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I. Letter from Arlette Campbell White
Dear Friends,
Welcome to the 14th issue of the Adapting to Change electronic newsletter. Firstly, we would like to thank all of you who contribute information to us and make the newsletter a success. The newsletter is an important part of our Program that offers a venue to share information, contributing to the development of a community of practice. In March/April we launched a very successful new web-based course called "Health Outcomes and the Poor". We are very excited about this new course and hope you will sign up for a second offering in July. Please don't forget to see ‘what’s new’ in the Program by visiting our website at http://www.worldbank.org/wbi/healthandaids/. Here you can find up-to-date information about the Program (who we are and what we do) and our training activities worldwide. You can also download brochures and register for our upcoming training courses. We are happy to be preparing for our Fifth Global Course on "Poverty Reduction, Reproductive Health and Health Sector Reform" to be held in Turin, Italy in August, and have extended the application date.
We hope this issue of our newsletter finds you well and, as always, we welcome your input and feedback.
Best regards,
Arlette Campbell White and the Adapting to Change Program Team
II. Staff Announcements
Meri Vanharanta:
We are pleased to introduce our new team member, Ms. Meri Vanharanta, who joins us as a Junior Professional Officer. Meri is a Finnish national and she comes to us from the Academy of Finland, Research Council for Health. She holds a Masters of Health Sciences in Clinical Nutrition, a Masters of Public Health and a Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the University of Kuopio, Finland. Before joining the Bank, she worked as an expert member in the program committee responsible for the research agenda for the European Union’s 6th Frame Work Program in the priority area of Food Quality and Safety. Meri will be working with the HNP Team and contribute to the Nutrition and the Public Health Agenda as well as to other programs.
III. The Fifth “Achieving the Millennium Development Goal: Poverty Reduction, Reproductive Health and Health Sector Reform Global Core Course”, 18 - 29 August 2003 in Turin, Italy
We are pleased to announce the Fifth Core Course which will take place from 18 to 29 August in Turin, Italy, at the ILO Training Center. The goal of this course is to provide state-of-the art knowledge and skills to participants for designing and delivering more effective, equitable, and financially sustainable health interventions in the context of health sector reforms and evolving international policies. By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Speak a common language about the various dimensions and meanings of health, gender, and poverty;
- Recognize the link between health, gender, and poverty and the influences these have on each other;
- Identify technical, economic and political issues that countries face in achieving MDGs related to health and gender;
- Recognize the influence of health sector reform on health service and program design and delivery;
- Analyze components and models of health sector reform that improve or hinder health outcomes;
- Identify and prioritize health needs within their own country or client country in the context of health sector reforms;
- Apply tools for planning, costing, financing, and efficiently mobilizing public and private resources for health in their own country or client country; and
- Design an action plan for improved health services in their own country or client country.
The course is designed for senior government officials, particularly from ministries of Health, Education, Women’s Affairs, Labor, Population and Welfare, and Finance and/or Planning, as well as representatives of NGOs, private sector organizations, the donor community, Bank staff and other working in the field of population, reproductive health, HIV/AIDS and health sector reform. The fee for the two-week course is US$1,500, and participants are expected to cover the costs of their own round trip ticket to Turin, Italy. Participants are also responsible for room and board expenses at the ILO Center, estimated to be approximately $1,400-$1,450.
The course brochure, including the application form, is available on our website at http://www.worldbank.org/wbi/reprohealth/core.html. If you would like to receive a hard copy of the brochure or if you have any questions, please contact Ms Lan Joo at ljoo@worldbank.org.
To apply for the Adapting to Change Course, please download, print and fill out the application form and fax or mail it to Ms. Lan Joo, World Bank Institute, 1818 H Street, N.W., MS J3-302, Washington, D.C. 20433, Fax: +1-202-676-0961. The application deadline has been extended to 30 June 2003. Early application is encouraged. Please see the course brochure for additional information about the course, including financing information, logistics regarding arrival in Turin, housing, visa request procedure, vaccinations, medical insurance, venue, climate and currency. You may also address any questions to Ms. Lan Joo at ljoo@worldbank.org.
IV. The Third “Adapting to Change Francophone Africa Regional Core Course on Population, Reproductive Health and Health Sector Reform (S’adapter Au Changement: Population, Santé de la Reproduction, Réforme du Secteur de la Santé)”, 16 - 27 June in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
This course will be conducted in French and is organized in collaboration with the Francophone Network of African Partners in Population and Reproductive Health, the Network of Research Institutes of Burkina Faso, and the Ministry of Health of Burkina Faso. The course objectives are to improve population and reproductive health outcomes in Burkina Faso by:
- providing participants with an understanding of the changing national and international policy and program environment for their work in population and reproductive health;
- sharing knowledge and tools that help participants effectively deliver reproductive health services in their countries; and
- informing participants working in health systems about how the delivery of reproductive health is influenced, and can be supported, by health sector reforms.
The course will focus on Burkina Faso health issues for public and private sector professionals involved in the financing, planning, implementation, and evaluation of reproductive health services in Burkina Faso; staff from the World Bank, donor agencies, international organizations, NGOs who are working in implementing the reproductive health approach; trainers from regionally-based training and research institutions working in population and reproductive health who conduct training in this area, and wish to strengthen their capacity to do so; and academics and researchers working in the areas of reproductive health, public administration, or the social sectors.
The course brochure, including the application form, is available on our website at http://www.worldbank.org/wbi/healthandaids/, or upon request. To apply for the course, please download, print and fill out the application form and send it by e-mail, fax or mail to Dr. Boukary Ouedraogo, Director of the centre International de Formation en Recherche-Action (CIFRA), 2131, Avenue Houari boumedienne, 11BP: 467- Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Fax: +226-316-54, e-mail: cifra@fasonet.bf or Marguerite Monnet, World Bank Institute, Mailstop J 3-302, 1818 H Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20433, Fax: +1-202-676-0961, E-mail: mmonnet@worldbank.org.
The application deadline is 5 June 2003.
V. “New Agenda for Poverty Reduction Strategies: Integrating Gender and Health”, 29 April - 3 May in Mali
From 29 April to 3 May, WBI, in collaboration with the Malian Network of NGOs, delivered a national workshop on “New Agendas for Poverty Reduction. This course was taught face-to-face. ‘Genre et Santé: Nouvelles approches en matière de stratégies de réduction de la pauvreté’(‘New Agendas for Poverty Reduction Strategies: Integrating Gender and Health’) explores the critical linkages between poverty, gender inequality and health, their key policy issues and implications. The aim of this course was to assist the county in analyzing, designing, and developing better health policies and programs which reduce gender-based inequality.
Around 35 participants attended the training, mainly from a national NGOs network working in health sector, but also from the public sector, Ministry of Health and Ministry of plan where the poverty reduction strategy division is located. For more information, please contact Ms. Marguerite Monnet, Email: mmonnet@worldbank.org, Tel: +1-202-458-4286, Fax: +1-202-676-0961.
VI. Population and Reproductive Health Discussion Forum: Language, Culture and Health: the Gender Divide - Using Proverbs to Tackle Gender Inequities in Health, 7 April - Ongoing
We are presently running an e-mail based discussion forum based on a recently published article, entitled "Language, Culture and Health: the Gender Divide - Using Proverbs to Tackle Gender Inequities in Health". The article, published in the June-December 2002 volume of the Journal of Health Management [4, 2 (2002)], was written by two WBI staff members, Arlette Campbell White, Sr. Population Specialist, and Marguerite Monnet, Human Resources, Specialist, together with Tessie Catsambas, President of EnCompass LLC. The discussion has generated such an unprecedented high level of debate that, although it was supposed to close in early May, we have decided to extend it indefinitely, which means you can still sign up and participate.
The paper under discussion examines the use of proverbs as an innovative way of helping health policy makers and service providers to understand how inherent socio-cultural influences imbue public perceptions of gender roles. The use of proverbs facilitates self-awareness of gender biases and engages people in deeper and more sincere dialogue about possible solutions. Through an innovative training programme developed by WBI , external experts and local practitioners partner in developing gender sensitive approaches that are better designed to ensure success in the development and interpretation of health policies and interventions, thus leading to improved gender equity in health.
VII. Report on the first E-learning Course on “Health Outcomes and the Poor”, 3 March - 11 April in Washington D.C.
We have just conducted our first e-learning course on “Health Outcomes and the Poor”. Forty five participants from 22 countries, representing a large variety of organizations and backgrounds, took part in this six-week long course which focused on improving the health components of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). Participants analyzed existing PRSP documents and completed assignments making suggestions on what to include and how to improve the health components of PRSP. A first analysis of the partially completed evaluation shows that on average participants rated the course 4 on a scale of 1-5 (where 1 is lowest and 5 is highest)
When asked about what the participants would do with the material covered in this course, a participant answered: "I am about to prepare a report on the relevance of and recommendations for a women's health and economic empowerment initiative, and what I have learnt here will enable me do it brilliantly!" Another participant said: "Thank you very much for this course. It has helped to solidify for me so much of my daily work and made many concepts more clear." One of the participants also stated, "You always led us to think in a more practical and structured way. I learned a lot. You provided us with very good tools."
The lessons learned from this course will be incorporated into the next version which will take place from 7 July - 18 August 2003. We will soon be sending out an announcement and call for nominations. For more information, please contact Ms. Jo Hindriks, Email:jhindriks@worldbank.org, Tel: +202-473-6425, Fax: +1-202-676-0961 or see our website at http://www.worldbank.org/wbi/healthandaids/
VIII. Report on a Regional Videoconference on “Adolescent Health and Development in Africa” 26 March 2003, in Washington D.C. and Francophone Africa
WBI, in collaboration with Africa region, hosted a video conference bringing together policy makers and youth from 16 francophone Sub-Saharan African countries. The “Adolescent Health and Development in Africa” (ADHA) conference sought to address issues related to adolescent health, education and employment opportunities for young people in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Bringing together policy makers, youth and specialists from UN agencies and the World Bank in one forum is an important step in ensuring programs that are successfully targeting young people. Youth bring an interesting perspective when highlighting their priorities, as Sounkarou Tamba, a youth from Senegal explained: “If one wants to meet our needs in reproductive health, one must not only give us responsibility but also invest in our potential, and help us avoid situations and related problems; and eventually, teach us how to solve those problems ourselves. Knowledge is not enough. We, the youth, must be informed that among our undeniable rights, there is one that demands that we be educated and we take part in the decision-making process, when our body and life are at stake."
IX. Leadership Program on AIDS: Report on Fighting the HIV/AIDS Pandemic through Information and Strategic Communication Course, 10 - 14 March in Bentota, Sri Lanka
Journalists, communicators and project team leaders from four South Asian countries gathered last month in Bentota, Sri Lanka to explore the ways that they can use communications and information to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which many experts believe could hit the region hard in the next decade. The workshop was sponsored by WBI's Leadership program on AIDS, and the Bank’s South Asia Region Human Development Division. Fifty four participants from Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka were sponsored by various international partners, including UNDP, Unicef, UNFPA, and the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association.
The program was oriented to understanding the role of media professionals and communicators in countries that show comparatively low rates of adult infection, but which are considered to be at risk of a dangerous increase in HIV infections. Participants focused on the importance of conveying reliable information on how the virus is transmitted, and how it is not, and also explored the damaging consequences of stigmatizing behavior toward persons known or believed to be living with HIV/AIDS. One of the most powerful sessions centered on a discussion of stigma with two men living with HIV-- a new experience for nearly all of the participants. Many of the participants were motivated to increase their reporting on the issues surrounding HIV/AIDS.
After the course, one of the participants said, “This is the first day in the Office at Dhaka for me. Obviously it is a long way off from the serene beach of Bentota and the enriching environment that your team had created there. I am totally overwhelmed by your manner and professional commitment. It was one of the best workshops that I have been to in a couple of years. Apart from learning a lot and solid networking with good media people I have picked up some lasting friendships. Of course the credit goes to you for making it such a big success in every sense of the word. Please accept my sincere thanks and I will keep you posted about the follow-up that we plan to do here.”
One journalist, Nizamuddin Siddiqui, has written half a dozen stories in Pakistan's major daily, Dawn, since the program. In one column he concludes: "So this time round what we need is a determined and resolute push that brings about changes in the people's behaviour, not just in their opinions. Let's pray and hope that our politicians, whose interests don't always overlap those of the people they represent, allow good sense to prevail and a suitable response is mounted before it's too late."
Nepalese journalist, Balaram Chaulagain, who attended the course also wrote the article, “Fighting HIV/AIDS through strategic communication” in the Katmandu Post. He urges that “the government, non-government bodies and media all should co-operate in spreading the awareness on how to escape from the deadly disease and minimize its effects.”
X. Report on “New Agenda for Poverty Reduction Strategies: Integrating Gender and Health”, 3 - 7 February, in Arusha, Tanzania
From 3-7 February, WBI and colleagues from the Africa Region delivered the Sixth African Gender, Health and Poverty (GHP) course (the second regional face-to-face course and the first one in English). About 40 participants from 12 countries (Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Italy, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Somaliland, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia) representing various stakeholders participated in this activity, including 12 representatives from the international donor community (Care International, European Commission, UNFPA and WFP).
The main objectives of this regional learning activity were to enable participants to:
- understand the basic concept of gender issues and the critical linkages between gender, health and poverty to identify the critical linkages between poverty, gender inequality, and health, and the key policy issues and implications;
- identify the fundamental gender-based inequalities and issues contributing to ill-health and poverty in women and society to define policy options and strategic choices for better health that take explicit account of these linkages;
- analyze gender-based heath and poverty issues and problems, their linkages and key policy implications and actions;
- define and develop possibilities for improved health outcomes (policies, strategies and actions) at different levels: household, community, institutional and national); and
- identify the critical stakeholders and their roles for improved gender-based health outcomes in poverty reduction strategies to specify policies, programs, and projects in various sectors which will promote better health that can be integrated into national poverty reduction strategies.
The workshop included different types of activities, from traditional presentations to open discussions and group work. The workshop was structured to allow ample time for discussions and exchange of country-specific experiences.
The course performed very well in terms of participant satisfaction and formal evaluations. Response to the course was very enthusiastic, and participants expressed strong interest in the content of the course. The Minister for Health and Labour from Somaliland attended. He expressed his deep satisfaction in the course and requested that a country-tailored approach be developed for Somalia.
XI. Useful Websites and Readings
Useful website
1. John's Hopkins media library: http://www.jhuccp.org
2. Institute for Reproductive Health: Georgetown University: http://www.irh.org/
As part of Georgetown University's School of Medicine, the Institute uses scientific knowledge about reproductive physiology to develop and test new, simple natural family planning methods and test them in service delivery settings. Among other updates are: Resources for Service Providers at http://irh.org
3. Launch of First Comprehensive Gender and HIV/AIDS Web Portal: http://www.GenderandAIDS.org
A new gender and HIV/AIDS web portal will provide researchers, policy-makers and practitioners access to cutting edge information at their fingertips. Developed by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), in collaboration with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the portal is a one-stop online resource center on the gender dimensions of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The web portal will be a constantly evolving, multi-dimensional and dynamic virtual space that promotes understanding, knowledge-sharing, and action on HIV/AIDS as a gender and human rights issue. User-friendly, informative and interactive, the site offers research, training materials, surveys, advocacy tools, current news and opinion pieces by leading experts, and women’s stories from the field. Plans are also underway to house an experts database, which will serve as a technical and networking vehicle for national and global gender and HIV/AIDS specialists.
4. AIDSWEB: HIV/AIDS and ICT Project Update
On February 6, 2003, Keith Hansen, Manager of ACT Africa, a multisectoral unit within the World Bank’s Africa region that overseas the organization’s response to AIDS, chaired an event that highlighted the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to fight HIV/AIDS. Hansen opened the event by noting that if there was a silver lining, it was that the AIDS epidemic occurred in the same era as the explosion of low cost technologies that make it relatively easy to communicate and disseminate knowledge.
Presentations were made on new communications approaches using television, radio, and the internet, to reach target audiences such as women, youth, and the media to educate and train them on HIV/AIDS issues. 5. HIV/AIDS Window - all information related to HIV/AIDS through one 'window": http://www.comminit.com/hivaids/
HIV/AIDS Window provides updates on recent HIV/AIDS initiatives including programme activities, awards, training, evaluation and research results, networks, books, other materials, planning ideas, change theories and other information.
6. World Bank's webcasting station, B-SPAN
B-SPAN films policy seminars and makes the videos available to a wider audience, both inside and outside the Bank, through an Internet site. These webcasts will allow anyone to participate and have access to information and expertise that had once been reserved for a select few. For recipients of B-SPAN in the developing world, this is an especially exciting opportunity to have a constructive source of information on issues affecting them directly. Useful Readings
1. Addressing HIV-Related Stigma and Resulting Discrimination in Africa - Ethiopia, Tanzania & Zambia
The International Center for Research on Women is working to investigate the causes, manifestations, and consequences of HIV/AIDS-related stigma and resulting discriminatory acts in Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Zambia. Zambia's project will involve interviewing households twice per month for four months to develop an understanding of both the relationship between stigma related to tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS and the impact of such stigma on children.
http://www.comminit.com/pdskdv82002/sld-5598.html
2. Survey of Health Professionals to Gauge Knowledge of TB & DOTS - India Health and Development Initiative
India conducted a rapid survey (August 2001) to gauge the awareness level of health professionals in the Punjab State of India about DOTS and to gain an insight into the process they follow while treating TB patients. 33 randomly selected health professionals drawn from different sections of service delivery were questioned.
http://www.comminit.com/id2001/sld-2875.html
3. Choices in Family Planning: Information and Voluntary Decision Making
The toolkit, as it is known, is designed to help policy makers, managers of health care programs, health care workers, and community leaders support individuals in making informed and voluntary decisions about their sexual and reproductive health. This updated edition incorporates modifications to address users' feedback based on their experience in applying the tools in field-based service programs. The PDF version of Choices in Family Planning: Informed and Voluntary Decision Making can be viewed or downloaded at
http://www.engenderhealth.org/res/offc/ic/choices/
4. "VIIM KUUNGA" RADIO PROGRAMME on HIV/AIDS
Radio Salankoloto is a radio station broadcasting out of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso which aims to provide information and to improve the lives of listeners. The "Viim Kuunga" radio programme, aired by Radio Salankoloto, aimed to help combat HIV/AIDS in the community. See the Case Study written by Suzanne Fisher at
http://www.comminit.com/pdskdv32003/sld-7545.html
For more information, please contact Suzanne at suz_fisher@yahoo.co.uk.
5. First drug in a new class of HIV/AIDS treatments for HIV-infected adults and children with advanced HIV infection
XII. How to Subscribe/Unsubscribe
Please circulate this message to other interested people and encourage them to register for their own copy by sending an email to join reprohealth@lists.worldbank.org. This newsletter, as well as previous issues, is also available on our website as http://www.worldbank.org/wbi/healthandaids/
Thank you for your interest in the Adapting to Change and Gender, Health and Poverty Programs, as well as the Leadership Program on AIDS. This newsletter is published bi-monthly. We welcome your comments and suggestions. Please send them to lsage@worldbank.org.
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