTERESTING WEB SITES

Arab Humanitarian Portal
http://www.arabhum.net/ The Humanitarian Information Network (HIN) is a group of humanitarian actors governed by the humanitarian principles of information management. The HIN is the first Arabic-region information platform to focus on humanitarian issues. It provides an environment in which to exchange humanitarian information for a better response to emergencies. The goal of this portal is to help you understand and follow up the humanitarian crises around the world and document the Arab efforts.

TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
E-Learning Course: Basic of Health Economics
Health economics should play an important role in critical policy and operational decisions, and can contribute to better decision-making. Unfortunately, a clear gap exists for training and empowering policy and operational decision makers on how health ec onomics can contribute to strengthening the effectiveness of health systems by efficiently and equitably addressing the needs of the population. Duration and Course Load: 5 Weeks - 8 to 10 hours per week Dates: October 24 - November 22, 2012 Application Deadline: October 3, 2012 Participants: (Health) Professionals Course Fee: US$ 400 Organizers: The World Bank Institute Language: English only Format: web-based facilitated General Course Contact: Jo Hindriks: mailto:jhindriks@worldbank.org WBI Health E-learning: mailto:healthelearning@worldbank.org ***

HESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 27

CONFERENCES
Malaria Vaccines for the World
22-24 April 2013, CHUV, Lausanne, Switzerland The third conference in the series Malaria Vaccines for the World (MVW 2013) is the follow-up to the successful MVW meeting held in London in 2007 and Washington DC in 2010 and again will offer researchers a fresh new forum to discuss the current status of new malaria vaccines initiatives, vaccine candidates and clinical trials. MVW 2013 will focus attention on Vaccine Issues in relation to Malaria as a worldwide disease. For more information see:
http://www.meetingsmanagement.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=78&Itemid=170

or see the PDF leaflet (2 pp. 244 kB):

http://www.malariaworld.org/sites/default/files/MVW%202013%20CFP%20Leaflet_sept2012.pdf

CARTOON

TIPS & TRICKS

Locate the Mouse Pointer
Have you ever lost your mouse pointer? It is easy with todays content-rich websites and programmes with complex interfaces. It just happens, but thankfully Windows has a neat little feature that will locate your mouse pointer with a simple keystroke. For Windows XP and Vista: Start>Control Panel>Mouse. Windows 7 users: simply click Start and in the Search Box type Mouse Pointer, and in the results click Change how the mouse pointer looks In the resulting window, make sure you are under the Pointer Options tab and put a check next to Show location of pointer when I press the CTRL key. HESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 28

Now whenever you press the CTRL key a locator ring will draw your attention to whe rever your pointer is at. ***

More iPad Punctuation Tips

We have already mentioned a quick way to put a period at the end of a sentence by double-tapping your space bar, but did you know you can add an apostrophe or quotation marks with a simple swipe? It is easy. Just swipe up on the exclamation/comma key for an apostrophe or swipe up on the question mark/period key for quotation marks! It will look like this if done correctly:

Best regards, Dieter Neuvians MD

HESP-News & Notes - 20/2012 - page 29