At the recent HSR2018 Symposium delegates explored how to challenge embedded power dynamics in health systems research through participatory methodologies. One of the innovations that the Local Organising Committee (LOC) introduced for HSR2018 was the inclusion in the programme of a multi-project Photovoice exhibition. Photovoice is a participatory action research methodology that involves the taking of images by individuals, the discussion and analysis of these images and the use of the images to communicate the lived experiences, strengths and challenges of the photographers. Colleagues commented that this was the largest health based Photovoice exhibition to date but more significant was the scope of the material displayed. The author argues that Photovoice exhibition activities are a great representation of the strength and challenges of using this visual participatory methodology. Using photos can promote the voice of the less powerful seems such a laudable and simple aim but it is important not to overlook the underlying power shifting aims of the methodology.
Governance and participation in health
This paper aims to identify factors that influence the capacity of women to voice their concerns regarding maternal health services at the local level. A secondary analysis was conducted of the data from three studies carried out between 2013 and 2015 in the context of a WOTRO initiative to improve maternal health services through social accountability mechanisms in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Data from 21 interviews and 12 focus group discussions were analysed using an inductive content analysis. The women living in the rural setting were mostly farmers/fisher-women or worked at odd jobs. They had not completed secondary school. Around one-fifth was younger than 20 years old. The majority of women could describe the health service they received but were not able to describe what they should receive as care. They had insufficient knowledge of the health services before their first visit. They were not able to explain the mandate of the health providers. The information they received concerned the types of healthcare they could receive but not the real content of those services, nor their rights and entitlements. They believed that they were laypersons and therefore unable to judge health providers, but when provided with some tools such as a checklist, they reported some abusive and disrespectful treatments. Factors influencing the capacity of women to voice their concerns in Democratic Republic of the Congo rural settings were found to be mainly associated with insufficient knowledge and a socio-cultural context. These findings suggest that initiatives to implement social accountability have to address community capacity-building, health providers’ responsiveness and the socio-cultural norms .
Over 200 women farm workers from across the Western Cape marched to Parliament on Wednesday demanding that the Department of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries (DAFF) and the Department of Labour work together to ban 67 pesticides to protect the health of farm workers. They also want farmers to be held accountable if they disobey labour practices. Research done by the 'Women on Farms' project showed that 73% of women seasonal workers interviewed did not receive protective clothing and 69% came into contact with pesticides within an hour after it had been sprayed. For safety, different pesticides have their own “re-entry period” that has to be adhered to. The WFP campaign to ban pesticides is also being supported by Oxfam South African and Oxfam Germany. With the memorandum, members from Oxfam Germany handed over a placard with 29,302 signatures on it from German consumers supporting the ban.
In this article, the author asks whether the increasing number of women in the judiciary and politics will affect intellectual property regimes in both law and in politics. The author briefly describes articles written by feminists analyse the gendered nature of intellectual property law. Some papers argue that an increase in the past 40 years in the encroachment of private ownership rights at the expense of the public domain has raised gender inequalities. The public domain recognises the communal roots of creation, rather than the individual “inventor”, and has a primary concern of looking after people, not individual success based on money, which is a concern of business. These different features of public and private interests and social and collective spaces are analysed for the gender norms they reflect and their gender related consequences.
The poor have not been consulted about the current global financial crisis. So far, all gatherings have been of the rich, from the World Economic Forum to the G8 Summit. At some point in the future, poor countries will merely be requested to endorse the decisions already taken by rich countries and to pick up the remaining crumbs. Ironically, the five powers that decide on war and peace within the UN Security Council are also the five biggest arms dealers of the planet (China, USA, Russian Federation, France and the UK). Rich countries are also the sole decision-makers in the reform of the Bretton Woods institutions (World Bank and International Monetary Fund) that take money from poor and indebted countries. It’s time for poor countries to be given an opportunity to take part in these crucial decisions.
Thirty-two delegates participated in the global workshop that marked the first research phase of the Global Development Network’s (GDN’s) UK Department for International Development-funded project, ‘Strengthening Institutions to Improve Public Expenditure Accountability’, in Washington DC on 18–20 May. For the first year of the project, partners will conduct programme budget and benefit incidence analysis in the three programme sectors: education, health and water. Next year, partners will receive technical training on the subsequent programme analytical activity – cost effective analysis – and start implementing their communication plans in order to inform policymakers on their findings and budget reform proposals. Participating in the meeting were fifteen partner institutions, including from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
Overweight and obesity prevalence is rapidly rising in developing countries. The reading and understanding of nutrition information on food packages has been shown to improve food choices and instill healthy eating habits in individuals. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of food label usage and understanding among urban and rural adults in Zimbabwe and its association with demographic and socio economic factors. A cross sectional study was conducted on 320 adults (147 urban and 173 rural) using a validated questionnaire. A high proportion (77%) of the respondents read food labels. Food label reading differed significantly by educational, employment status and locality. Only 41% of food label readers mostly understood the information on the food labels. More urban shoppers (86%) read food labels than their rural counterparts (67%). A significant number of participants (81%) indicated they would like to be educated on the meaning of food labels and 80% preferred the nutrition information on food labels to be simplified. The study found above average reported reading of nutrition information on food labels with partial understanding. The authors recommend that efforts be made to determine how all consumers could be made to understand the nutrition information on food labels and use it effectively in decision making.
This study aimed to determine noise exposure levels of spectators at a FIFA 2010 designated training stadium during a premier soccer league match and changes in auditory functioning after the match. This was a one-group pretest–post-test design of football spectators attending a premier soccer league match at a designated FIFA 2010 training stadium in Gauteng, South Africa. Individual spectator noise exposure for the duration of the football match and post-match changes in hearing thresholds were measured with pure-tone audiometry, and cochlear functioning was measured with distortion product oto-acoustic emissions (DPOAEs). The study found that average sound exposure level during the match was 100.5 LAeq (dBA), with peak intensities averaging 140.4 dB(C). A significant deterioration of post-match hearing thresholds was evident at 2,000 Hz, and post-match DPOAE amplitudes were significantly reduced at 1,266, 3,163 and 5,063 Hz. In conclusion, exposure levels exceeded limits of permissible average and peak sound levels. Significant changes in post-match hearing thresholds and cochlear responsiveness highlighted the possible risk for noise-induced hearing loss. Public awareness and personal hearing protection should be prioritised as preventive measures.
Closing space for African sexual and gender minority groups is argued by this author to affect access to critical services that no one else provides. In Kenya, for example, the Muslims of Human Rights (MUHURI) provide safe injection sites to prevent the sharing of needles among drug users, as studies show that needle sharing facilitates the spread of HIV. As a result, when the state froze the group's bank accounts, the crackdown also threatened the safety and wellbeing of people who need HIV treatment and care. To fight on their own, many GSM groups have been using the courts to help win victories. Whether it has been appealing the repressive Ugandan anti-gay law, or ordering the un-freezing of bank accounts in Kenya, or ruling against the denial of registration of LEGABIBO (an LGBT rights group in Botswana), most of these court victories are based on constitutionally guaranteed rights and freedoms of most open and democratic countries, and held under the International Declaration of Human Rights. Fostering partnerships with international organizations such as UNAIDS and the UN Human Rights Council has been very helpful for GSM organizations to facilitate their role in service access.
The Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa convened stakeholders in end September 2017 from the internet governance and online rights arenas in Africa and beyond to deliberate on gaps, concerns and opportunities for advancing the right to privacy, access to information, free expression, non-discrimination, and the free flow of information online. The Forum gathered human rights defenders, journalists, government officials, private sector players, global information intermediaries, bloggers, developers, the arts community, law enforcers and regulators – all of whom have a role to play in advancing internet freedom in Africa. Highlights at FIFAfrica include the launch of the annual State of Internet Freedom in Africa research report, as well the commemoration of the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI), which falls on September 28. Further information, thoughts and ideas can be found at the #InternetFreedomAfrica hashtag.