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Alliance News Digest

Week of 19 April 2010

News related to/from the Global Health Workforce Alliance

AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST

• Some District Assemblies in Upper East abandon CHPS Projects – Ghana News Agency. (2/14)
  Identify challenges confronting the health sector in the Region
• Kaduna Govt Threatens to Sack Health Workers – Leadership, Nigeria. (2/14)
  The government's reaction is coming ahead of the strike that may start today in all the hospitals and other health centers across the state
• Addressing Ghana's high maternal mortality rate – MyJoy Online, Ghana. (2/1
  The inadequacies in skilled attendance at birth are further evidenced by the high neo-natal mortality of 45 deaths per 1000 live bit1hs
• Luzira ARV plant to supply region – New Vision, Uganda. (2/15)
  ECSA region is still faced with a shortage of personnel in the health sector because they often go abroad for better remuneration
• Four babies die in PCMH hospital during power shortage – Awoko, Sierra Leone. (2/15)
  "Health workers complain of working under difficult circumstances with little support"
• Health workers struggle as Bhisho fails to pay up – Weekend Post, SA. (2/16)
  MORE than 1000 Eastern Cape community health workers have been fighting for their wages
• Unions voice concerns about Zuma speech – Independent Online, SA. (2/12)
  Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa said it was disturbed that Zuma had not mentioned improvement of salaries for health workers.
• Brain drain hits Zimbabwe's biggest university – Africasia. (2/16)
  Because of the shortage of lecturers, the unversity did not enrol new students this year
• MOH/LPMM Launch Mama-Baby Kit – The Inquirer, Liberia. (2/12)
  Most of the challenges faced in health facilities are the shortage of safe attendants; caretakers..

ASIA AND PACIFIC

• Missing doctors – Frontline, India. (2/13)
  A task force set up by the Centre recommends a short-term course to train primary health care providers for rural areas
• Hospital warned about hiring aliens– Jakarta Post. (2/18)
  Hospital recruited medical workers and advertised them without completing paperwork
• Privatisation of Health , Good or Bad ? – Gerson Lehrman Group-Asia. (2/14)
  Privatisation of healthcare in India should be encouraged as it would increase the overall standard of healthcare in the country
• Christian leaders around world protest arrests – The Inquirer, Philippines. (2/14)
  Christian leaders around the world have condemned the arrest of 43 health workers
• Filipino caregivers deserve better (Letter) – Japan Times. (2/11)
  The Economic Partnership Agreement that Japan has with some countries, especially the Philippines, has placed many Filipino nurses and caregivers working in Japan in a bad situation
• WA chips in to train more doctors and nurses – ABC News, Australia. (2/12)
  The bulk of the money will go towards improving training for doctors and nurses
• Disability worker shortage to worsen – Sydney Morning Herald. (2/15)
  NSW is facing a vast shortfall of workers in disability services and community care facilities
• Union hears of health system – Fiji Times. (2/15)
  There is always shortage of health professionals with the migration and resignations of doctors and nurses.
• Over 190 dispensers for rural hospitals – Daily News, Sri Lanka. (2/10)
  The Ministry will give priority to rural hospitals and State health institutions located in difficult rural areas
• More Maori midwives wanted – Radio New Zealand. (2/9)
  Getting more Maori midwives is seen as a priority for a new push to encourage Maori into health careers.

NORTH AMERICA

• Group advocates incentives to lure health care workers – Anchorage Daily News. (2/15)
  SHORTAGE: Problem is especially acute in Alaska's rural areas, planner says.
• mHI: mHealth “revolution” is unstoppable – MobiHealth News. (2/3)
  It might take 15 or 20 years but the mHealth revolution will happen
• What the doctor orders – Daily Kos. (2/14)
  Demographic trends in the health workforce will mirror many of the trends in the overall population
• HHS Announces $1 Billion To Advance Health IT – The Gov. Monitor. (2/15)
  Grant Awards to Help Make Health IT Available to Over 100,000 Health Providers by 2014, Support Tens of Thousands of Jobs Nationwide.
• US Department of Labor announces more than $225 million in health care and high growth grants – PR Newswire. (2/12)
  47,000 people will take part in training and education
• Healthcare Jobs: How to Find Hidden Jobs In Health Care – Greater Tulsa Reporter. (2/16)
  Healthcare jobs are in demand in this tough economy as well as in a booming economy.
• SkyRidge CEO says hospital ‘doing well’ – Cleveland Daily Banner. (2/11)
  There has been a large decline in the number of young people entering careers in medicine.
• Recovering from Disaster — Partners in Health and the Haitian Earthquake – NEJM. (2/16)
  The earthquake killed many of Haiti's doctors and nurses and destroyed a large part of the country's medical infrastructure
• Zambia health care boosted by pedal power – Kelowna Capital News, Canada. (2/11)
  Health can only be improved in Zambia if the skills and capacities of local Zambian nurses, physicians and health workers are strengthened in a sustainable way
• Worker shortages in the Maritimes: Can it be? – The Chronicle-Herald, Canada. (2/14)
  Health workers are harder and harder to come by and the need is greater and greater for an aging population

EUROPE

• [FOCUS] Medical staff exodus takes toll on new member states – EUobserver.com. (2/15)
  The solution is to pay them better in their home countries and they will not leave
• Patient first, consumer first – The Malta Independent. (2/15)
  EU states are responsible for the management, delivery and resourcing of their health care systems.
• Research and Markets: OECD Indicators - Health at a Glance – The Earth Times (2/12)
  Health at a Glance provides the latest comparable data on different aspects of the performance of health systems in OECD countries
• Suspension lifted on retirement scheme for health workers – Irish Times. (2/16)
  THE GOVERNMENT has lifted the suspension on the operation of its incentivised early retirement scheme in the health service
• Tories plan 'workers' co-operatives' for public sector – The Telegraph, UK. (2/16)
  The Conservatives promised to let “employee partnership models” within the NHS to give health workers more say in how services are run.
• Healthcare recruitment "harms poorest nations" – Swissinfo.ch. (2/8)
  The high proportion of foreign healthcare workers in Switzerland could have catastrophic consequences for developing countries
• Time to turn the world upside down – British Medical Journal, UK. (2/16)
  Are rich countries’ aid programmes part of the problem, not the solution for improving health in the developing world? Richard Smith reviews a sceptical book by Nigel Crisp
• En España nos faltan 140.000 enfermeros para igualarnos con Europa – 20 Minutos, Spain. (2/16)
  En 2020 harán falta 180.000 enfermeros más, pero con el ritmo actual de licenciados sólo se formarán unos 90.000, la mitad.
• Una asociación profesional reclama refuerzos urgentes para el hospital – Voz de Galicia, Spain. (2/14)
  La Confederación de Sindicatos Médicos dice que los problemas actuales empujan a los facultativos a partir

LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN

• Plantean enseñar el creole en los hospitales de la frontera con Haití – Nuevo Diario, DR. (2/7)
  Terremoto ha puesto en evidencia las debilidades del Sistema Nacional de Salud en materia de RRHH
• Auxiliar de enfermería, opción – La Prensa, Honduras. (2/8)
  Las profesionales de enfermería también pueden brindar sus servicios en escuelas, empresas
• Por falta de transporte para llegar al centro de salud, una mujer de 28 años dio a luz en un potrero – El Tiempo, Colombia. (2/15)
  La enfermera tiene que asistir a varias mujeres de la zona ante la falta de un puesto de salud.
• Falta de personal y equipos originan caótica situación del centro de salud de Pichari. Info Región, Peru. (2/14)
  Atenciones han sido restringidas por falta de personal sanitario en el distrito.
• La crisis agobia al hospital de los Chorros – El País, Colombia. (2/15)
  La falta de recursos económicos y médicos, el embargo parcial de sus ingresos, la deficiente gestión administrativa tienen amenazada la ‘salud’ del hospital Mario Correa Rengifo
• En los Valles Altos de Carabobo los servicios funcionan a media - El Carabobeño, Venezuela. (2/13)
  Carencia de médicos, insuficiencia de personal de enfermería y de insumos, servicios obsoletos funcionando a media máquina, por nombrar algunos de los problemas
• Déficit de médicos y enfermeras desmejora atención en centros de salud del litoral – Entorno Inteligente, Venezuela. (2/12)
  El principal problema del sector hospitalario en Venezuela, es el déficit de médicos
• Sedes levanta clausura en Univalle – Los Tiempos, Bolivia. (2/12)
  Apenas existían 10 especialistas en terapia intensiva para 22 centros hospitalarios

NEWS FROM WHO AND PARTNERS

• Lack of resources could undermine gains made in the HIV response in Pakistan – UNAIDS. (2/5)
  Financial and human resources are urgently needed to scale-up the provision of HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services
• ICN Calls for applications to attend the 2010 Global Nursing Leadership Institute – International Council of Nurses (2/8)
  The GNLI is aimed at nurses in senior or executive level positions in developed and developing countries
• Nurses Light a Lamp in Jam City – AMREF. (2/12)
  AMREF’s Virtual School has been training nurses through eLearning

Information