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Alliance News Digest

Week of 1 April 2010

NEWS FROM WHO AND PARTNERS

• A systematic review of task shifting for HIV treatment and care in Africa – HRH Journal. (3/31)
  Shortages of human resources for health have severely hampered the rollout of ART in sub-Saharan Africa.
• South Asian Midwives Meet to Plan Better Maternal Health Care – UNFPA. (3/25)
  Three out of five women giving birth in South Asia do so without a midwife or other skilled birth attendant
• Webcast of the Geneva Forum Towards Global Access to Health - Third Edition, 19 - 21 April 2010 – University of Geneva. (March 2010)
  The theme of this edition is Globalization, Crisis & Health Systems: Confronting Regional Perspectives
• A framework for evaluating the impact of the United Nations fellowship programmes – HRH Journal. (3/30)
  UN System's agencies have been criticized for not adequately assessing the impact of their training and fellowship programmes.
• Supervision of community peer counsellors for infant feeding in South Africa: an exploratory qualitative study – HRH Journal. (3/30)
  Recent years have seen a re-emergence of community health worker interventions, especially in relation to HIV care
• Tanzania’s First Lady Launches AMREF’s Maternal Newborn and Child Health Project in Mtwara – AMREF. (3/23)
  Projects works towards improving the delivery of health services by empowering communities to actively participate in health service access

AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST

• OMA trains traditional midwives in Samba – Angola Press. (3/25)
  Training aims at providing better quality of assistance in home labour
• Sierra Leone’s President Koroma Shows Fortitude and Increases Salaries of Health Workers by 100% - Newstime Africa. (2/27)
  The Sierra Leone Government with support from its partners has put together a package that would raise the current health sector wage bill from 25 billion Leones to an estimated 50 billion
• Climate Change - Ijaw Alleges Threat to Lives – The Vanguard, Nigeria. (3/30)
  Doctors and health workers in the area are not experienced enough to handle emergencies of the moment.
• Health Workers Receive Family Planning Training – New Times, Rwanda. (3/28)
  Training of over 2,000 CHWs is aimed at boosting their skills in promoting family planning in their respective communities.
• Over 48000 children born with HIV annually – The Citizen, Tanzania. (3/31)
  Government should increase funds allocated to the health sector, especially for the PMTCT services
• Private sector employs majority of health workers in Jordan – report – Sawya, Jordan. (3/28)
  The public health sector is affected by a brain drain, as experienced and trained health professionals leave for the private sector.

ASIA AND PACIFIC

• Community health workers end strike – Express News Service, India. (3/26)
  Around 3,000 community health workers had been on strike for the past several days demanding an increase in their salary
• Medical travel: The next big thing – Manila Bulletin. (3/29)
  Filipino competence and innate hospitality, and a growing gap between supply and demand in healthcare systems abroad, contribute to making the Philippines a preferred medical destination
• Mass suicide bid by rural workers foiled – Express News Service, India. (3/31)
  Dismissed rural health workers tried to end their lives en masse
• Clinton help sought in case of 'Morong 43' – GMA News TV, Philippines. (3/31)
  The Philippines is the biggest exporter of nurses in the world and second biggest in exporting doctors..
• Ailing health system needs Rudd's reforms – The Age, Australia. (3/31)
  Rudd's local hospital and health networks will bring medicos back into governance, empowering professional commitment to the best possible service to patients
• Pay rise for health workers – Newstalk. ZB, New Zealand. (3/31)
  A two percent pay rise is on its way for thousands of health sector workers.
• Launch of Massey University School of Public Health – Wellington – New Zealand Doctor. (3/26)
  The public health workforce needs to be strengthened
• Abbott urged to accept health briefing offer – ABC News, Australia. (3/28)
  PM says the investment builds on the Government's support for doctor training and its rural health workforce strategy
• $1.9m boost for rural health – ABC News, Australia. (3/29)
  The funds will be invested into student accommodation and education facilities for medical, nursing, dental and allied health students
• Govt considers laws to track rogue doctors – Brisbane Times, Australia. (3/22)
  Law is expected to cut red tape, improve mobility of the health workforce and increase standards for health practitioners

NORTH AMERICA

• Evaluation of a Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial of a Package of Community-Based Maternal and Newborn Interventions in Mirzapur, Bangladesh – PLoS ONE. (3/24)
  To evaluate a delivery strategy for newborn interventions in rural Bangladesh.
• In Rwanda, a Yeshiva U. Doctor Saves Mothers From Death During Childbirth – Chronicle of Higher Education. (3/28)
  The most effective approach in reducing mortality, is to teach Rwandan doctors and health workers better practices.
• Wireless lifelines – Baltimore Sun. (3/28)
  Cell phones, ubiquitous in the developing world, can be used to save countless lives
• Health district's fee hike protested – Columbus Dispatch, Ohio. (3/29)
  Local health departments statewide are cutting budgets, laying off workers and leaving jobs unfilled
• Health care reform: New Jersey hospitals and patients stand to gain – Star-Ledger. (3/29)
  New Jersey faces a shortage of nearly 20,000 nurses
• Many health workers from abroad – Public Radio Marketplace. (3/26)
  A study shows a large portion of low-skilled health workers who provide care for the elderly and others are immigrants
• Health cuts will drive doctors, nurses to U.S., experts say – Ottawa Citizen. (3/26)
  Funding falls short of rising expenses

EUROPE

• Realignment of incentives for health-care providers in China – The Lancet, UK. (3/27)
  Health-care provision and consequences of an inappropriate incentive system in China
• China's health reforms revisited – The Lancet, UK. (3/27)
  This week's issue and online Comments, compiled in collaboration with the China Medical Board, provide a snapshot of achievements and challenges
• Sierra Leone doctors and nurses get massive pay rise – BBC News, UK. (3/28)
  The health workers said this would lead to a huge increase in their workload.
• Concern as illness leads to shortage of midwives – Hastings Observer, UK. (3/26)
  Expectant mothers in Hastings wanting to give birth at home may not be able because of a shortage of midwives
• Brighton health workers suffer more attacks – The Argus, UK. (3/30)
  Seven per cent of staff at South Downs Health NHS Trust said they had experienced physical violence compared to a 3% national average
• Half of Scots nurses denied vital training – Herald Scotland, UK. (3/29)
  To tackle the problem, RCN Scotland is calling for guaranteed, protected training time for nursing staff.
• Gordon Brown to pledge new curb on immigration – The Guardian, UK. (3/30)
  There are 60,000 skill shortages in the UK – the bulk of them in health and social care.
• World’s health sector shows job gains—for now – British Medical Journal. (3/31)
  The health sector was one of the few to show a rise in employment last year
• Les médecins généralistes inquiets pour leur avenir – Santé-plus.fr. (3/26)
  Les médecins généralistes expriment leur colère et affirment le risque majeur de crise sanitaire en France par manque prochain de généralistes
• Enfermeiros em luta contra discriminação salarial – Notícias RTP, Portugal. (3/29)
  Os enfermeiros iniciam esta tarde mais uma greve que irá durar até às 8 horas da próxima quinta-feira

LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN

• Health workers meet to discusss ways of addressing CNCDs – Dominica News. (3/29)
  The work of community health aides is vital in ensuring a healthy population
• Una alternativa de salud sin personal – La Estrella, Panama. (3/26)
  Debilidad de hospital es la carencia de recurso humanos para atender a miles de pacientes
• Ministry Of Health to Spend $288m on HIV/Aids Control – Jamaica Information Services. (3/26)
  
• Córdoba: otro hombre murió por falta de atención médica – Clarín, Argentina. (3/29)
  Sólo hay un médico de guardia las 24 horas y una enfermera por turno"
• Salud pública acordó un 25,2% de aumento para enfermería – ABC Saladillo, Argentina. (3/20)
  El aumento entre los enfermeros y el personal administrativo se relaciona con el riesgo que toma el enfermero,

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