Health, Education, Social Protection

News & Notes 06/2011

A bi-weekly newsletter supported by GIZ
(Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit)
13 March 2011

You can download back issues (2005 - 2011) of this newsletter at:
http://german-practice-collection.org/en/links/newsletters/hesp-news-and-notes

Table of Contents:

BOOKS .............................................................................. 4
The hidden crisis: Armed conflict and education ................................................................. 4

ONLINE PUBLICATIONS................................................... 4
Global Health.............................................................................................................. 4
Health and wealth - Improved health does not always make countries richer....................... 4
Strengthening Public Health Capacities and Services in Europe: A Framework for Action ... 4
100th International Women’s Day - 8 March 2011 ....................................................... 5
International Women’s Day factsheet.................................................................................. 5
Non communicable diseases: A priority for women’s health and development..................... 5
The World's Women and Girls 2011 Data Sheet ................................................................. 5
Learning from Women to Create Gender Inclusive Cities .................................................... 6
Evolving Men: Initial Results from the International Men and Gender Equality Survey
(IMAGES)........................................................................................................................... 6
The State of Food and Agriculture 2010 - 2011................................................................... 6
Women and Men: Hand in Hand Against Violence .............................................................. 7
A Handbook on Women's Safety Audits in Low-income Urban Neighbourhoods: A Focus on
Essential Services .............................................................................................................. 7
HIV - AIDS - STI ......................................................................................................... 7
Update on Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-2 Infection .............................................. 7
How the circumcision solution in Africa will increase HIV infections..................................... 8
Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis for HIV Prevention ..................................................................... 8
Triple antiretroviral compared with zidovudine and single-dose nevirapine prophylaxis during
pregnancy and breastfeeding for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 (Kesho
Bora study): a randomised controlled trial ........................................................................... 8
Six-Month Drug Regimen Cuts HIV Risk for Breastfeeding Infants, NIH Study Finds........... 9
Understanding the Revised WHO Recommendations and Supporting their Adaptation into
National Guidelines ............................................................................................................ 9
Trends in HIV prevalence and sexual behaviour among young people aged 15-24 years in
countries most affected by HIV ........................................................................................... 9
Approaches to gender and sexuality: responding to HIV ................................................... 10
Sexual & Reproductive Health .................................................................................. 10
Planning and Implementing an Essential Package of Sexual and Reproductive Health
Services ........................................................................................................................... 10
Why, when and how men rape: Understanding rape perpetration in South Africa .............. 10
Maternal & Child Health............................................................................................ 11
Community-Based Distribution of Misoprostol for the Prevention of Postpartum
Hemorrhage: Evaluation of a Pilot Intervention in Tangail District, Bangladesh ................. 11
The fight against malnutrition: The key to health in developing countries ........................... 11
Is Economic Growth Associated with Reduction in Child Undernutrition in India? .............. 11
Malaria...................................................................................................................... 12
The Medicines for Malaria Venture ................................................................................... 12

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 1

 Case Management of Severe Malaria - A Forgotten Practice: Experiences from Health
Facilities in Uganda .......................................................................................................... 12
Two Strategies for the Delivery of IPTc in an Area of Seasonal Malaria Transmission in The
Gambia: A Randomised Controlled Trial ........................................................................... 12
Tuberculosis ............................................................................................................. 13
Bridging Implementation, Knowledge, and Ambition Gaps to Eliminate Tuberculosis in the
United States and Globally ............................................................................................... 13
Tuberculosis control has failed in South Africa – time to reappraise strategy ..................... 13
Other Infectious Diseases......................................................................................... 13
The Flying Publisher Short Guide to Hepatitis C ............................................................... 13
Updated Norovirus Outbreak Management and Disease Prevention Guidelines................ 14
Essential Medicines.................................................................................................. 14
Assessment of medicines regulatory systems in sub-Saharan African countries................ 14
Can NGOs regulate medicines markets? Social enterprise in wholesaling, and access to
essential medicines .......................................................................................................... 14
Are Drugs Made in Emerging Markets Good Quality? ....................................................... 15
Effectiveness of pharmacy interventions in improving availability of essential medicines at
the primary healthcare level.............................................................................................. 15
Putting Contract Research Organisations on the Radar .................................................... 15
Social Protection....................................................................................................... 16
Extending social security to all: A guide through challenges and options ........................... 16
Is universal coverage via social health insurance financially feasible in Swaziland? .......... 16
Microfinance as a development and poverty reduction policy: is it everything it’s cracked up
to be?............................................................................................................................... 16
Health-financing reforms in southeast Asia: challenges in achieving universal coverage ... 17
Social protection in Chile: Reforms to improve equity........................................................ 17
Natural Disasters: What is the Role for Social Safety Nets? .............................................. 17
Water, Sanitation & Hygiene..................................................................................... 18
Raising Clean Hands: Advancing Learning, Health and Participation through WASH in
Schools ............................................................................................................................ 18
WASH-Friendly Schools: Training Guide for Parents, Teachers and Student Leaders ....... 18
Health Systems & Research ..................................................................................... 18
Achieving a Shared Goal: Free Universal Health Care in Ghana ....................................... 18
Social Media: A guide for researchers .............................................................................. 19
Information & Communication Technology ............................................................... 19
Survey on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Education in India and
South Asia........................................................................................................................ 19
The Development Gateway Foundation ............................................................................ 19
Education ................................................................................................................. 20
Fast-Tracking Girls’ Education.......................................................................................... 20
Harm Reduction and Drug Use................................................................................. 20
Effectiveness and Cost Effectiveness of Expanding Harm Reduction and Antiretroviral
Therapy in a Mixed HIV Epidemic: A Modeling Analysis for Ukraine.................................. 20
Tobacco control in Sub-Saharan Africa: Moving from Knowledge Discovery (research) to
Policy Delivery (practice) .................................................................................................. 20
Alcohol abstinence and drinking among African women: data from the World Health Surveys
........................................................................................................................................ 21
Millennium Development Goals ................................................................................ 21
Evaluability Study of Partnership Initiatives Norwegian Support to Achieve Millennium
Development Goals 4 & 5................................................................................................. 21
Gender Inequality and the MDGs: What are the Missing Dimensions? .............................. 21
Development Assistance .......................................................................................... 22
ABC of Development Policy.............................................................................................. 22
Development and Health in Poor Countries: Role of International Organizations and of
Switzerland ...................................................................................................................... 22
Multilateral Aid Review: Ensuring maximum value for money for UK aid through multilateral
organisations.................................................................................................................... 22
From Aid to Development Effectiveness: A Working Paper ............................................... 23
A Third Way for Official Development Assistance: Savings and Conditional Cash Transfers
to the Poor ....................................................................................................................... 23

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 2

 What if development aid really rewarded results? Revisiting the Cash on Delivery (COD) aid
model ............................................................................................................................... 24
Getting Better in Pictures.................................................................................................. 24
Spotlight on transparency ................................................................................................. 24
Countering NGO corruption: Rethinking the conventional approaches .............................. 24
Aid for a Purpose: Show Me the Goal, Then Show Me the Money..................................... 25
Others ...................................................................................................................... 25
Poverty line - The imperfect tool ....................................................................................... 25
Planning National Radiotherapy Services: A Practical Tool ............................................... 25
Surgery in Africa Monthly Review: Treatment of Neglected Clubfoot ................................. 26
Road to Rio +20: For a development-led green economy.................................................. 26
Haki zetu: Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Practice.............................................. 26

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES ........................................... 27

Index Mundi ..................................................................................................................... 27
Global Health and Demographic Dataset .......................................................................... 27
The Journal of Public Health in Africa (JPHiA) - Vol 2, No 1 (2011) ................................... 27
Bulletin of the World Health Organization (BLT) ................................................................ 27

INTERESTING WEB SITES ............................................. 28

British Medical Journal West Africa (BMJWA) ................................................................... 28

CONFERENCES .............................................................. 28
Staying alert for sexual health........................................................................................... 28

CARTOON ....................................................................... 28

TIPS & TRICKS................................................................ 29

A Quick Search Shortcut in Windows................................................................................ 29
Free eBooks by Project Gutenberg................................................................................... 29
What does that Programme do? ....................................................................................... 29

Fair Use:
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HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 3

BOOKS
The hidden crisis: Armed conflict and education

by Kevin Watkins,Samer Al-Samarrai, Nicole Bella et al.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), March 2011

431 pp. 6.4 MB:

http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0019/001907/190743e.pdf

The book examines the damaging consequences of conflict for the Education for All
(EFA) goals. It sets out an agenda for protecting the right to education during conflict,
strengthening provision for children, youth and adults affected by conflict, and rebuilding
education systems in countries emerging from conflict. The Report also explores the
role of inappropriate education policies in creating conditions for violent conflict. Drawing
on experience from a range of countries, it identifies problems and sets out solutions
that can help make education a force for peace, social cohesion and human dignity.

ONLINE PUBLICATIONS
Global Health

Health and wealth - Improved health does not always make countries richer

The Economist, Economics Focus, November 20th, 2008

Read online: http://www.economist.com/node/12637080

The link between health and income seems pretty uncontroversial. So

the conclusions of two papers that improving life expectancy at birth (a
common indicator of better health) can depress income per head for as long as two
generations may come as a shock. The lesson is that careful analysis should precede
any sweeping statements about the economic benefits of specific policies. It may be
best to make a case for improving health because it is a good thing in itself, rather than
on the basis of presumed economic benefits that may not appear for generations.

***

Strengthening Public Health Capacities and Services in Europe: A Frame-

work for Action

First meeting of the European Health Policy Forum for High-Level Government Officials
Andorra la Vella, Andorra, 9-11 March 2011

53 pp. 704 kB:

http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/134300/09E_StrengtheningP
ublicHealthFramework_110452_eng.pdf

The paper proposes a set of ten horizontal essential public health operations (EPHOs),
and sets out the core public health services within each of them. These will become the
unifying and guiding principles for any European health authorities monitoring, evaluat-
ing or setting policies, strategies and actions for reforms and improvement in public

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 4

health. The paper highlights the major avenues that the WHO Regional Office for
Europe intends to take in order to tackle public health and health system challenges. It
concludes by proposing specific actions and measures to move towards the attainment
of the objectives set.

100th International Women’s Day - 8 March 2011

International Women’s Day factsheet

International Women's Day.com, March, 2011

2 pp. 25 kB:
http://www.internationalwomensday.com/iwd_factsheet.pdf

International Women's Day (IWD) is a global day celebrating the economic, political and
social achievements of women past, present and future. In some countries like China,
Russia, Vietnam and Bulgaria, IWD is a national holiday. 2011 is the global centenary of
International Women's Day, and this short factsheet charts its history over the past 100
years.
***

Non communicable diseases: A priority for women’s health and develop-

ment

The NCD Alliance, 2011

20 pp. 893 kB:

http://www.who.int/pmnch/topics/maternal/2011_women_ncd_report.pdf.pdf

This publication is the first to focus on the specific needs and challenges
of girls and women at risk of, or living with non communicable diseases (NCDs). It aims
to draw attention to NCDs as a priority for women’s health and development, stimulate
policy dialogue on the particular issues related to girls and women in the lead up to the
first ever UN High-Level Summit on NCDs in September 2011, and inform actions by all
partners going forward.
***

The World's Women and Girls 2011 Data Sheet

Population Reference Bureau (PRB), March 2011

15 pp. 684 kB:

http://www.prb.org/pdf11/world-women-girls-2011-data-sheet.pdf

The situation of women and girls around the world is gaining increased attention in a
number of national and international policy commitments such as the U.S. Global Health
Initiative and the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals. This new data sheet
has the latest data on a wide variety of indicators on the socioeconomic status of
women and girls in more than 180 countries, with a focus on demography, reproductive
health, education, work, and public life. A special section on overcoming barriers to
gender equality is also featured.
Download a PowerPoint presentation (512kB) that accompanies the Data Sheet.

***

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 5

Learning from Women to Create Gender Inclusive Cities

by Kalpana Viswanath, Sohail Husain, Elizaveta Bozhkova et al.

Women in Cities International, April 2010

124 pp. 9.8 MB:

http://www.womenincities.org/pdf-general/gicp_baseline.pdf

The trajectory of growth of many modern cities, particularly in developing societies, has
been unplanned and haphazard. Increasing population size has led to pro blems in en-
suring adequate housing, transport, sanitation and provision of basic services to all cit i-
zens. Crime and violence are also becoming defining characteristics of modern cities. In
addition to the threat of violence associated with gender, women may also be vulnerable
to violence for other reasons – perhaps because of their cultural, migratory, minority or
economic status.
***

Evolving Men: Initial Results from the International Men and Gender Equal-
ity Survey (IMAGES)

by Gary Barker, Manuel Contreras, Brian Heilman et al.

International Center for Research on Women and Instituto Promundo,
March 2011

102 pp. 1.4 MB:

http://www.icrw.org/pdf_download/1369/download/30555cffb3853
f57ef352c9f861da865

This report summarizes a comprehensive household questionnaire on men’s attitudes

and practices – along with women’s opinions and reports of men’s practices – on a wide
variety of topics related to gender equality. From 2009 to 2010, household surveys were
administered to more than 8,000 men and 3,500 women ages 18 to 59 in Brazil, Chile,
Croatia, India, Mexico and Rwanda. The report focuses on the initial comparative analy-
sis of results from men’s questionnaires across the six countries with women’s reports
on key variables. Topics included health practices, parenting, relationship dynamics,
sexual behavior and use of violence.
***

The State of Food and Agriculture 2010 - 2011

by Hafez Ghanem, Kostas Stamoulis, Marcela Villarreal et al.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, March 2011

160 pp. 3.3 MB:

http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/i2050e/i2050e.pdf

Women make significant contributions to the rural economy in all developing country re-
gions. Their roles differ across regions, yet they consistently have less access than men
to the resources and opportunities they need to be more productive. Increasing
women’s access to land, livestock, education, financial services, extension, technology
and rural employment would boost their productivity and generate gains in terms of agri-
cultural production, food security, economic growth and social welfare. Closing the gen-
der gap in agricultural inputs alone could lift 100-150 million people out of hunger.

***

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 6

Women and Men: Hand in Hand Against Violence
Strategies and approaches of working with men and boys for ending vio-
lence against women

by Ola Ataya, Jinan Usta, Ghida Anani et al.

Oxfam GB and KAFA, November, 2010

168 pp. 952 kB:

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/resources/learning/gender/downloads/women-and-men-
hand-in-hand-against-violence-251110-en.pdf

Ending violence against women (VAW) requires the collaboration of all community
members. There is a growing awareness that men, in partnership with women, can play
a significant role in ending violence against women. This training resource was devel-
oped for use in Arab countries in order to teach the knowledge, attitudes, and skills
needed to promote gender equality and to prevent violence against women through the
effective engagement of men. It explores the concepts surrounding VAW, what factors
are involved, and the consequences.
***

A Handbook on Women's Safety Audits in Low-income Urban Neighbour-

hoods: A Focus on Essential Services

by Surabhi Tandon Mehrotra, Prabha Khosla, Kathryn Travers et al.

Women in Cities International, November 2010

64 pp. 924 kB:

http://www.womenincities.org/pdf-general/idrc_hanbook_wsalow-income.pdf

It is well accepted that in cities, women’s sense of safety and security in public places
varies depending on their own personal experience of the place, or based on the e x-
periences of other women. The publication describes the ‘Safe Delhi Campaign’ that
aims to highlight public safety for women as a serious urban issue and to link the in-
creasing ‘unsafety’ to the dominant models of urbanisation and the culture of the city.
The campaign has a multi-pronged approach to address the issue, including research,
public outreach, strategic partnerships and communication initiatives among others.

HIV - AIDS - STI

Update on Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-2 Infection

by Kenneth H. Mayer, Omobolaji T. Campbell-Yesufu and Rajesh T.

Gandhi
Clin Infect Dis. 52 (6): 780-787 (15 March 2011)

8 pp. 561 kB:

http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/52/6/780.full.pdf+html

Infection with human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2) occurs mainly in West Af-
rica, but an increasing number of cases have been recognized in Europe, India, and the
United States. In this review, the authors present information on recent clinical advances
in our understanding of HIV-2 infection and highlight remaining diagnostic and therapeu-
tic challenges.
***

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 7

How the circumcision solution in Africa will increase HIV infections

by Robert S. Van Howe and Michelle R. Storms

Journal of Public Health in Africa 2011; 2:e4 (March 2011)

5 pp. 382 kB:

http://www.publichealthinafrica.org/index.php/jphia/article/viewFile/jphia.2011.e4/pdf_22

The World Health Organization and UNAIDS have supported circumcision as a preven-
tive for HIV infections in regions with high rates of heterosexually transmitted HIV; ho w-
ever, the circumcision solution has several fundamental flaws that undermine its poten-
tial for success. Based on their analysis the authors conclude that the circumcision solu-
tion is a wasteful distraction that takes resources away from more effective, less expen-
sive, less invasive alternatives. By diverting attention away from more effective interven-
tions, circumcision programs will likely increase the number of HIV infections.

***

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis for HIV Prevention

CDC Fact Sheet, February 2011

4 pp. 616 kB:

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/prep/pdf/PrEP_TrialsFactSheet.pdf

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) may be part of comprehensive HIV prevention ser-

vices in which HIV negative people who are at high risk, take antiretroviral medication
daily to try to lower their chances of becoming infected with HIV if they are exposed to it.
To date, PrEP has only been shown to be effective in men who have men who have sex
with men (MSM) and transgendered women who have sex with men. Studies are un-
derway to evaluate whether it is safe and effective in reducing HIV inf ection among het-
erosexual men and women as well as injection drug users, but those results are not yet
available.
***

Triple antiretroviral compared with zidovudine and single-dose nevirapine

prophylaxis during pregnancy and breastfeeding for prevention of mother-
to-child transmission of HIV-1 (Kesho Bora study): a randomised con-
trolled trial

The Kesho Bora Study Group

The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Vol. 11, Issue 3, pp. 171-180, March
2011

10 pp. 185 kB:

http://download.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/laninf/PIIS1473309910702887.pdf

This study assessed the efficacy and safety of triple antiretroviral treatment (ART) com-
pared to the standard prophylactic combination of zidovudine and single-dose nevirap-
ine for pregnant women living with HIV. The researchers found that the cumulative HIV
transmission rate at 12 months of age was 43 percent lower for the triple combination
treatment than for the standard treatment. Based on preliminary findings from this trial,
the World Health Organization (WHO) issued revised guidelines that now recommend
antiretroviral prophylaxis for either the mother or infant during breastfeeding if the
mother is not already receiving ART.
***

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 8

Six-Month Drug Regimen Cuts HIV Risk for Breastfeeding Infants, NIH
Study Finds

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), 2 March 2011

Read online at:

http://www.niaid.nih.gov/news/newsreleases/2011/Pages/HPTN046CROI.aspx

Giving breastfeeding infants of HIV-infected mothers a daily dose of the antiretroviral

drug nevirapine for six months halved the risk of HIV transmission to the infants at age 6
months compared with giving infants the drug daily for six weeks, according to prelimi-
nary clinical trial data presented at the 18th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunis-
tic Infections (CROI) in Boston. The longer nevirapine regimen achieved a 75 percent
reduction in HIV transmission risk through breast milk for the infants of HIV-infected
mothers with higher T-cell counts who had not yet begun treatment for HIV.

***

Understanding the Revised WHO Recommendations and Supporting their

Adaptation into National Guidelines

by Anna Miller, Adaku Ejiogu, Allison Spensley et al.

Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, 2010

339 pp. 4.8 MB:

http://www.pedaids.org/Publications/Toolkits/Phase-1-Toolkit-(2010)/WHO-toolkit-reg

This toolkit is the first of three integrated toolkits to support country teams in adaptation
and implementation of the revised World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations
in the four linked technical areas: ARV drugs for treatment of pregnant women living
with HIV and prevention of HIV infection in infants, infant and young child feeding in the
context of HIV, antiretroviral therapy for HIV infection in infants and children, and antiret-
roviral therapy for HIV infection in adults and adolescents.
For the second toolkit see: http://www.pedaids.org/Publications/Toolkits

***

Trends in HIV prevalence and sexual behaviour among young people aged
15-24 years in countries most affected by HIV

The International Group on Analysis of Trends in HIV Prevalence and

Behaviours in Young People in Countries most Affected by HIV
Sex Transm Infect 2010;86(Suppl 2):ii72-ii83

14 pp. 939 kB:

http://sti.bmj.com/content/86/Suppl_2/ii72.full.pdf

Declines in HIV prevalence among young people were documented in the majority of
countries with adequate data and in most cases were accompanied by changes in sex-
ual behaviour. Further data, research and more rigorous analysis at country level are
needed to understand the associations between programmatic efforts, reported beha v-
ioural changes and changes in prevalence and incidence of HIV.

***

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 9

Approaches to gender and sexuality: responding to HIV

by Sarah Middleton-Lee
International HIV/AIDS Alliance, February 2011

44 pp. 1.0 MB:

http://www.aidsalliance.org/includes/Publication/GenderAndSexualityReport.pdf

Gender and sexuality have long been recognised as key factors affecting
the dynamics of the HIV epidemic. Issues vary across communities and countries, but
power imbalances, harmful social norms, violence and marginalisation affect women,
men, girls, boys and transgender people across the world, limiting their ability to prevent
HIV infection. There are a growing number of HIV and broader health initiatives that not
only highlight gender issues, but also aim to change harmful norms and practices.
These are called ‘gender-transformative’ approaches.

Sexual & Reproductive Health

Planning and Implementing an Essential Package of Sexual and Reproduc-

tive Health Services

by Katherine Williams, Charlotte Warren, and Ian Askew

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Population Council, Octo-
ber 2010

56 pp. 1.0 MB:

http://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/shared/documents/publications/2011/Es
sential_Package_Integration.pdf

This document comprises three sections. The Introduction explains and justifies why the
development and implementation of an essential Sexual and Reproductive Health
(SRH) package should be planned and framed within the WHO’s six Building Blocks of
Health Systems. The second section presents the “How To” steps and checklist tools for
planning, implementing and scaling up an essential SRH package. The third section
provides the evidence-base supporting the recommendations and action-points pro-
posed in each tool.
***

Why, when and how men rape: Understanding rape perpetration in South
Africa

by Rachel Jewkes, Yandisa Sikweyiya, Robert Morrell et al.

South African Crime Quarterly 34: 23-31, December 2010

9 pp. 619 kB:

http://www.iss.co.za/uploads/JewkesSikweyiyaMorrellDunkle.pdf

This article reports the findings of research conducted with a randomly selected sample
of men aged 18-49 years from the general population of the Eastern Cape and
KwaZulu-Natal, who were asked in an anonymously conducted survey about their rape
perpetration practices, motivations, and consequences thereof. This research confirms
that rape is prevalent in South Africa, with only a small proportion of incidents reported
to the police. Many of the roots of the problem lie in an accentuated gender hierarchy.
This highlights the importance of interventions and policies that start in childhood and

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 10

seek to change the way in which boys are socialised into men, building ideas of gender
equity and respect for women.

Maternal & Child Health

Community-Based Distribution of Misoprostol for the Prevention of Post-

partum Hemorrhage: Evaluation of a Pilot Intervention in Tangail District,
Bangladesh

by Pauline O. Hovey, Elkin Konuk and Michael Klitsch

The Mayer Hashi Project / EngenderHealth, 2010

64 pp. 2.4 MB:

http://www.respond-project.org/pages/files/6_pubs/research-
reports/Bangladesh-Misoprostol-Dec2010.pdf

Misoprostol is a proven uterotonic that is increasingly used in clinical and home delivery
settings to prevent and manage Postpartum Hemorrhage (PPH). Misoprostol tablets are
inexpensive, are easy to store (they do not need refrigeration), are stable under field
conditions, and have an excellent safety profile. In addition, misoprostol does not re-
quire a skilled service provider. Since 2008, EngenderHealth’s Mayer Hashi project has
piloted a successful program to distribute misoprostol to pregnant women to prevent
postpartum hemorrhage when they give birth at home. The survey shows a 35% drop in
deaths from bleeding and a 50% drop for deaths from eclampsia.

***

The fight against malnutrition: The key to health in developing countries

Medicus Mundi Bulletin Nr. 119, February 2011

56 pp. 1.5 MB:

http://www.medicusmundi.ch/mms/network/basics/filefolder0705168
886/mmsfile.2011-03-01.1010125909/at_download/file

Health, nutrition and development are all closely interlinked. One third of under-fives liv-
ing in the developing countries are behind in their development. This is due to chronic
malnutrition. These children are more likely to die prematurely because they are less
able to fight off common infectious diseases. Their chances of financial success are also
lower because their performance at school is often poor. Last November the Network
Medicus Mundi Switzerland organised a conference on this issue. The contributions
have just been published in this bulletin (German/English).

***

Is Economic Growth Associated with Reduction in Child Undernutrition in

India?

by Malavika A. Subramanyam, Ichiro Kawachi, Lisa F. Berkman et al.

PLoS Med 8(3): e1000424 (8 March 2011)

15 pp. 473 kB:

http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action;jsessionid=10A7E97D2DDFFD7DA10B
19EEB2076EFA.ambra01?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1000424&representation=PDF

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 11

Economic growth is widely perceived as a major policy instrument in reducing childhood
undernutrition in India. But an analysis of cross-sectional data from repeated household
surveys in India, combined with data on economic growth, fails to find strong evidence
that recent economic growth in India is associated with a reduction in child undernutri-
tion.

Malaria

The Medicines for Malaria Venture

The World Bank, Global Program Review, Volume 1 Issue 2; 2008

100 pp. 888 kB:

http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGLOREGPARPROG/Reso
urces/mmv.pdf

The Medicines for Malaria Venture is a public-private partnership that was established in
1999 to fund and manage the discovery and development of new anti-malarial drugs in
response to the increasing incidence of and mortality from malaria, the declining effi-
ciency of first and second line treatments, and the withdrawal of major pharmaceutical
firms from developing new anti-malarial drugs. This review found MMV to be an effective
program that is efficiently managing a portfolio of candidates for new malaria drugs
through the various phases of drug discovery and clinical development that precede
formal registration with public authorities and marketing in the public and private sectors.

***

Case Management of Severe Malaria - A Forgotten Practice: Experiences

from Health Facilities in Uganda

by Jane Achan, James Tibenderana, Daniel Kyabayinze et al.

PLoS ONE 6(3): e17053 (1 March 2011)

7 pp. 98 kB:
http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action;jsessionid=1691D8822FD92733F8652
AE0604C8B3F.ambra01?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0017053&representation=PDF

There is paucity of published information on current practices of severe malaria case

management in sub-Saharan Africa. The authors evaluated the management practices
for severe malaria in Ugandan health facilities. They conclude that management of se-
vere malaria in these facilities was sub-optimal. The findings highlight the challenges of
correctly managing severe malaria in resource limited settings. Priority areas for im-
provement include triage and emergency care, referral practises, quality of diagnosis
and treatment, availability of medicines and supplies, training and support supervision.

***

Two Strategies for the Delivery of IPTc in an Area of Seasonal Malaria

Transmission in The Gambia: A Randomised Controlled Trial

by Kalifa A. Bojang, Francis Akor, Lesong Conteh et al.

PLoS Med 8(2): e1000409 (1 February 2011)

14 pp. 238 kB:

http://clinicaltrials.ploshubs.org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action;jsessionid=E6AD402E60551DE667B
79D694BB9305E.ambra01?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1000409&representation=PDF

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 12

The Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) provides an effective way of delive r-
ing intermittent preventive treatment for malaria (IPT) to infants. However, it is uncertain
how IPT can be delivered most effectively to older children. Therefore, the authors have
compared two approaches to the delivery of IPT to Gambian children: distribution by vil-
lage health workers (VHWs) or through reproductive and child health (RCH) trekking
teams. They conclude that in this setting in The Gambia, delivery of IPTc to children 6
years of age and under by VHWs is more effective and less costly than delivery through
RCH trekking clinics.

Tuberculosis

Bridging Implementation, Knowledge, and Ambition Gaps to Eliminate Tu-

berculosis in the United States and Globally

by Kenneth G. Castro and Philip LoBue

Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal, Vol. 17, Nr. 3 - March 2011

6 pp. 201 kB:

http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/17/3/pdfs/337.pdf

One hundred and twenty nine years after Koch’s discovery of the etiologic agent of TB,
this health scourge continues to account for 9.4 million cases and 1.7 million deaths an-
nually worldwide. Implementation of the Directly Observed Treatment Short-course
strategy from 1995 through 2009 has saved 6 million lives. TB control is increasingly be-
ing achieved in countries with high-income economies, yet TB continues to plague per-
sons living in countries with low-income and lower-middle-income economies. To accel-
erate progress against the global effects of disease caused by TB and achieve its elimi-
nation, we must bridge 3 key gaps in implementation, knowledge, and ambition.

***

Tuberculosis control has failed in South Africa – time to reappraise strat-

egy

by Robin Wood, Stephen D Lawn, Simon Johnstone-Robertson et al.

S Afr Med J - Vol. 101, No. 2; 111-114 (February 2011)

4 pp. 1.4 MB:

http://www.samj.org.za/index.php/samj/article/viewFile/4587/3097

This article looks at the reasons for the failure of South Africa’s current tuberculosis (TB)
control programme by looking at the major drivers of the TB epidemic. The authors also
identify new control strategies that they argue must be accompanied by novel TB control
targets.

Other Infectious Diseases

The Flying Publisher Short Guide to Hepatitis C

2011 Edition

by Stefan Mauss, Thomas Berg, Jürgen Rockstroh et al.

The Flying Publisher, March 2011

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 13

 129 pp. 1.6 MB:
http://www.flyingpublisher.com/pdf/FPG_002_HepatitisC.pdf

Hepatitis C is a rapidly developing area of medicine - diagnostic tools are ever more re-
fined, and entirely new treatments and treatment strategies are on the horizon. And be-
cause the virus affects such a large and varying population - some 170 million at last
count - the authors think it is important to have a pocket reference especially devoted to
hepatitis C.
***

Updated Norovirus Outbreak Management and Disease Prevention Guide-

lines

by Aron J. Hall, Jan Vinjé, Benjamin Lopman

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), March 4, 2011;1-15

20 pp. 850 kB:

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/rr/rr6003.pdf

Noroviruses are the most common cause of epidemic gastroenteritis, responsible for at
least 50% of all gastroenteritis outbreaks worldwide, and a major cause of foodborne ill-
ness. Since 2001 substantial advances have been made in norovirus epidemiology,
immunology, diagnostic methods, and infection control. This report reviews these recent
advances and provides guidelines for outbreak management and disease prevention.
The recommendations are intended for use by public health professionals investigating
outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis, including state and local health authorities, as well as
academic and research institutions.

Essential Medicines

Assessment of medicines regulatory systems in sub-Saharan African

countries
An overview of findings from 26 assessment reports

by Monika Zweygarth, Adebowale Adeoye, Abubakr Abdelraouf et al.

World Health Organization, 2010

48 pp. 1.2 MB:

http://www.who.int/healthsystems/Assessment26African_countries.pdf

Structures for medicines regulation existed in the countries assessed, and the main
regulatory functions were addressed, although in practice the measures were often in-
adequate and did not form a coherent regulatory system. Common weaknesses in-
cluded a fragmented legal basis in need of consolidation, weak management structures
and processes, and a severe lack of staff and resources. On the whole, countries did
not have the capacity to control the quality, safety and efficacy of the medicines circulat-
ing on their markets or passing through their territories. Regulatory capacity should be
built urgently in African countries.
***

Can NGOs regulate medicines markets? Social enterprise in wholesaling,

and access to essential medicines

by Maureen Mackintosh, Sudip Chaudhuri and Phares GM Mujinja

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 14

Globalization and Health 2011, 7:4 (28 February 2011)

31 pp. 199 kB:

http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/content/pdf/1744-8603-7-4.pdf

Low income countries' impoverished populations generally struggle for access to essen-
tial medicines through out-of-pocket purchase on poorly regulated markets. Results in-
clude ill health, drug resistance and further impoverishment. While the role of health fa-
cilities owned by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in low income countries is
well documented, national and international wholesaling of essential medicines by
NGOs is largely unstudied. This article describes and assesses the activity of NGOs and
social enterprise in essential medicines wholesaling.

***

Are Drugs Made in Emerging Markets Good Quality?

by Roger Bate
American Enterprise Institute (AEI) Health Policy Working Paper, December 2010

13 pp. 75 kB:
http://www.aei.org/docLib/20101222-Bate-WP.pdf

Increasing competition generally decreases product prices. But in the case of pharma-
ceuticals, this is only beneficial if competitor products are therapeutically equivalent
(bioequivalent). One measure of quality control is a consistently made product, exa m-
ined in detail in this paper. A comprehensive study of drug samples in African and Asian
countries - assessed for variability by spectrometer - suggests that registered products
perform notably better than unregistered products.

***

Effectiveness of pharmacy interventions in improving availability of essen-

tial medicines at the primary healthcare level

by Michael Nunan and Trevor Duke

Tropical Medicine & International Health, Article first published online: 22
February 2011

12 pp. 126 kB:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-3156.2011.02748.x/pdf

Several of the studied interventions have the potential for improving medicines’ availabil-
ity without requiring large-scale international cooperation or global policy change. There
is a need for more systematic studies of multi-faceted pharmaceutical interventions to
improve drug availability in the context of difficult health systems, such as structured su-
pervision of remote health facilities, community-directed interventions, staff training, in-
tegration of disease-specific programmes, implementation of national pharmacy stan-
dards, non-monetary staff incentives and measures to ensure cost is not a barrier to ac-
cess.
***

Putting Contract Research Organisations on the Radar

An exploratory study on the outsourcing of clinical trials by pharmaceutical companies to

contract research organizations in non-traditional trial regions

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 15

by Mariëtte van Huijstee & Irene Schipper (editors)
Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations, February 2011

103 pp. 1.1 MB:

http://somo.nl/publications-en/Publication_3615/at_download/fullfile

It is a trend for pharmaceutical companies to contract third parties to conduct their clini-
cal trials in order to test their drugs. This trend is referred to as ‘outsourcing’, and the
companies that carry out the work are called ‘contract research organisations’ (CROs).
In addition, clinical trials are increasingly conducted in non-traditional trial regions, which
are mainly low- and middle-income countries. This trend is called ‘offshoring’. Experts,
authorities and clinical trial practitioners in the selected non-traditional trial regions ex-
pressed grave concerns about the implementation of clinical trials in these countries.

Social Protection

Extending social security to all: A guide through challenges and options

by Social Security Department, International Labour Organization, 2010

158 pp. 2.4 MB:

http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@dcomm/@pu
bl/documents/publication/wcms_146616.pdf

This publication outlines basic concepts such as the social protection floor and the so-
cial security staircase, analyses the affordability of various approaches, and examines
the results of practices around the world, especially in low- and middle-income coun-
tries.
***

Is universal coverage via social health insurance financially feasible in

Swaziland?

by Inke Mathauer, Laurent Musango, Sibusiso Sibandze et al.

South African Medical Journal, Vol. 101, No. 3 (March 2011)

5 pp. 322 kB:

http://www.samj.org.za/index.php/samj/article/view/4281/3127

The Government of Swaziland decided to explore the feasibility of social

health insurance (SHI) in order to enhance universal access to health services. The au-
thors assess the financial feasibility of a possible SHI scheme in Swaziland. They con-
clude that SHI would take up an increasing proportion of total health expenditure over a
simulation period and become the dominant health financing mechanism. In principle,
and on the basis of the assumed policy variables, universal coverage could be reached
within 6 years through the implementation of an SHI scheme based on a mix of contribu-
tory and tax financing.
***

Microfinance as a development and poverty reduction policy: is it every-

thing it’s cracked up to be?
by Milford Bateman
Overseas Development Institute Background Note, March 2011

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 16

 4 pp. 150 kB:
http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/download/5117.pdf

Microfinance is the provision of tiny loans to the poor to help them establish or expand
an income-generating activity, and thereby escape from poverty. For more than 30
years microfinance has been portrayed as a key policy and programme intervention for
poverty reduction and ‘bottom-up’ local economic and social development. But, is micro-
finance really having a positive impact? Even some long-standing supporters of microfi-
nance now accept that the evidence of its positive impact in the community is very
weak.
***

Health-financing reforms in southeast Asia: challenges in achieving uni-

versal coverage

by Viroj Tangcharoensathien, Walaiporn Patcharanarumol, Por Ir et al.

The Lancet, Vol. 377, Issue 9768, pp. 863-873, 5 March 2011

11 pp. 231 kB:

http://download.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140673610618909.pdf

The authors review health-financing reforms in seven countries in southeast Asia that
have sought to reduce dependence on out-of-pocket payments, increase pooled health
finance, and expand service use as steps towards universal coverage. They conclude
that social health insurance can make an important contribution to insurance coverage -
although general tax funding might be preferable in the long run. When the poor are
adequately protected by tax-funded schemes, and in cases in which fiscal capacity al-
lows, introducing partial subsidy for the informal sector can be an appropriate choice.

***

Social protection in Chile: Reforms to improve equity

by Carmelo Mesa-Lago
International Labour Review, Vol. 147 (2008), No. 4

26 pp. 199 kB:

http://www.ilo.org/public/english/revue/download/pdf/s4_mesa_lago.pdf

In the 1980s, Chile pioneered the implementation in Latin America of structural reforms
that fully or partially privatized pensions, health-care and social assistance systems. Im-
plemented without prior social dialogue, these reforms led to reduced social solidarity
and equity and intensified poverty and inequality. Over the past 18 years, however, de-
mocratic governments have corrected many design faults in the original reforms. The
author examines the progress achieved and areas of persistent social inequality in
terms of coverage, gender balance and funding, and identifies future challenges.

***

Natural Disasters: What is the Role for Social Safety Nets?

by Larissa Pelham, Edward Clay, Tim Braunholz

Social Protection and Labor – The World Bank, February 2011

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 17

 148 pp. 837 kB:
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/SOCIALPROTECTION/Resources/SP-
Discussion-papers/Safety-Nets-DP/1102.pdf

This paper makes the case for why safety nets are an important tool for managing the
risk of natural hazards. Learning from the responses to a number of recent natural dis-
asters, a typology of the different types of natural hazards which require different ap-
proaches to reduce their risk is introduced. The paper considers some “guidelines” for
improving the design and implementation of safety nets either to prevent and/or to re-
cover from natural disasters. Some conclusions and recommendations for more effe c-
tive safety net and suggestions for addressing key issues are outlined.

Water, Sanitation & Hygiene

Raising Clean Hands: Advancing Learning, Health and Participation

through WASH in Schools

by CARE, Dubai Cares, Emory University Center for Global Safe Water et
al. June, 2010

24 pp. 3.0 MB:

http://www.unicef.org/media/files/raisingcleanhands_2010.pdf

This document on school participation in the water, sanitation, and hygiene education in
schools - WASH in Schools - programme calls on decision-makers to increase invest-
ments and on concerned stakeholders to plan and act in cooperation - so that all chil-
dren go to a school with child-friendly water, sanitation, hygiene facilities and hygiene
education for lifelong health.
***

WASH-Friendly Schools: Training Guide for Parents, Teachers and Student

Leaders

USAID Hygiene Improvement Project (HIP), Academy for Educational

Development (AED), August 2010

57 pp. 918 kB:

http://www.hip.watsan.net/content/download/4719/27264/file/WAS
H-Friendly%20Schools%20Training%20Guide%202010.pdf

This training guide promotes the WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) in Schools
movement to create and maintain “WASH-Friendly Schools” that have safe and healthy
environments, including adequate facilities for hygiene and sanitation that allow children
to be healthier and more attentive. The guide is intended to help teachers, parents, and
students work together to carry out a plan for making their school WASH-friendly.

Health Systems & Research

Achieving a Shared Goal: Free Universal Health Care in Ghana

by Patrick Apoya, Anna Marriott, Samuel Adjei et al.

Oxfam International, March 2011

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 18

 68 pp. 2.1 MB:
http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/rr-achieving-
shared-goal-healthcare-ghana-090311-en.pdf

The current health system in Ghana is unfair and inefficient. It doesn’t

have to be. The government can and should move fast to implement free
health care for all citizens. The shared goal of free health care for all in
Ghana is within reach. Investing in the health of all citizens will lay the
foundations for a healthy economy into the future.

***

Social Media: A guide for researchers

by Alan Cann, Konstantia Dimitriou and Tristram Hooley

International Centre for Guidance Studies, University of Leicester, Febru-
ary 2011

48 pp. 941 kB:

http://www.rin.ac.uk/system/files/attachments/social_media_guide_for_screen.pdf

This guide will show you how social media offer researchers an opportunity to improve
the way they work. One of the most important things that researchers do is to find, use
and disseminate information, and social media offer a range of tools which can facilitate
these activities. The guide discusses the use of social media for research and academic
purposes, rather than the many other uses that they are put to across society.

Information & Communication Technology

Survey on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Education

in India and South Asia

by Tim Kelly
InfoDev, 2010

375 pp. 5.7 MB:

http://www.infodev.org/en/Document.892.pdf

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are increasingly being used to de-
liver on promises of universal education. Despite a growing number of ICT for education
(ICT4E) initiatives in South Asia, there was no up-to-date and comprehensive informa-
tion about the sector. To fill this gap, infoDev commissioned a survey of ICT4E in India
and South Asia. The result includes country-level studies, sub-national reports for five
Indian states, two detailed essays on distance education and teacher training in Pak i-
stan, and five thematic essays on cross-cutting issues.

***

The Development Gateway Foundation

Global Program Review, The World Bank, Volume 1 Issue 3; 2008

79 pp. 690 kB:

http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGLOREGPARPROG/Resources/DGF.pdf

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 19

The Development Gateway Foundation provides Web-based tools to make aid and de-
velopment efforts more effective. It provides governments and development professio n-
als with Internet solutions in two areas of high impact - improving aid effectiveness and
strengthening public sector governance by increasing transparency. Many of the les-
sons of the Gateway are shared with other knowledge initiatives that were started in the
World Bank at around the same time with the intention of being “spun off.”

Education

Fast-Tracking Girls’ Education

by Prema Clarke and Juliette Wilson

A Progress Report by the Education for All – Fast Track Initiative (EFA
FTI), February 2011

20 pp. 2.1 MB:

http://www.educationfasttrack.org/media/library/girls-report/1-
FastTrackEd-Girls-education-report-full.pdf

The report highlights the critical importance of girls’ education and details some of the
positive impacts of the EFA FTI program, as well as challenges to come. FTI countries
have seen rapid increases in the number of girls attending school, and the FTI model
has reduced the number of girls that need to repeat a grade. However, there are still 67
million children not in school - and over half of them are girls. Sustained donor and do-
mestic support for girls' education is critical to ensuring development goals are
achieved.

Harm Reduction and Drug Use

Effectiveness and Cost Effectiveness of Expanding Harm Reduction and

Antiretroviral Therapy in a Mixed HIV Epidemic: A Modeling Analysis for
Ukraine

by Sabina S. Alistar, Douglas K. Owens, Margaret L. Brandeau

PLoS Med 8(3): e1000423 (1 March 2011)

15 pp. 512 kB:

http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action;jsessionid=B977F6BADC0788D444A4
B484BE89E706.ambra01?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1000423&representation=PDF

Methadone substitution therapy is a highly cost-effective option for the growing mixed
HIV epidemic in Ukraine. A strategy that expands both methadone substitution therapy
and ART to high levels is the most effective intervention, and is very cost effective by
WHO criteria. When expanding ART, access to methadone substitution therapy pro-
vides additional benefit in infections averted. These findings are potentially relevant to
other settings with mixed HIV epidemics.

***

Tobacco control in Sub-Saharan Africa: Moving from Knowledge Discovery

(research) to Policy Delivery (practice)

by Lekan Ayo-Yusuf
Public Health Association of South Africa (PHASA), February 15, 2011

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 20

 5 pp. 97 kB:
http://46.17.2.81/~phasa/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Tobacco-control-in-Sub-
Saharan-Africa_article-2.pdf

Use of tobacco in the form of cigarettes and snuff is common in Africa. However, data
on tobacco use prevalence in several countries in the Sub-Saharan African region is
scarce. Because smoking rates in the African region, especially among women, are
considered to be relatively low compared to the more developed countries, the tobacco
industry has turned its attention to the African region as its future growth market.

***

Alcohol abstinence and drinking among African women: data from the
World Health Surveys

by Priscilla Martinez, Jo Roislien, Nirmala Naidoo and Thomas Clausen

BMC Public Health 2011, 11:160 (10 March 2011)

26 pp. 231 kB:

http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2458-11-160.pdf

Alcohol use is increasing among women in Africa, and comparable information about
women’s current alcohol use is needed to inform national and international health poli-
cies relevant to the entire population. This study aimed to provide a comparative d e-
scription of alcohol use among women across 20 African countries.

Millennium Development Goals

Evaluability Study of Partnership Initiatives Norwegian Support to Achieve

Millennium Development Goals 4 & 5

by Beth Plowman and Henry Lucas

Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), February
2011

150 pp. 1.1 MB:

http://www.norad.no/en/_attachment/237803/binary/166100?download=true

In September 2007, the Norwegian Government launched the Global Campaign for the
Health Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Global Campaign embodies a
multi-country commitment to find better ways of achieving value for money and ensuring
that the most vulnerable groups have access to essential services. Norway’s support fo-
cuses particularly on MDG 4 to reduce child mortality and MDG 5 to improve maternal
health and includes the Partnership Initiatives (PI) to support their achievement. The
Partnership Initiatives take the form of bilateral cooperation agreements with countries
with high child mortality rates including India, Pakistan, Malawi, Nigeria and Tanzania.

***

Gender Inequality and the MDGs: What are the Missing Dimensions?

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), September 2010

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 21

 8 pp. 135 kB:
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/11/56/45987065.pdf

Using the Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI), new research by the OECD De-
velopment Centre finds that looking at women’s control over resources, their level of de-
cision-making power in the family and household, and their degree of control over their
own physical security can shed light on the bottlenecks that hamper further progress
across all the MDG targets. This issues paper explores the relationship between dis-
criminatory social institutions and the MDG targets by looking specifically at three
MDGs, focusing on the missing dimensions of each.

Development Assistance

ABC of Development Policy

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), Switzerland, 2011

52 pp. 873 kB:

http://www.eda.admin.ch/etc/medialib/downloads/edazen/doc/publi/
abcs.Par.0021.File.tmp/ABC_Entwicklungspolitik_EN.pdf

As well as an introduction to the subject, this publication presents a glossary of key

terms relating to development cooperation. It is intended to illustrate the diversity of is-
sues associated with development policy. It also provides insight into the most important
concepts and themes relating to development cooperation.

***

Development and Health in Poor Countries: Role of International Organiza-

tions and of Switzerland

by Bastien Briand, Lorenza Eder-Colli, Anne Gut et al.

Centrale sanitaire suisse romande (CSSR), 2010

216 pp. 1.2 MB:

http://www.css-romande.ch/downloads/trips+/cssr_AdpicPlus_en.pdf

In 1994 the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights

(TRIPS) 1 was signed within the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and
forced its member States to re-examine their laws about granting patents and to rein-
force their control measures over the respect of intellectual property (IP) rights. Subs e-
quently applying the Agreement would have very negative effects on the possibilities for
poor countries to have access to the most recent essential medicines. This publication
aims at broadening the understanding of three fields which seem essential with respect
to the problem of a facilitated access to medicines.

***

Multilateral Aid Review: Ensuring maximum value for money for UK aid
through multilateral organisations

Department for International Development (DFID), March 2011

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 22

 232 pp. 4.0 MB:
https://s3-eu-west-
1.amazonaws.com/media.dfid.gov.uk/multilateral_aid_review_full_linked.pdf?id=26904

The aim of the review was to ensure that the UK gets maximum value for
money for UK aid through its contributions to multilateral organisations.
The review assessed the value for money for UK aid of 43 multilateral or-
ganisations. Each organisation was assessed against a set of criteria
ranging from control of costs through to delivery of outcomes, from focus
on poor countries to accountability and transparency.

***

From Aid to Development Effectiveness: A Working Paper

by Shannon Kindornay
The North-South Institute, January 2011

41 pp. 708 kB:

http://www.nsi-ins.ca/english/pdf/Kindornay.pdf

In November 2011, the international community will meet in South Korea for the 4th High
Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness. The aim of this paper is to inform and prompt de-
bates on development effectiveness in the lead up to the Forum. The author observes
that the concept of development effectiveness responds to many of the criticisms le v-
elled at development efforts historically, such as: narrow focus on aid, rigid and often in-
effective and irrelevant measurements of successes and failures, the need to address
systemic inequality at the international level and improve partner-country ownership of
development, and limited attention to and insufficient understanding of issues relating to
power and the root causes of poverty.
***

A Third Way for Official Development Assistance: Savings and Conditional

Cash Transfers to the Poor

by Henry Jackelen, Jamie Zimmerman, Jamie Holmes et al.

United Nations Development Programme, Private Sector Division and the
New America Foundation Global Assets Programme, March 2011

28 pp. 608 kB:

http://gap.newamerica.net/sites/newamerica.net/files/policydocs/AT
hirdWayForODA.pdf

The two primary methods of ODA delivery - transfers from donor governments to recipi-
ent governments, and from donor governments to international development agencies -
have complex modalities and frameworks which hamper transparency and accountabil-
ity. Meanwhile, cash transfers to the poor have been met with increasing success, and
have the benefit of being accompanied by evaluation data to measure their results.
Emergency cash transfer programmes, conditional cash transfers, and cash grants mark
an important departure from previous donor strategies that typically funnelled aid that
was tied through expansive bureaucracies.

***

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 23

What if development aid really rewarded results? Revisiting the Cash on
Delivery (COD) aid model

by Andrew Rogerson
OECD Development Brief #1 - 2011

6 pp. 449 kB:

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/35/32/47041528.pdf

“Results-based” funding discipline is in high political demand today, but the devil is in
the details. Tight earmarking of aid runs counter to local ownership of spending choices
and channels. Measurement, attribution and perverse incentive problems arise with
many target-driven schemes. The Cash on Delivery aid model, though not yet imple-
mented in its pure form, potentially offers a way to handle these tensions in a simple yet
effective design.
***
Getting Better in Pictures

by Charles Kenny
Center for Global Development, February 2011

33 pp. 792 kB:

http://www.cgdev.org/files/1424862_file_Getting_Better_in_Pictures_FINAL.pdf

Few doubt the conventional wisdom that the world is going to hell in a hand basket. De-
velopment contrarian Charles Kenny is out to prove the Cassandras wrong with his new
book “Getting Better: Why Global Development is Succeeding – And How We Can Im-
prove the World Even More”. Kenny argues that the 21st Century is the best of times in
terms of health, education, political freedoms and access to infrastructure and new
technologies, and that even the poorest have benefited. This essay provides a summary
of the book and pictures to accompany the discussion about it.

***
Spotlight on transparency

AusAID, Office of Development Effectiveness

(ODE) Brief, February 2011

4 pp. 137 kB:

http://www.ode.ausaid.gov.au/publications/pdf/briefs-transparency-feb11.pdf

This Brief outlines the commitments Australia has made to making aid more transparent.
AusAID is making more performance reporting publically available and supporting coun-
try partners to improve data collection. Overall, Australia performs well in international
rankings of donor transparency, although there is progress to be made.

***

Countering NGO corruption: Rethinking the conventional approaches

by Marijana Trivunovic
Anti- Corruption Resource Centre, February 2011

15 pp. 1.1 MB:

http://www.cmi.no/publications/file/3969-countering-ngo-corruption.pdf

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 24

Donor agencies are increasingly vigilant for signs of corruption or other abuses in the
projects and programmes they fund, no matter what aid modality is in question or who
the implementer or recipient of the funds may be. Mechanisms can be put into place to
prevent and detect corruption in development aid, including in funds disbursed to and
through NGO counterparts, and these measures are typically applied at the key stages
of the programme/project cycle. But how effective are these mechanisms?

***

Aid for a Purpose: Show Me the Goal, Then Show Me the Money

by Connie Veillette
Center for Global Development, March 2011

14 pp. 757 kB:

http://www.cgdev.org/files/1424877_file_Aid_for_a_Purpose_February_17_FINAL.pdf

The current process for writing annual budgets, as exercised by the State Department,
the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and Congress does a
poor job of linking aid resources to the purposes of the aid. This paper presents the
problems that beset the existing process for budgeting and resource allocation, and a r-
gue that the process is backwards. Instead of using baseline budgets and existing re-
sources to dictate objectives, policymakers should clearly define and articulate the pur-
poses of aid up front; then a process for matching resources to objectives can begin.

Others

Poverty line - The imperfect tool

by Poverties.org
Read online at: http://www.poverties.org/poverty-line.html

Poverty lines have been widely criticized for a long time already. They are easy to ma-
nipulate, make millions of poor disappear, and assume that in any given country the
population’s living conditions is homogenous across cities and rural areas. We all know
that is not the case. The consequence is that urban poverty is greatly underestimated,
since the cost of life in cities is much higher than at the countryside.

***

Planning National Radiotherapy Services: A Practical Tool

by E. Rosenblatt
Division of Human Health, International Atomic Energy Agency, 2010

100 pp. 1.6 MB:

http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1462_web.pdf

The current and future burden of cancer incidence in developing countries requires the
planning, establishment and upgrade of radiotherapy services at the national level. This
publication is a practical guide outlining the main issues at stake when planning national
radiotherapy services. It provides an assessment of the cancer burden, evaluates the
existing resources and determines what is needed and how to cover the gap in a re-
source-oriented rational way.
***

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 25

Surgery in Africa Monthly Review: Treatment of Neglected Clubfoot

http://www.ptolemy.ca/members/current/Clubfoot/index.html

by Francis Nyiiro, MD, CURE Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The Neglected clubfoot is one which there has never been initial treatment or perhaps
very inadequate and incomplete treatment. The deformity is made worse by weight
bearing on the lateral side or dorsum of the foot, exaggerating the abnormal shape and
causing further deformation. The contracted soft tissues on the medial side of the foot
are encouraged to contract further.
***

Road to Rio +20: For a development-led green economy

by Lucas Assunção, Eugenia E. Nuñez, Chris M. Simpson et al.

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD),
2011

100 pp. 9.5 MB:

http://www.unctad.org/trade_env/greeneconomy/RTR20/1150172%20Low%20RES.pdf

This is the first in a series of volumes focusing on issues pertinent to "green" economic
growth - a low-carbon, resource-efficient approach to development intended to raise liv-
ing standards in sustainable fashion while combating climate change and conserving
biodiversity. The intent is to give practical expression to the concept of sustainable de-
velopment adopted at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.

***

Haki zetu: Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Practice

by Gillian Nevins
The Special Programme on Africa of the Dutch section of Am-
nesty International, 2011

80 pp. 7.4 MB:

http://www.amnesty.nl/documenten/spa/Main%20Book%20part%20I%20version
%2015062010.pdf

This is a new series of handbooks, practical guides for local NGOs and CBOs working
with local communities to realise their economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights. It is a
main book with general information and a series of booklets on specific ESC rights like
 The Right to Adequate Housing
 The Right to Adequate Food
 The Right to Adequate Water and Sanitation
Other booklets are being developed on the right to health, the right to education, the
right to work and livelihoods, and possibly more. For further information see:
http://www.amnesty.nl/in_actie_vervolg/spa_downloads#artikel52914

***

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 26

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES
Index Mundi

http://www.indexmundi.com/

Index Mundi is a website that is devoted to being the most

up to date on world statistics, maps, and country profiles.
Navigation is fairly straight forward. Select from: Charts and Maps, Commodities Data,
Country Facts, What's New? Trade Statistics and Gazetteer. You can also choose what
language you browse the site in. Your options are English, Spanish, French, German,
Portuguese, Italian, and Dutch.
***

Global Health and Demographic Dataset

http://www.healthmetricsandevaluation.org/data

The Global Health Data Exchange (GHDx) is IHME’s (Institute for Health Metrics and
Evaluation) new catalogue of the world’s health and demographic datasets. Search or
browse the catalogue to find out what data exist. Where they have permission to share
the data, they provide them for download. If they know where the data are available,
they tell you where to go.
***

The Journal of Public Health in Africa (JPHiA) - Vol 2, No 1 (2011)

http://www.publichealthinafrica.org/index.php/jphia/issue/view/2/showToc

The Journal of Public Health in Africa (JPHiA) is a peer-reviewed, elec-

tronic quarterly journal that focuses on health issues in the African conti-
nent. The aim of the journal is to move public health discourse from the
background to the forefront. The success of Africa’s struggle against dis-
ease depends on public health approaches.

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making
research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

***

Bulletin of the World Health Organization (BLT)

Volume 89, Number 3, March 2011, 161-240

http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/89/3/11-000311/en/index.html

In this month’s Bulletin:

 Rising status of women, increased risk of smoking
 Looming dementia epidemic in Asia
 Antimicrobial resistance: what governments can do
 Health challenges after floods in Pakistan
 Coordinating HIV/AIDS programmes in China
 Shortage of mental health workers worldwide

***

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 27

INTERESTING WEB SITES
British Medical Journal West Africa (BMJWA)

http://www.bmjwestafrica.com/

BMJ West Africa edition has re-launched its revamped website making it
more user-friendly. In addition, access to all parts of the BMJWA website
will be totally free and open in the first year.

CONFERENCES
Staying alert for sexual health

The 26th IUSTI-Europe Congress and the 10th BADV Congress

8-10 September, 2011 Riga, Latvia

“Staying alert for sexual health” will be attended by doctors and scien-
tists from all over the world, and together with the leading speakers and the support of
the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies they will share the experience about the
novelties in the diagnostics and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, viruses and
skin diseases. For more information see: http://www.iusti-europe2011.org/

CARTOON

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 28

TIPS & TRICKS
A Quick Search Shortcut in Windows

Hold down the Windows key and press F, and up pops your search box!

***

Free eBooks by Project Gutenberg

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

Amazon recently announced that they were selling more EBooks than physical ones.
With thousands upon thousands of books available for purchase, buying books digitally
is easy. Few, however, realize the vast library of public domain books available at no
cost online. Project Gutenberg is the place where you can download over 33,000 free
ebooks to read on your PC, iPad, Kindle, Sony Reader, iPhone, Android or other port-
able device.
***

What does that Programme do?

You probably know that if you hover over a programme in your Toolbar or on your Des k-
top, it gives you the programme name. Some programmes like Google Chrome and MS
Word also give you a description.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have this for all your Pro-
grammes? If you have Windows XP, Vista, or Win-
dows 7, you can.

Right-click any desktop shortcut or toolbar item and

choose ‘Properties’. In the Properties dialog box, click
the ‘Shortcut’ tab. You will see a box marked ‘Com-
ment’ - go ahead and type your description there.

Best regards,

Dieter Neuvians MD

HESP-News & Notes - 06/2011 - page 29