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Alliance News Digest

Week of 19 November 2010

NEWS FROM WHO AND PARTNERS

• Advocacy, Action and Accountability: Implementing the Global Strategy - Global Health Council – (11/15)
  The 2010 Partners’ Forum on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health proposes roles for all key stakeholders — country governments, donors, multilaterals and civil society.
• Global economic crisis no excuse to cut public services and force workers to migrate – Public Services International – (11/08)
  In the false hope of solving unemployment and poverty, countries have aggressively pushed out their workers to work overseas.
• Announcement: The HIFA 2011 Challenge will focus on the health information needs of Mothers and Family Caregivers - HIFA2015 – (11/12)
  The health knowledge of Mothers and Family Caregivers can often mean the difference between life and death, especially for children.
• Sharing best practices through online communities of practice: a case study – HRH Journal. (11/12)
  Online CoPs are a useful interface for connecting developing country experiences

AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST

• Task shifting could address health staff shortages, but is lethal in the long term - Daily Nation, Kenya – (11/11)
  Shifting tasks must be implemented carefully, and it should be a temporary measure
• Lagos employs 155 medical doctors - Daily Independent, Nigeria – (11/12)
  The Goverment explained that the employment had nothing to do with the on-going strike by the members of the Medical Guild
• Africa in dire need of medics - New Vision, Uganda – (11/14)
  Lecturers are running away from medical schools across Africa, a study has revealed
• Govt to release antenatal HIV prevalence report - BuaNews, SA – (11/11)
  The report will be released during a National Consultative Health Forum meeting in Johannesburg
• Zaire com carência de especialistas da Saúde - Jornal de Angola – (11/16)
  Reconhecendo que existe carência de quadros humanos, o governo local está a trabalhar para abrir uma escola de saúde de ensino médio
• 600 médecins spécialistes se désengagent de l'Assurance maladie obligatoire - La Vie Eco, Maroc – (11/15)
  Le blocage des négociations sur la tarification nationale de référence est à l'origine de cette décision
• Ghana's tax-for-healthcare funding lauded at international research forum - Afrique en ligne – (11/17)
  Although progress in achieving universal healthcare financing is lacking in many African countries, Ghana is close to reaching those targets.
• 79 Cuban doctors arrive in Ghana – Ghanaweb – (11/17)
  The voluntary medical team would be posted to deprived communities in all the ten regions of Ghana

ASIA AND PACIFIC

• Malaysia to work with Indian govt to hire medical specialists - The Times of India – (11/15)
  Malaysia wants to project itself as a medical tourism hub but lack of medical specialists is coming up as an obstacle
• Legarda bill increases doctors' pay to keep them home - Philippine Information Agency – (11/15)
  There is a need to upgrade the salary and benefits of doctors to avert a crisis in health care provision
• Doctors from abroad make beeline for training at AIIMS - The Times of India – (11/15)
  The experience of AIIMS doctors attracts foreign doctors, especially from developed nations
• Doctors Want New Medical Law – Manila Bulletin – (11/10)
  The actual Medical Act of 1959 does not recognize specialties
• Queensland hospitals in sick shape: AMA - Brisbane Times, Australia – (11/18)
  Queensland is suffering from a critical shortfall of 500 hospital beds, according to the Australian Medical Association
• Legal threat weighs heavily on doctors - Sydney Morning Herald – (11/14)
  The prospect of legal action can influence the type of care a patient receives.
• ADF running short of medics - ABC News, Australia – (11/12)
  The shortage is being filled with private contractors not as well trained as serving medical officers.

NORTH AMERICA

• Mobile technology can help improve global health: Gates - Global News, CA - (11/10)
  Mobile technology can help with cheap diagnostic tools, patient reminders and making immunization programs more efficient
• Haiti president appeals for calm in cholera riots - Washington Post – (11/17)
  Haiti's president appealed for calm saying the violence has hurt efforts to fight the disease
• The next steps for health-care reform - The Seattle Times – (11/12)
  Much is left to be done to improve health care, here are recommendations from an international symposium in Sweden
• Physicians struggle with ethical decisions - USA Today – (11/14)
  Physicians are trying to do the right thing, but they are often in situations where there may be no easy answers
• Aid group trains Swaziland laymen to fight AIDS - The Washington Post - (11/17)
  Doctor shortage in Swaziland prompts medical aid group to train nurses, leaders to fight AIDS
• Delegation in the School Setting: Is it a Safe Practice? - Medscape Today – (11/11)
  Delegation of nursing tasks to unlicensed assistive personnel (UAPs) in school settings continues to be a necessary, yet challenging practice.
• Doctors Ask Congress for Freedom, Not Bigger Reimbursements - PR Newswire – (11/17)
  If the Medicare-allowed fee doesn't cover the cost, doctors simply can't provide the service
• Bias blocks foreign-trained MDs: panel - The Gazette, Montreal – (11/16)
  The Quebec Human Rights Commission reveals physicians trained outside Canada or the United States face obstacles in Quebec
• Europe develops action plan to address health work force shortfall - CMAJ, CA – (11/12)
  European officials have developed an action plan to resolve an anticipated shortfall of one million health workers in the EU by 2020.
• Quebec nurses union hails 'huge' new deal - CBC News, CA – (11/15)
  The negotiations had been going on for more than a year.

EUROPE

• Community care networks could help 200 000 more people die at home instead of hospital - British Medical Journal – (11/17)
  Two thirds of people who die in hospital every year in Britain would prefer to die at home, report says
• “Claptrap” from the UK's Department of Health (Editorial) - The Lancet, UK – (11/13)
  Labour presided over 13 years of failure. Inequalities in health widened despite huge investment in the NHS.
• Community services can help improve patient care - The Guardian, UK – (11/17)
  Bringing community services closer to hospital care should be welcomed – so why is the move attracting criticism?
• Medical schools in sub-Saharan Africa - The Lancet, UK – (11/17)
  Africa has 24% of the world's burden of disease, but only 3% of the world's health workforce
• Ke Yang—reforming medical education in China- The Lancet, UK – (11/13)
  At the heart of the reforms to medical education in China, is the fundamental purpose of bringing out each person's diverse potential.
• NHS spending on locums: how much do temporary doctors cost? - The Guardian , UK – (11/10)
  Temporary doctors are costing the NHS more than £750m a year
• Hospitals 'failing' on care of elderly - The Telegraph, UK – (11/10)
  Hospitals across England are guilty of "organisational failures" in dealing with the needs of elderly surgery patients, a report has concluded.
• CH/Santé: la Suisse doit former davantage de médecins - Romandie News – (11/11)
  La Suisse ne pourra pas faire face au manque aigu de personnel soignant en recourant à l'immigration
• Doctors threaten mass walkout - The Prague Post – (11/10)
  Low pay, long hours are tempting Czech doctors to move abroad
• Las personas están más sanas y formadas que nunca - Europa Press – (11/10)
  El Informe sobre Desarrollo Humano 2010 (PNUD) demuestra que no se necesita un alto crecimiento para lograr mejoras en salud y educación.

LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN

• Entre 2006 y 2010 se incrementó 74% el presupuesto total para Salud - Hoy Tamaulipas, Mexico – (11/17)
  La Secretaría de Salud cuenta con 852 nuevas unidades médicas y 510 remodeladas, afirmó el Secretario de Salud
• Enfermeras cumplieron 12 horas de paro - Entorno inteligente, Venezuela – (11/17)
  El Ejecutivo no les ha aprobado el aumento salarial y les pagarán los aguinaldos fraccionados en tres partes.
• Médicos tendrán que contratar pólizas de responsabilidad civil - El Economista, Mexico – (11/15)
  La propuesta se fundamenta en que la compañía de seguros no tiene porque pagar los daños que provoque el médico.
• Ecuador firma convenio con Bélgica por 14 millones de euros para implementación de servicios de salud, agua y saneamiento - El Ciudadano, Ecuador – (11/17)
  El convenio comprende financiamiento con carácter de no reembolsable siendo un componente importante del Programa la atención primaria en salud
• CCSS requiere 1.200 especialistas médicos para cubrir necesidades - La Nación, Costa Rica – (11/14)
  Ortopedia, radioterapia y anestesiología entre las especialidades que tienen mayor escasez de médicos
• Change course, doctors tell Gov’t - Jamaica Observer – (11/16)
  Almost 90 per cent of Jamaican doctors recently surveyed feel public health care delivery is headed in the wrong direction