EQUINET NEWSLETTER 23 NOVEMBER 2001
Newsletter of the Network for Equity in Health in Southern Africa
www.equinet.org.zw

1. EDITORIAL
WTO DECLARATION ON TRIPS AND HEALTH
The Fight Is Not Over
http://www.aids.org/healthgap/
Act-Up Paris, ACT UP Philadelphia, Health GAP Coalition, 13 Nov 2001

Under the leadership of the Africa Group, a bloc of more than 80 countries
representing a majority of WTO Member States forced concessions from rich
countries on the controversial issue of public health and drug company
patent rights, despite fierce pressure from the U.S., E.U., Japan and
Switzerland to divide the countries.

Such concessions include the statement "Each Member has the right to grant
compulsory licenses and the freedom to determine the grounds upon which such
licenses are granted." This statement permits a country to produce and
import generic versions of drugs patented in the country issuing the
license.

But the declaration that emerged on public health and TRIPS from three days
of negotiations was robbed of its full potential, activists say.

"Developing countries came to Doha to extract a clear declaration that
public health and access to medicines are more important than protecting the
commercial interests of pharmaceutical companies," said Asia Russell of
Health GAP Coalition. "At the end of the day, opposition from rich countries
crippled the legally binding language sought by the majority of WTO
countries."

This pressure also stripped the declaration of resolution on the key issue
of how poor countries that have no capacity for production of cheap generic
drugs will secure access to recent and future essential treatments. These
treatments, that are or will be patent protected in countries with
significant domestic generic industry like Brazil and India, could be
exported to the poorest countries. Due to opposition from rich countries,
the Doha meeting did not provide any guarantee that such actions are
permitted.

"Wealthy countries and drug companies refuse to compromise patent monopolies
in poor countries that have no domestic capacity. The declaration does
nothing to remedy this barrier. The majority of people with AIDS and other
treatable diseases live in these countries, so a solution is critical," said
Gaelle Krikorian of ACT UP Paris. "The Ministerial Declaration merely
acknowledges the problem of exporting drugs to poor countries rich countries
stood in the way of taking the actions that are desperately needed."

Developing countries were seeking protection from rich-country sanctions and
other pressures in response to domestic measures, such as compulsory
licensing, that break patent monopolies on AIDS medicines and other
essential drugs. "Countries levying formal or informal pressure on poor
countries that are taking strides to increase drug access should face
condemnation from WTO members, because such pressure violates the spirit and
terms of this agreement," said Sharonann Lynch of Health GAP Coalition.

"Doha did not end the battle over poor country access to drugs," Lynch
continued. "Against the pressure of rich countries and drug companies, the
fight must continue to complete the unfinished work of this Ministerial
millions of lives are at stake. We demand that the WTO clarify during the
first meeting of the TRIPS Council that nothing in the TRIPS Agreement
should stand in the way of countries exporting cheap drugs to poor
countries."

For information, contact:
Gaelle Krikorian, Act-Up Paris +33 609 177 055
Asia Russell or Sharonann Lynch, Health GAP Coalition +1 267 475 2645
Contact: [email protected]

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2. EQUITY AND HEALTH GENERAL
DOHA HEALTH DECLARATION MAY HELP SOUTH
http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/declaration.htm
The Doha draft declaration on TRIPS and Public Health, if it goes through
and is adopted (without being linked to the ministerial declaration for a
new round which now faces a cliff-hanger fate), could (and it is no more
than could) enable developing countries to take measures to protect public
health and ‘promote’ (not assure) access to medicines for all.

HIV/AIDS: TAC VS STATE
http://allafrica.com/stories/200111220258.html
The Treatment Action Campaign is seeking an order that nevirapine must be
made available to all state hospitals and clinics.

MALAWI: CHURCHES CONTINUE THEIR WAR AGAINST CONDOM USE
http://allafrica.com/stories/200111090610.html
There are no signs the disagreement between church leaders and the
government, which is aided by non-governmental organisations in the fight
against HIV/Aids, will be resolved in the near future regarding condom use.

NEW GLOBAL FUND SEEKS TO STRENGTHEN PARTNERSHIPS
The rich experience of NGOs and civil society organizations facing the
challenges wrought by AIDS, TB and malaria must be taken into account in any
new initiative to fight these diseases, according to participants in a
two-day meeting in Brussels organized to involve NGOs in the development of
the new Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and malaria.
Further details: http://www.equinet.org.zw/newsletter/newsletter.php?id=513
Contact: [email protected]

POWELL: 'ACTIVE AGENDA' FOR AFRICA
http://usinfo.state.gov/topical/global/hiv/01110801.htm
Speaking to members of Congress, corporate leaders and a wide array of
African Americans -- all with a special dedication to Africa's interests --
at a dinner hosted by Africare, Secretary of State Colin Powell said the
Bush administration is "pursuing an active agenda with the countries of
Africa," and despite its focus on the tragic events of September 11, "Now we
are even more determined to do so."

SOUTH AFRICA TO INCREASE SPENDING ON AIDS
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011030/hl/hiv_45.html
South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has announced significantly
increased spending on South Africa's twin scourges of HIV/AIDS and crime.

SOUTH AFRICA: HIV/AIDS GRANTS UNDERSPENT
http://allafrica.com/stories/200111140523.html
The United Democratic Movement (UDM) is very concerned about the report by
the Institute for Democracy in South Africa's budget information service
that states that provinces have spent only a fraction of the funds they were
allocated for HIV/Aids programmes - and half of the financial year has
passed already.

SOUTH AFRICA: HRC 'HAS NOTHING NEW TO ADD'
http://allafrica.com/stories/200111220259.html
The new chairperson of the South African Human Rights Commission (HRC),
Shirley Mabusela, kept her head down on the government's HIV/Aids stance
this week and stood by the HRC's decision to stay out of next week's court
challenge to official policy on anti-retroviral drugs, writes Bongani
Majola.

SOUTH AFRICA: MBEKI REACTS TO 'FICTITIOUS' REPORT
http://allafrica.com/stories/200111090115.html
President Thabo Mbeki allowed for "an exception" this week by giving his
aides a go-ahead to "correct" certain "tendentious" reports that claim he is
downplaying the extent of HIV/AIDS, and that he is subsequently ruthless to
those that dare to criticise his views.

SOUTH AFRICA: ORPHAN CRISIS LOOMS
http://allafrica.com/stories/200111140015.html
While parliament has been told that South Africa will have an estimated two
million Aids orphans by 2010, welfare institutions will have a tough time
finding them.

SOUTH AFRICA: TREATMENT ACTION CAMPAIGN RESPONDS TO GOVERNMENT COURT PAPERS
South African AIDS activist group, the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), has
accused the government of trying to "undermine established science and
scientific institutions". TAC was responding to the government serving court
papers on the group, opposing TAC's legal application which demanded the
provision of Nevirapene to all pregnant women with HIV/AIDS.
Further details: http://www.equinet.org.zw/newsletter/newsletter.php?id=480

THE ACCEPTABILITY OF A VAGINAL MICROBICIDE AMONG SOUTH AFRICAN MEN
http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/2716401.html
Gita Ramjee, Eleanor Gouws, Amy Andrews, Landon Myer and Amy E. Weber
With the explosive nature of the South African AIDS epidemic, there is an
urgent need for HIV prevention methods controlled by women. Because several
microbicide trials are going on in South Africa and elsewhere, there also is
an urgent need to determine South African men's perceptions of and
preferences for a potential vaginal microbicide.

UGANDA: 'HIV/AIDS IN PREGNANT WOMEN DOWN BY HALF'
http://allafrica.com/stories/200110300413.html
Uganda now boasts of a 50 percent decline in HIV/AIDS prevalence among women
attending antenatal clinics, the Commissioner Health Services (Community
Health) at the ministry of Health has said.

VATICAN 'BLASTS' U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY FIELD GUIDE
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_repro_recent_reports.cfm?...
at=2&show=yes&dr_DateTime=09-Nov-01#7949
The Vatican sent a document to bishops conferences around the world
yesterday "blasting" a field guide published by the U.N. High Commissioner
for Refugees for promoting "proposals regarding the limitations of births,
an idea of irresponsible sexual relations and even abortion," Reuters
reports.

ZAMBIA: WHO GIVES COUNSELLING COUNCIL US$45,000
http://allafrica.com/stories/200111130449.html
THE World Health Organisation (WHO) has given Zambia Counselling Council US$
45,000 to host the first International Training of Trainers workshop for
HIV/AIDS in the southern region.

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3. RESOURCE ALLOCATION
HEALTH POVERTY INDEX - SCOPING PROJECT
A survey of the health inequalities field revealed that although there has
been considerable work developing indicators of health inequalities, there
seems to have been few examples of areas or countries attempting to combine
these indicators into an index of health inequalities. From the debate
around the main indices of multiple deprivation used in the UK, it was
possible to draw out a number of issues that would be significant for the
development of an HPI given the kind of Index the user community seemed to
be requesting. These were to do with the geographic level of measurement,
rules for choosing indicators, using a domain structure, constructing
indicators, weighting and composite vs single indicators.
Further details: http://www.equinet.org.zw/newsletter/newsletter.php?id=471

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4. PUBLIC-PRIVATE SUBSIDIES
EQUITY AND HEALTH SECTOR REFORMS:
Can Low-income Countries Escape The Medical Poverty Trap?
http://www.healthp.org/article.php?sid=64&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
Lancet 2001; 358: 833-36
Department of Public Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK (Prof M
Whitehead PhD); Swedish National Institute of Public Health, Stockholm,
Sweden (Prof Göran Dahlgren MA); and Health Equity Division, The Rockefeller
Foundation, New York, NY, USA (Timothy Evans MD).
In the past two decades, powerful international trends in market-oriented
health-sector reforms have been sweeping around the world, generally
spreading from the northern to the southern, and from the western to the
eastern hemispheres. Global blueprints have been advocated by agencies such
as the World Bank to promote privatisation of health-service providers, and
to increase private financing--via user fees--of public providers.
Furthermore, commercial interests are increasingly promoted by the World
Trade Organisation, which has striven to open up public services to foreign
investors and markets. This policy could pave the way for public funding of
private operators in health and education sectors, especially in wealthy,
industrial countries in the northern hemisphere. Although such attempts to
undermine public services pose an obvious threat to equity in the well
established social-welfare systems of Europe and Canada, other developments
pose more immediate threats to the fragile systems in middle-income and
low-income countries. Two of these trends--the introduction of user fees for
public services, and the growth of out-of-pocket expenses for private
services--can, if combined, constitute a major poverty trap.

PRIVATE HEALTH CARE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/323/7311/463
BMJ Editorial, September 2001
Private healthcare provision is growing in low and middle income countries.
The poor, as well as the rich, often seek health care from private
providers, including for conditions of public health importance such as
malaria, tuberculosis, and sexually transmitted infections. The reasons
cited by users include better and more flexible access, shorter waiting,
greater confidentiality, and greater sensitivity to user needs.
International policymakers are currently recommending greater use of private
providers on the grounds that they offer consumers greater choice; increase
competition in the healthcare market; and remove state responsibility for
service provision, thereby encouraging its role as regulator and guarantor.
We should, however, be concerned.

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5. HOUSEHOLD POVERTY
FOR SOUTH AFRICA'S POOR, A NEW POWER STRUGGLE
Seven years after voters of all races went to the polls for the first time,
ending 46 years of apartheid and white rule, churches, labor unions,
community activists and the poor in all-black townships are dusting off the
protest machinery that was the engine of their liberation struggle. What
most provokes South Africans' defiance today are what they see as injustices
unleashed on this developing nation by the free-market economic policies of
the popularly elected, black-led governing party, the African National
Congress.
Further details: http://www.equinet.org.zw/newsletter/newsletter.php?id=470

HEALTH, INEQUALITY, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Angus Deaton, Prepared for the WHO Commission on Macroeconomics and Health.
This paper explores the connection between income inequality and health in
both poor and rich countries, discuss a range of mechanisms, including
nonlinear income effects, credit restrictions, nutritional traps, public
goods provision, and relative deprivation, reviews the evidence on the
effects of income inequality on the rate of decline of mortality over time,
on geographical pattens of mortality, and on individual-level mortality.
Much of the literature needs to be treated skeptically, if only because of
the low quality of much of the data on income inequality. Although there are
many puzzles that remain, the paper concludes that there is no direct link
from income inequality to ill-health; individuals are no more likely to die
if they live in more unequal places. But that income inequality itself is
not a health risk does not deny the importance for health of other
inequalities, nor of the social environment. Whether income redistribution
can improve population health does not depend on a direct effect of income
inequality and remains an open question.

Further details: http://www.equinet.org.zw/newsletter/newsletter.php?id=489

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6. WTO, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL POLICY
DOHA DRAFT UNBALANCED
http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/biased.htm
The Ministerial Draft Declaration from Doha is a highly biased and
imbalanced text, and many key sections should be rejected say the Third
World Network.

EIGHT BROKEN PROMISES:
Why The WTO Isn’t Working For The World’s Poor
http://www.oxfam.org/what_does/advocacy/papers/8broken.rtf
Oxfam Briefing Paper, November 2001.
This paper identifies eight broken promises made by rich countries. Each one
has cost developing countries the opportunity to gain a fairer share of
global wealth. Each one has denied people in developing countries the chance
to escape poverty. If rich countries honoured their promises to developing
countries to deliver improved market access and fairer treatment at the
World Trade Organisation (WTO), globalisation would be producing real
benefits for poverty reduction. Unfortunately, Northern governments have
failed to act on their commitments. They are maintaining trade policies that
skew the benefits of world trade away from poor countries and towards the
rich, reinforcing already obscene levels of global inequality in the
process.

STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT AND HEALTH:
A Literature Review Of The Debate, Its Role-players And Presented Empirical
Evidence
http://www.cmhealth.org/docs/wg6_paper6.pdf
Anna Breman, Carolyn Shelton, WHO Commission on Macroeconomics and Health.
Do structural adjustment programs cause poor health outcomes? Are structural
adjustment programs responsible for improved health indicators? Does reduced
spending in the health sector have a direct impact on infant mortality?
These and other questions surrounding the relationship between health and
structural adjustment programs have been highly debated for over ten years.
This paper will identify the major players in the debate, their arguments
and track changes in the debate over time.

TRADING IN ILLUSIONS
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/issue_marapr_2001/rodrick.html
Advocates of global economic integration hold out utopian visions of the
prosperity that developing countries will reap if they open their borders to
commerce and capital. This hollow promise diverts poor nations' attention
and resources from the key domestic innovations needed to spur economic
growth.

WHO WILL INHERIT THE EARTH?
http://www.healthmatters.org.uk/stories/rowson2.html
International agreement on intellectual property rights has been foisted on
poorer countries in the interests of corporate profit, and will seriously
harm public health, say Mike Rowson and Meri Koivusalo.

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7. HUMAN RESOURCES
AFRICA: THE IMPACT OF HIV/AIDS ON THE FAMILY AND COMMUNITY
A recent report supports evidence that in Africa, the HIV/AIDS pandemic is
concentrated in the most economically productive segment of the population.
The report, released by researchers in KwaZulu Natal province, has found
that the death of an individual with HIV/AIDS has far-reaching and complex
implications for the family and community.
Further details: http://www.equinet.org.zw/newsletter/newsletter.php?id=482

FROM NATURAL RESOURCES TO THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY
Trade And Job Quality
http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/External/lac/lac.nsf/Publications/55671FFAB...
88485256AE10079A58A?OpenDocument
This year's flagship report for the Latin American and Caribbean Region,
From Natural Resources to the Knowledge Economy Trade and Job Quality,
addresses three concerns about the structure of trade in Latin American and
Caribbean economies. The first is whether natural wealth and exports of
natural resource-intensive commodities hampers economic development. The
second concern is that natural resources create a concentrated export
structure which exacerbates economic volatility and thus reduces growth. The
third concern is that international trade might eliminate jobs. The
wide-ranging report cites the experience of Australia, Canada, Finland,
Sweden, and the United States, as well as some Latin American countries, to
show how successful economies have been built on the basis of primary
commodity exports.

SOUTH AFRICA: NAPWA HITS OUT AT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
Discrimination by financial institutions in South Africa continues to
disadvantage People living with AIDS, the director of the national
association of PWAs told PlusNews on Friday.
Further details: http://www.equinet.org.zw/newsletter/newsletter.php?id=481

TRADE UNIONS IN WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH PROMOTION
A Focus On Cooperation Between Workers And Academics In Promoting Health
http://www.healthp.org/article.php?sid=84&mode=thread&order=0
Mauri Johansson, MD, Denmark
Since the middle of the nineteenth century, workers have organized in unions
and parties to strengthen their efforts toward improvement of health and
safety at work, job conditions, working hours, wages, job contracts, and
safety. During history alliances have, from time to time, been established
between workers, their unions and academically trained persons, working in
solidarity with the workers and on their premises.

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8. HUMAN RIGHTS AND HEALTH
HEALTH AND HUMAN RIGHTS
http://www.comminit.com/Materials/sld-3202.html
Edited by Jonathan M. Mann, Sofia Gruskin, and Michael A. Grodin
An introduction to the synergy of health and human rights in several areas
of the world. Publisher: Routledge.

THE INTERNATIONAL MEN'S HEALTH MOVEMENT
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/323/7320/1014
There are now signs that men's health work has reached a sufficient level of
maturity in enough countries to create a new interest in developing
international links. The most important event in this process, the First
World Congress on Men's Health, takes place in Vienna this month. This aims
to increase awareness of men's health among the medical community, to
facilitate networking, and to address current men's health issues (including
erectile dysfunction, depression, and cardiovascular disease). The
International Society for Men's Health will be established at the world
congress, an organisation that is expected to have an advocacy as well as a
networking role. The European Men's Health Initiative will also be launched
at the Congress. This seeks to encourage the development of men's health
policy and practice at a Europe wide level as well as within individual
countries. The first step will be the establishment of a European Men's
Health Forum. International research and debate will be further encouraged
by the publication from this month of the US based International Journal of
Men's Health.

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9. RESEARCH AND POLICY
ETHICAL ISSUES IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH ON INTERNET COMMUNITIES
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/323/7321/1103
Eysenbach G, Till JE, British Medical Journal BMJ - November 10, 2001; 323:
1103-1105
The internet is the most comprehensive electronic archive of written
material representing our world and peoples' opinions, concerns, and
desires. Physicians who surf the internet for the first time are often
stunned by what they learn on websites set up by lay people or patient self
support communities. Material on these venues can be a rich source for
researchers interested in understanding the experiences and views of people
and patients. Qualitative analysis of material published and communicated on
the internet can serve to systematise and codify needs, values, concerns,
and preferences of consumers and professionals relevant to health and health
care. While the internet makes people's interactions uniquely accessible for
researchers and erases boundaries of time and distance, such research raises
new issues in research ethics, particularly concerning informed consent and
privacy of research subjects, as the borders between public and private
spaces are sometimes blurred.

INFORMING JUDGMENT:
Case Studies Of Health Policy And Research In Six Countries
http://www.milbank.org/2001cochrane/010903cochrane.html
Milbank Memorial Fund, The Cochrane Collaboration, September 2001
The authors of the case studies in this report describe and assess
collaborative efforts using evidence from research to guide policymaking for
health care. Each case study is itself collaborative. Researchers and
public-sector policymakers are co-authors of three cases (Australia, British
Columbia, Norway); executives of pharmaceutical firms joined in writing two
cases (South Africa, United Kingdom); one case is the work of a policymaker
and researchers at a large nonprofit health care organization in the United
States (Kaiser Permanente). The proper purpose of collaboration between
researchers and policymakers is to use evidence from research to inform
judgments for which policymakers are accountable. ....Each of these cases is
a story about three types of politics in a particular country. First, each
case is about the politics of research; that is, the judgments of and
relationships among the health care scientists who plan, conduct, assess,
synthesize, and communicate findings based on evidence. Second, each is
about the politics of health policy: who does what to, for, and with whom in
particular jurisdictions in order to decide what clinical interventions will
be considered appropriate and, hence, paid for. Finally, each is about the
politics of collaboration between researchers and policymakers: how the
evidence and findings produced by the former informs the judgments of the
latter.

MONITORING FINANCIAL FLOWS FOR HEALTH RESEARCH
Global Forum for Health Research, October 2001.
In its widely quoted report, the Commission on Health Research for
Development drew attention to the importance of health research as the
essential link to equity in development. It proposed that developing
countries should review and strengthen the management of health research so
as to meet their national needs as well as contribute to the global fund of
knowledge. The Commission also recommended that governments in developing
countries should allocate at least 2% of the national health budget for
research and that 5% of the budget for large externally funded programmes
should be assigned to research and capacity strengthening.
Further details: http://www.equinet.org.zw/newsletter/newsletter.php?id=488

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10. POPULAR PARTICIPATION / GOVERNANCE AND HEALTH
PRSPS AND HEALTH
http://www.iphn.org/bulletin6.htm
IPHN's 6th e-bulletin looked at issues relating to PRSPS and health,
particularly highlighting issues around popular participation in these
processes.

SWIMMING AGAINST THE TIDE:
STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING EQUITY IN HEALTH
by Nancy Birdsall, Robert Hecht Human Capital Development Operations,
Working Papers - World Bank
Achieving lasting reforms requires a combination of political
enfranchisement, skillful coalition-building and negotiations, and
enlightened leadership. The generation and dissemination of information for
example, on differences in health status, service utilization, total health
spending and government expenditures among different income groups in a
given country can be a crucial element in achieving reforms that improve
equity. Policy-relevant information becomes an especially powerful force for
change in societies with democratic political institutions, a
broadly-educated population, and a diverse and critical press. Under these
circumstances, the analysis of health spending levels and patterns across
geographical and income groupings can be a potent tool in the hands of
reformers, and can be used to counteract the efforts of others (e.g.,
politicians in power, elite civil servants, professional associations) to
obtain a disproportionate share of public resources for health.
Further details: http://www.equinet.org.zw/newsletter/newsletter.php?id=472

WHO LAUNCHES CIVIL SOCIETY INITIATIVE
The World Health Organisation has launched a major new 'Civil Society
Initiative' which recognises the importance of engaging with civil society
organisations and is a response to pressure from CSOs, in particular, the
initiatives launched at the People's Health Assembly, reports IPHN Bulletin.
At the Global Forum for Health Promotion Dialogue in Paris on 16th July
2001, Eva Wallstam, the Director of the new initiative said, "... The
Peoples' Health Charter agreed on at the Peoples' Health Assembly in Dhaka
in December last year is a living example of the advocacy role of civil
society.... For WHO this means reaching out, beyond the formal health sector
to other partners and to a wide range of civil society actors such as many
of you present here today. The concept and practice of collaboration with
civil society organizations, CSOs, is not new for WHO. However, due to the
growing influence of non-state actors in public life and public health, the
need for WHO to improve and strengthen these partnerships has now become
even more apparent."
Further details: http://www.equinet.org.zw/newsletter/newsletter.php?id=465

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11. SADC NEWS
HOPE FOR SADC STATES YET, SAYS SIPHO PITYANA
http://allafrica.com/stories/200111070171.html
There is hope for the development of Southern African Development Community
(SADC) countries, even though more work is needed to attain the 6% growth
rate required in terms of the United Nations's new agenda for development.

SIGNIFICANT STEPS TOWARDS FREE MOVEMENT OF LABOUR
http://allafrica.com/stories/200111080466.html
The government sees the free movement of people and workers among the 14
member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as a
medium-term goal, top government representative Joel Netshitenzhe confirmed
this week.

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12. LETTERS AND COMMENTS
GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK ON THIS NEWSLETTER!
Send in information and articles on the work of your organisation, and on
equity and health issues in Southern Africa.
Contact: [email protected]

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13. USEFUL RESOURCES
CONVEYING CONCERNS:
Media Coverage Of Women And HIV/AIDS
http://www.comminit.com/Materials/sld-3281.html
The fifth in a series compiled through The Women's Edition project, this
32-page booklet contains a collection of articles and transcripts of
broadcasts produced by women journalists in 7 countries. The stories
emphasize that economic dependence on men and different standards of
behavior for men and women play a role in increasing women's vulnerability
to the epidemic.

GETTING STARTED: SELECTED ELECTRONIC RESOURCES ON HIV/AIDS
http://www.aplici.org/publications/PDF/focuson4.pdf
This 4-page guide provides numerous electronic resources related to
HIV/AIDS. Categories include glossaries that aid with terminology, links to
different databases with surveillance information, fact sheets on prevention
and transmission, laws and legislation, various software programs related to
AIDS, as well as links to numerous AIDS conferences taking place throughout
the world.

HEALTHY DOCUMENTS
The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action [WABA] produced, in July 2001, a
book entitled Healthy Documents containing a compehensive compilation of
important documents and statements relating to people's health globally. It
includes both historic documents and very contemporary ones. The book is
divided into a number of sections e.g. medical ethics, health rights, public
health etc. and also contains two case studies on how such declarations and
statements have been used in practice to promote breastfeeding.
Further details: http://www.equinet.org.zw/newsletter/newsletter.php?id=466
Contact: [email protected]

THE INTERNATIONAL AIDS ECONOMICS NETWORK
http://www.iaen.org/
The International AIDS Economics Network (IAEN) provides data, tools and
analysis on the economics of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in
developing countries, for compassionate, cost-effective responses to the
global epidemic.

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14. JOBS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
EQUITY-ORIENTED RESEARCH: LEADERSHIP CHALLENGES IN THE 21TH CENTURY
The International Clinical Epidemiology Network Global Meeting XVIII
10th - 13th of February 2002 in Egypt.
Abstracts in the areas of clinical epidemiology, field epidemiology, health
economics, health social science, biostatistics, health systems and policy
research, environmental and occupational health, and related disciplines and
research areas are welcome. Priority will be given to abstracts emphasizing
equity issues in health research e.g., welfare of the poor and marginalized,
social benefit from research, measurement of inequity, impact of policy
change on equity, etc.
Further details: http://www.equinet.org.zw/newsletter/newsletter.php?id=469
Contact: [email protected]

INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR EQUITY IN HEALTH
Second International Conference
http://www.iseqh.org/conf2002/toronto2002.htm
June 14-16, 2002, Toronto, Canada
The Conference theme is Equity: Research in the Service of Policy and
Advocacy for Health and Health Services. The International Society for
Equity in Health (ISEqH) welcomes those interested in equity in health and
health services to share expertise and experience through an international
cross-disciplinary forum. ISEqH wishes to promote equity in health and
health services internationally through research, education, publication,
and communication. Our specific purposes are to facilitate scientific
interchange of conceptual and methodological knowledge on issues related to
equity in health and health services; to advance research related to equity
in health; to provide a forum for those interested in contributing knowledge
to further the cause of equity in health; and to maintain relationships with
other international and regional organizations devoted to achieving equity
in health. Support may be available for attendees from developing countries,
from eastern or central Europe, or the former Soviet Union, as a result of
grants received from the Rockefeller and Soros Foundations. Deadline for
funding requests: January 4, 2002. Deadline for submission of abstracts:
January 4, 2002.

SOUTHERN AFRICAN REGIONAL TRAINING ON CHILD BUDGET ANALYSIS
Jan 28 -Feb 1 2002 - Cape Town, South Africa
http://www.comminit.com/events_cal/2002/549-event.html
Targeted to researchers conducting child budget analysis and those just
beginning to learn the skills. Participants will be gathered from
non-governmental organisations and government agencies aimed at child
poverty alleviation and/ or children’s rights. Conducted by The Children’s
Budget Project at Idasa and Save the Children Sweden. Contact: Shaamela
Cassiem.
Contact: [email protected]

WORKSHOP ON MOLECULAR BIOLOGY & IMMUNOLOGY OF MALARIA
Maputo, Mozambique, January 2002
http://www.comminit.com/events_cal/2002/539-event.html
For African scientists employed by African health research/teaching
institutions, who are interested in participating in future malaria vaccine
trials in Africa. Contact: Professor W. L. Kilama.
Contact: [email protected]

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The Network on Equity in Health in Southern Africa (EQUINET) is a network of
research, civil society and health sector organisations seeking to influence
policy on health in southern Africa. EQUINET aims to build alliances leading
to positive policies on health both at local and regional levels. We do this
by disseminating information and stimulating an informed debate on equity in
health in Southern Africa. Further details about EQUINET are available at
http://www.equinet.org.zw/
Equinet-l is an electronic newsletter of the Network for Equity in Health in
Southern Africa (EQUINET) produced by fahamu - learning for change
(http://www.fahamu.org/).
The views expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily represent those of
Equinet or fahamu.
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