Despite the cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe continuing for more than six months, sanitation remains poor and lack of access to safe drinking water persists against the backdrop of a collapsed health system with degraded infrastructure and very few health workers. Health in Zimbabwe is presently largely unavailable, unacceptable, inaccessible and of poor quality. This report concludes that Zimbabwe will require long term commitment of the humanitarian and donor agencies working in the country with large scale, multi-faceted assistance to address the situation. It urges the government of Zimbabwe to formulate an emergency health response plan to restore the public health system must be produced and implemented. The authors argue that government should also ensure the supply of clean drinking water and adequate sanitation.
Values, Policies and Rights
A new British white paper on health suggests that patients should be offered more choice. However, visiting the doctor or phoning the police is simply not like shopping, according to people questioned for a new study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), which found that most of us reject the trend towards treating everyone as 'consumers'.
CIVICUS, the World Alliance for Citizen Participation, condemns the introduction of the Anti-homosexuality Bill 2009 in the Uganda Parliament on 14 October 2009. The Bill seeks to roll back international human rights obligations undertaken by Uganda by declaring that the provisions of any international legal instrument contradictory to the spirit of the Bill shall be null and void. It seeks to criminalise the work of civil society organisations that promote the rights of lesbian, gay bisexual and transgendered persons through cancellation of registration and punishment of the head of the organisation with seven years imprisonment. Other provisions of the Bill identified as repugnant by Civicus include punishment by death for HIV infected persons if they have sexual relations with a person of the same gender; life imprisonment for attempting to contract a marriage with a person of the same gender; deportation from Uganda of citizens or permanent residents if they have sexual relations with a person of the same gender; and life imprisonment for sexual relations between people of the same gender. CIVICUS urges the Parliament and the Government of Uganda to respect the human rights of its people and uphold commitments to the International Bill of Rights and the Ugandan Constitution.
These clinical guidelines are designed to address the current goals of the South African government's programme for managing HIV and AIDS, including: integrating services for HIV, tuberculosis (TB), maternal and child health, sexual and reproductive health, and wellness; earlier HIV diagnosis; preventing HIV disease progression; averting AIDS-related deaths; retaining patients on lifelong therapy; reducing infection; and mitigating the impact of HIV and AIDS. They contain relevant information on the government's national eligibility criteria for starting anti-retroviral therapy (ART) regimens, national ART regimens, national monitoring for adults and adolescents with HIV, national ART and anti-retroviral regimens for HIV positive pregnant women and their infants, and recommended ART regimens for treatment-naive adults and adolescents. They also indicate what to expect in the first four months of ART and when it is necessary to switch ART. Concomitant TB and its relationship with HIV is also addressed. Most of the document is dedicated to the relevant criteria and correct procedures for patient management.
In a country long sickened by the frighteningly high level of sexual violence, one of the greatest challenges facing South Africa is closing the gap between the rhetoric of gender equality and the reality on the ground. The prevalence of gender-based violence is reflected in stark statistics: between April 2004 and March 2005, 55,114 cases of rape were reported to the police. The number of actual cases was likely much higher, considering only an estimated one in nine women report cases of sexual assault, according to the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC also estimates that a woman is killed by her intimate partner every six hours.
This report reports on the impact of Christian conservatism from United States on human rights policies in Africa. A number of churches are reported in this paper to be working in Africa to promote US ‘family values’, campaigning against condom use to prevent HIV transmission, claiming that family planning is a Western conspiracy to reduce African development, and supporting campaigns to pursue the death penalty for gays and lesbians. The author argues that government and civil society should confront the myths of human rights advocacy being western neocolonialism, noting indigenous African human rights agendas and support African advocacy to respect human rights for all.
The issue of women continuing to be at higher risk of HIV infection than men has received considerable attention at a gathering of women's affairs ministers from Commonwealth countries underway in Uganda's capital, Kampala. Of the 53 Commonwealth member states, 38 are represented at the '8th Triennial Commonwealth Women's Affairs Ministers Meeting' (8WAMM), being held under the theme 'Financing Gender Equality for Development and Democracy'. United Nations statistics indicate that women and girls in Commonwealth countries make up a third of all HIV infections. In addition, women between the ages of 15 and 24 in sub-Saharan Africa - the region most prominently represented in the Commonwealth - are two and a half times more likely to be infected than men of the same age.
The Universal Periodic Review mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council, which came into effect in 2008, has established itself as a mechanism with huge potential and which promotes dialogue and a level playing field for all countries undergoing the review of their human rights record. Building on the Commonwealth Secretariat’s observations and analysis of the process, and the seminars it has conducted with member states, Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights consolidates the lessons learned so far, speaking equally to the three major stakeholders in the process – to states, to national human rights institutions, and to civil society organisations. An effective UPR mechanism will enhance the promotion of human rights across the world. It is therefore essential for the key players to understand and advance the UPR process including at the implementation phase. This publication describes UPR, shares experiences and provides analysis of the Commonwealth countries that reported in the first year of the UPR process.
Alcohol, like mental health, is a neglected topic in public health discussions. However, the authors argue that there is sufficient evidence for it to be defined as a priority public health concern. Although only half the world’s population drinks alcohol, it is the world’s third leading cause of ill health and premature death, after low birth weight and unsafe sex, and the world’s greatest cause of ill health and premature death among individuals between 25 and 59 years of age. This paper outlines current global experiences with alcohol policies and suggests how to better communicate evidence-based policy responses to alcohol-related harm using narratives. The text summarizes six incentives for a healthier relationship with alcohol in contemporary society. These include price and availability changes, marketing regulations, changes in the format of drinking places and on the product itself, and actions designed to nudge people at the time of their purchasing decisions. Communicating alcohol narratives to policymakers more successfully will likely require emphasis on the reduction of heavy drinking occasions and the protection of others from someone else’s problematic drinking.
HLSP is a professional services firm specialising in the health sector both in the UK and globally. Compass newsletter aims to promote debate in the development world and to keep our staff, colleagues and clients in touch with changes and advances in HLSP’s work. The latest edition includes articles on rights based approaches to Maternal Health, the official launch of HLSP’s Kenya office, the case for Sector Wide Approaches, and an interview with HLSP Institute director Dr Ken Grant.