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Alliance News Digest

Week of 22 October 2010

News related to/from the Global Health Workforce Alliance

• Millennium development goals: Focus on the needs of the existing health workforce (Letter)– BMJ, UK. (10/5)
  The MDGs will be achieved only if we focus on the needs of healthcare providers

NEWS FROM WHO AND PARTNERS

• Achieving the health-related MDGs. It takes a workforce - WHO. (October)
  Critical shortages, inadequate skill mix and uneven geographical distribution of the health workforce pose major barriers to achieving the health-related MDGs
• Expanding HIV services in post-conflict Liberia – UNAIDS. (10/20)
  Rural health facilities often face particular problems in delivering health services
• Information therapy (15) Putting Patients First - conference in Mumbai – HIFA2015. (10/15)
  HELP will organize The Empowered Patient Conference in Mumbai on 20 October in Mumbai
• Delegation aims to reduce deaths of pregnant women in Liberia – Merlin, UK. (10/15)
  Liberia's maternal mortality rate is one of the highest in the world and most of these deaths are entirely preventable.
• PAP Adopts Recommendations to Coordinate with African Regional and National Parliaments to Mobilise Domestic Resources for Maternal Newborn and Child Health, and Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV – Pan African Parliament.org. (10/18)
  Ensure African parliamentary budget support for implementation of the African Union Summit Declaration on Maternal, Infant and Child Health and Development in Africa
• Condecoración Grado de Oficial de la UPCH para la Dra. Monica Padilla – Obs RH-Andino. (10/18)
  Es un reconocimiento a su contribución al desarrollo de los recursos humanos en salud en el Perú y la Subregión Andina
• Mobile-Global Health – HIFA2015. (10/16)
  To double the amount of training about Global health by the year 2012 in developing and developed countries by using Mobile Devises
• Super typhoon hits Philippines: Merlin closely monitoring situation – Merlin, UK. (10/18)
  Dubbed a 'super typhoon,' it is the strongest to hit the country since 2006.
• Merlin delivers vital health care to refugees in Central African Republic – Merlin, UK. (10/20)
  Merlin has swung into action to meet the immediate health needs of the refugee population

AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST

• FG To Recruit 1,000 Midwives For North-East – The Observer, Nigeria. (10/18)
  The measure is also to reduce the high maternal mortality rate in the zone.
• Dire lack of staff at rural hospital – Weekend Post, SA. (10/18)
  The psychiatric hospital had no psychiatrist and that only 14 of the 231 professional nursing posts were filled
• USA to train 1,500 Ugandan doctors – New Vision, Uganda. (10/18)
  American government’s $130m (about sh293b) grant would go to Makerere University and other institutions in Uganda
• MALAWI: President lifts ban on traditional birth assistants – UN IRIN (10/11)
  President Mutharika said that there was need to train traditional birth attendants in safer delivery methods to assist in addressing the existing health challenges
• Yumbe health workers trained to handle TB, HIV – New Vision, Uganda. (10/20)
  The strategy enables health workers to understand the association between the two epidemics, improve their case detection skills, treatment and monitoring
• UNICEF revives rural AIDS services – The Zimbabwean. (10/20)
  One of the inequities UNICEF is addressing is the fact that rural populations have less access to health services.
• Mental health care dismal in Africa – Dispatch Online, SA. (10/19)
  70 percent of countries in Africa spend less than one percent of their health budgets on mental health.
• Africa resolves to reduce maternal and child deaths – KBC, Kenya. (10/20)
  Kenya is among the countries which have pledged to honour the commitments by recruiting and deploying an additional 20,000 primary care health workers…
• Lod welfare officials: Only two of 50 city social workers speak Arabic – Haaretz, Israel. (10/21)
  According to city welfare officials, only two of Lod's 50 social workers speak Arabic and both of them are part-time
• Poor quality nurses ‘need education to improve’ – BioMed Middle East. (10/18)
  Middle East’s healthcare sector is growing rapidly, but this growth could be affected by the lack of trained nurses from national populations

ASIA AND PACIFIC

• Public, rural hospitals suffer brain drain - Viet Nam News Agency. (10/18)
  Although the number of health workers increased throughout Viet Nam yearly, it did not keep pace with population increases.
• MYANMAR: Health crisis amid conflict - new report – UN IRIN. (10/19)
  Villagers face problems getting medical assistance, and for the health workers to go to those areas is very dangerous
• After Lancet's superbug blow, praise for India's rural doctors scheme – The Hindu, India. (10/19)
  Article says whether or not the government succeeds, it should be praised for the innovative solution
• Another detained health worker gives birth – The Inquirer, Philippines. (10/19)
  Another health worker who has been in police custody since she and 42 of her peers were arrested in Morong, Rizal early this year has given birth
• Malaria mortality rate underestimated in India – Sify News, India. (10/21)
  There is lack of adequate medical care in remote parts of the country
• Patients turned away as GP crisis grows – Stuff News, New Zealand. (10/11)
  Pressure is mounting on rural and small-town practices due to the shortage of doctors
• Prime Minister Minister for Health Training more doctors, nurses and health professionals – TTKN News, Australia. (10/15)
  Training more health professionals means Australians will have better access to health and medical services into the future.

NORTH AMERICA

• Pharmacists in high demand – Delmarva Now. (10/17)
  Job openings, pay increase with workload
• Health Care and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance – New York Times. (10/18)
  Many diseases that we know how to prevent and cure remain widespread
• Janam Introduces Mobile Healthcare Product Line – Laboratory Network. (10/18)
  Antimicrobial version of rugged XM Series handheld improves healthcare solutions.
• Will the health-care overhaul cause 87 million Americans to lose their current coverage? – Washington Post. (10/18)
  The law will cause 87 million Americans to lose their current coverage.
• Blumenthal: ONC is facing IT challenges 'head-on' - -CMIO Net. (10/18)
  Family physicians say the lack of technical support is a big concern
• The Doctor Will See You Eventually – Wall Street Journal. (10/18)
  Many follow-up doctor visits could easily be handled via phone, email or video chat
• Program pays health workers' school debt – Ventura County Star. (10/17)
  The program contracts with clinicians for two years, offering $50,000 in debt payments.
• Renfrew antes up $2M to draw doctors – Ottawa Citizen. (10/18)
  Ottawa Valley community hopes to engage 14 new physicians with five-year commitments

EUROPE

• A critical look at critical care – The Lancet, UK. (10/16)
  As the global population has aged and medical advances have led to riskier treatments, the demand for critical care has soared.
• Rural MBBS degree in India – The Lancet, UK. (10/16)
  To address the shortfall of doctors in rural India, the Medical Council of India is starting an innovative Bachelor of Medicine and of Surgery (MBBS) rural degree.
• Afghanistan Seeks To Further Reduce High Maternal Mortality Rate – Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. (10/12)
  Afghanistan's decrease in maternal deaths has taken place mainly in urban areas
• Ban child marriages to help prevent birth injuries – UN – Reuters AlertNet. (10/12)
  MDG 5, which pledges to provide universal access to reproductive health, lags behind
• Death threats to health workers show long road ahead for family planners – The Guardian, UK. (10/15)
  Fierce opposition to family planning campaigns in Katine, Uganda, is placing women's lives at risk and undermining key development work
• EU patient mobility law to spark eHealth revolution – EurActiv. (10/21)
  New EU laws allowing patients to travel across borders for health care will be key for the development of e-health services in Europe
• Patients seeking treatment abroad – British Medical Journal. (10/18)
  Another challenge for general practice commissioning

LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN

• El Bloqueo masacra la salud cubana – Cuba Ahora. (10/19)
  A pesar del bloqueo, Cuba ha obtenido mejores logros sanitarios que la mayor parte de los países latinoamericanos
• Enfermeras continúan en asambleas informativas - El Heraldo, Honduras. (10/15)
  El viceministro de Salud aclaró días atrás que la falta de pago se debe a que el ministerio de Finanzas no ha hecho la transferencia correspondiente.
• Hace falta 50 médicos en hospital lacustre – Los Andes, Peru. (10/19)
  La falta de presupuesto para la contratación de mayor personal, es otro de los problemas de hospital en la región de Puno.
• Hospital rebosado – Noroeste, Mexico. (10/18)
  Hoy, con ampliaciones pero sin nuevas unidades hospitalarias, la demanda es mucho más alta que la oferta en el sur de Sinaloa
• Abundan médicos pero escasean especialistas – Tabasco Hoy, Mexico. (10/21)
  Por cada 10 doctores hay uno especializado en Tabasco, lo que provoca saturación en servicios hospitalarios.
• Habilitarán hospital en Santa Cruz de Yojoa - La Prensa, Honduras. (10/20)
  La Alcaldía espera abrirlo con el apoyo de médicos cubanos. Necesitan médicos

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