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Alliance News Digest

Week of 24 September 2010

NEWS FROM WHO AND PARTNERS

• “Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health” Draws More than $40 Billion in Resources- PMNCH. (9/22)
  UN Summit launches drive to save the lives of more than 16 million women and children
• UNFPA Head Asks World Leaders to Put Women’s Health at Heart of Development Priorities – UNFPA. (9/20)
  UNFPA is committed to helping nations strengthen their health systems and achieve universal access to reproductive health by 2015
• Rethinking linkages between the MDGs: Botswana leads the way - UNAIDS. (9/21)
  The health sector has realized that responses to MDGs 4, 5 and 6 must be tackled together to improve people’s life.
• Integrating the MDGs: delivering for girls, women and babies - UNAIDS. (9/19)
  Key steps have been taken to stop and reverse the spread of HIV by 2015, as MDG 6 reads
• 12,000 people call for UNGA focus on health workers – Merlin, UK. (9/21)
  Today Merlin is delivering our “Hands Up For Health Workers” petition demanding that world leaders listen to their call for increased investment in health workers.
• UK hails plan to save 16 million women and children – DFID, UK. (9/22)
  Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg today confirmed that the UK would double the number of maternal, newborn and children’s lives saved by 2015
• Profile and professional expectations of medical students in Mozambique: a longitudinal study – HRH Journal. (9/21)
  This paper compares the socioeconomic profile of medical students registered at the Faculty of Medicine of Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo, for the years 1998/99 and 2007/08

AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST

• Delta Health Workers Reject 70 Percent Pay Rise, Continue Strike – Daily Trust, Nigeria. (9/20)
  Health workers in Delta State, have rejected government overtures to end their strike and insisted on a full implementation of the new salary structure
• “Ghana Is Short Of Midwives” – Peace FM Online, Ghana. (9/7)
  MOH has advocated the training of more midwives to improve the midwife patient ratio which now stands at 1:7,200
• African First Ladies make a case for women and children at UN MDG meeting – Ghana Business News. (9/20)
  GAIN is hosting the African First Ladies Summit which will push for efforts to find effective solutions to reach maternal health goals and prevent child deaths
• Governor Uduaghan May Sack Striking Doctors – Daily Champion, Nigeria. (9/21)
  Delta State Governor threatened to take drastic action against the doctors in the 62 general and teaching hospitals in the state.
• Zim Drops Charges Against US Doctors – Radio Vop, Zimbabwe. (9/22)
  Before their arrest, the US health workers had been working in Zimbabwe for many years on HIV/AIDs projects
• ANC aims to implement NHI in 2012 – Mail & Guardian, SA. (9/21)
  Develop human resources programmes, after an acknowledged 10-year gap in this area. There is a shortage of 80 000 health workers
• RB wins kudos over clinics upgrade – Daily Mail, Zambia. (9/17)
  Our main worry is that we are facing a shortage of staff in the health sector

ASIA AND PACIFIC

• Maternal deaths main block to goals – Jakarta Post. (9/20)
  One of the key factors in reducing maternal mortality rate is births assisted by health workers
• 43 jailed health workers appeal anew for ‘immediate’ gov’t action - The Inquirer, Philippines. (9/21)
  The 43 health workers who are under military custody for allegedly being communists are appealing for support to human rights lawyers
• Felicitation given to 11 village health workers in Tamenglong – E-PAO, India. (9/18)
  Training village health workers should enable people in remote villages to avail health facilities at their localities
• Cabinet approves bill – Kuensel Online, Bhutan. (9/22)
  The Nu 250M construction project, funded by the government of India, is expected to address the acute shortage of health workers in the country
• India deficient in healthcare personnel despite producing & exporting professionals – Financial Express, India. (9/18)
  India ranked 53 but when you just focus on the data for shortage of healthcare workforce, India stood at rank 1 recording maximum shortage
• Health workers back nurse rosters rethink – ABC News, Australia. (9/21)
  The New South Wales Nurses Association wants a minimum nurse-to-patient ratio introduced in the state's public hospitals.
• Queensland Health payroll debacle still not fully resolved after six months – Courier Mail, Australia. (9/20)
  Health Minister claimed significant progress had been made, however nurses said the reality was painfully different

NORTH AMERICA

• MDG 5: Maternal Health in the Palm of Your Hand – Global Health Magazine. (9/15)
  mHealth Alliance Executive Director David Aylward discusses how mobile technologies are transforming health
• India's Ailing MDG Tied to 18th Century Cure – Women’s eNews. (9/20)
  India cannot achieve its goal of saving the lives of mothers and newborns if there is no quality of care.
• Medical workers get help with loans – Delaware Online. (9/20)
  Money targeted for underserved areas
• Austerity Protests Sweep Romania – Wall Street Journal. (9/15)
  Health system in Romania is underfunded and understaffed, which has led to a brain drain as thousands of doctors and nurses have sought employment abroad
• Loan aid, training grants approved for health workforce in Michigan – Michigan Free Press. (9/18)
  U.S. money to help in health care field
• New Scholarship Program to Help Address Workforce Crisis and Advance Health Care Professionals – PR Web. (9(20)
  2010 cycle will offer two $1,500 awards – for individuals pursuing a career in the field of health care
• U.N. to Announce Aid for Women and Children – New York Times. (9/22)
  Governments and private aid organizations committed to spending more than $40 billion toward improving health of women and children.

EUROPE

• How to save women's lives - the lessons from Sierra Leone – The Guardian, UK. (9/19)
  Earlier this year, Sierra Leone took the giant step of abolishing health charges for pregnant and breastfeeding women and young children
• The MDG decade: looking back and conditional optimism for 2015 – The Lancet, UK. (9/18)
  The tight linkage of health and wealth led many economists to conclude erroneously that a marked improvement in public health must wait for an overall improvement of economic conditions to bring improved
• Think Long Term: How Global AIDS Donors Can Strengthen the Health Workforce in Africa – ISN ETH Zurich. (September 2010)
  AIDS donors have paid too little attention to the effects their disease-specific interventions have on overall health workforces
• Africa faces an uphill struggle to reach the MDGs - The Lancet, UK. (9/18)
  With only 11% of the world's population, Africa accounts for more than half of all maternal and child deaths
• Japan's new global health policy: 2011—2015 – The Lancet, UK. (9/18)
  Japan's new global health policy responds to current demands, with the aim of preventing hundreds of thousands of maternal and child deaths by focusing on the strengthening of health systems
• Pays du Sud : il est urgent d'investir dans les personnels de santé – Le Monde. (9/21)
  L'absence de soins représente la première cause du décès en couches ou dans les jours qui suivent l'accouchement
• The Millennium Development Goals: a cross-sectoral analysis and principles for goal setting after 2015 – The Lancet, UK. (9/18)
  Progress in some goals has been impressive; however, global targets will not be met in some regions, particularly sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia.
• Vulnerable pregnant women 'miss out on antenatal care' – BBC News, UK. (9/22)
  Many of the most vulnerable pregnant women are missing out on vital care in England and Wales, experts say.
• Doctors and nurses among 1,700 staff sacked at Department of Health – The Guardian, UK. (9/20)
  Cuts to ministry budget hit NHS care advisers
• Health workers must listen to children (Letter) – The Guardian, UK. (9/21)
  Better training of health professionals in communicating with children and their families is crucial

LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN

• Faltan médicos, faltan sedes y falta plata – El Colombiano. (9/19)
  Desde hace varios años los expertos han dicho que el sistema de salud en Colombia padece de "problemas estructurales".
• “Indignación” de docentes de Enfermería por el atraso en el pago de sueldos – Agencia NOVA, Argentina. (9/20)
  La Provincia no podría contar con enfermeros
• Los hospitales atenderán tres días con las guardias mínimas – Diario Uno, Argentina. (9/21)
  Esta noche, a la hora 0, comenzará una huelga de dos jornadas organizada por el sindicato que agrupa a los médicos.
• Técnicos en enfermería y paramédicos defienden su labor en el sistema de salud – El Ciudadano, Chile. (9/18)
  Lo que falta en la salud son técnicos paramédicos y en enfermería
• Greve de médicos é considerada ilegal – Tribuna do Norte, Brazil. (9/21)
  Os poucos médicos com contratos temporários amenizam a carência, mas não conseguem dar conta de toda a demanda
• Saúde propõe plano para minimizar carência de profissionais no interior do país – O Girassol, Brazil. (9/17)
  No Brasil, há uma má distribuição de médicos, odontólogos e enfermeiros pelo território

Information