EDD2013 - Updated thematic programme Health
Discussion details
Dear colleagues,
In the lead-up to the European Development Days 2013 on 26-27 Nov, please find below the latest programme update on Health. For practical details and further info, please consult the EDD2013 website. Do not hesitate to use this space to ask questions to the focal points for the various sessions, listed below.
Best regards,
The Capacity4dev Coordination Team
Poverty generates ill health, and poor health, in turn, increases vulnerability and poverty. The growing burden of non-communicable diseases increasingly also affects the poor. However, reducing the burden of infectious diseases remains essential and a prerequisite to reduce malnutrition. Controlling diseases is also a key element for economic growth. Therefore, the EU is strongly committed to increasing equitable access to quality health services in developing countries, whilst ensuring social protection against the financial risks of disease, strengthening social inclusion and boosting global health.
In line with its Communication on ‘The EU Role in Global Health’, the EU pursues a rights-based approach to health and provides support to developing countries to develop their health policies. Support is also given to strengthen health systems and ensure that health is appropriately considered in other policies, in order to reduce inequalities in health and in access to healthcare, to improve the quality of care, to provide more comprehensive services and to protect against the financial risks of excessive health costs – also ensuring that women’s health concerns are appropriately considered.
While the EU is a major supporter of global health initiatives – such as the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, and the GAVI Alliance for Immunisations – and of the specialised UN organisations – such as the World Health Organization – the main focus of the EU’s assistance in the health sector is to provide support directly to partner countries and support countries’ own efforts to achieve universal health coverage.
In the Communication ‘An Agenda for Change’ on EU development policy, the EU confirms its commitment to health by announcing that at least 20 % of its 2014-20 aid budget will be allocated for human development and social inclusion, including health. Furthermore, the 2013 Communication on the post-2015 global development goals sets out the EU’s intention to provide a balanced approach to poverty eradication and sustainable development, ensuring basic living standards, including health, for all.
Planned activities:
Right to health: What about the equity?
Supporting fragile states through WASH
Finishing and moving beyond the health MDGs
Sex and reproduction: Do donors care?
Post-2015, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria
Science and innovation for development - Wireless networks in rural areas
#EDD13_Health
Right to health: What about the equity?
Rights and equity in four health priorities: UHC, SRHR,
access to medicines and human resources
In 2000, the United Nations Millennium Declaration promoted equality as an essential value to international relations in the 21th century. However, despite efforts towards its accompanying Millennium Development Goals, inequities seem to have increased at national and international levels. It is a political, social, economic and environmental issue; it is about fairness and justice.
How equity can be better included in the future development framework is at the core of the current debate on the post-2015 agenda. This session aims at deepening ideas on this question, taking stock of the experiences of Belgian, EU and southern actors. How does development cooperation tackle inequities? Which tools are used? How should the development cooperation approach be changed?
The focus of the session will be on the right to health and healthcare in low-income countries.
(Panellists – tbc)
Organised by
Federal Public Service for Public Health – Belgium, Ministry for Foreign Affairs – Belgium, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation – Spain, The Institute of Tropical Medicine, Ministry for Foreign Affairs – The Netherlands, School of Public Health, Université Libre de Bruxelles – ULB
catherine.dujardin@diplobel.fed.be
#EDD13_Health
Supporting fragile states through WASH
How can basic services such as water and sanitation support
peace and state-building in fragile states?
The call for a step change in the approach to engagement in fragile and conflict-affected states (FCAS) has implications for a variety of development actors, across all areas of intervention. We must not only do different things, but also do things differently. Establishing peace and stability is now known to be crucial to development, and therefore all programmes in FCAS can and must contribute to achieving that goal.
Given the prominence of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) needs in FCAS, these interventions will remain essential, but WASH programmes must also contribute, where possible, to opportunities for state- and peace-building. There is a growing body of research and experience providing an evidence base for precisely how, and to what extent, basic service delivery – and in particular WASH – can contribute to peace-building and state-building in fragile states.
This session will discuss recent research linking WASH services to the broader peace- and state-building process. It will engage audience members in a discussion on how to do this better and what it requires by the different actors at various levels.
Dick van Ginhoven, Senior Water and Sanitation Advisor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands
Michelle Kooy, Water Governance Chair Group, UNESCO-IHE
Sarah Pickwick, Policy officer, Tearfund, United Kingdom
Ashutosh Tiwari, WaterAid Country Representative, Nepal
Leni Wild, Research Fellow, Overseas Development Institute, United Kingdom
Organised by
Institute for Water Education, UNESCO – IHE
c.jaspers@unesco-ihe.org, g.casale@unesco-ihe.org
#EDD13_Health
Finishing and moving beyond the health MDGs
How can we break the barriers for universal
and sustainable access to quality healthcare?
With less than 1 000 days until the deadline for the Millennium Development Goals, global consultations on the shape of the post-2015 development framework are calling for health to be placed at its core, as a critical contributor to and outcome of sustainable development and human wellbeing.
In its May 2013 report on the post-2015 development agenda, the African Union Commission explained the uneven and discouraging performance on the health Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by inequity in access to services due to physical and financial barriers, as well as a lack of ownership. The High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda called on the new agenda to tackle the causes of exclusion and inequality and provide quality healthcare for all.
This session will debate how the post-2015 development agenda should build on and improve the current health Millennium Development Goals, addressing their shortages around equity, human rights, financing and ownership.
Joyce Banda, President of Malawi
Joel Gustave Nana, Executive Director, African Men for Sexual Health and Rights – AMSHeR
Mbodj Magatte, Member of Parliament, Senegal
Dr Marleen Temmerman, Director for Reproductive Health and Research, World Health Organization – WHO
Organised by
Action for Global Health, Countdown 2015 Europe, Federal Public Service for Foreign Affairs – Belgium, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS – UNAIDS, Save the Children, United Nations Population Fund – UNFPA, World Health Organization – WHO, The World Bank Group
#EDD13_Health
Sex and reproduction: Do donors care?
Launching Euromapping 2013:
The annual study of population assistance from 23 major donors
Published annually since 2004, Euromapping provides a detailed and up-to-date study of spending on population assistance by 23 major donors. It charts official aid for family planning, reproductive health, HIV/AIDS and research. These areas of development are vital for societies to be healthy from one generation to the next, and for women to be able to enjoy a decent and dignified life.
The report has regularly exposed the critical lack of investment in population assistance over the past decade, illustrating why MDG 5B is one of the most off-track Millennium Development Goals. Yet in an era of austerity and cost-effectiveness, population assistance also represents one of the most efficient investments that a donor can make. With evidence from two decades of ODA spending, this year’s report comes at the perfect moment for discussing how to progress on MDG 5B before 2015, and on how to include these fundamental issues in the ICPD beyond 2014 and the post-2015 frameworks. The report is a joint study by the Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevoelkerung and the European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development, funded by Countdown 2015 Europe.
Neil Datta, Secretary of the European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development – EPF
Sietske Steneker, Director of the Brussels Office, United Nations Population Fund – UNFPA
Sophie in't Veld, Chair of the Working Group on Reproductive Health HIV/AIDS and Development, European Parliament
Cécile Vernant, Head of EU Advocacy, Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevoelkerung – DSW
Organised by
Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevoelkerung – DSW, European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development – EPF
eddie@epfweb.org, anna.dahlman@dsw-brussels.org
#EDD13_Health
Integrated approaches to health and the post-2015 framework
A central critique of the health Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) relates to their focus on specific diseases and reducing mortality rates. This has contributed to silo approaches that have challenged health systems’ ability to respond to the national burden of disease in a holistic way.
The institutional structures that exist in most countries rarely reflect the ways in which poverty, health, nutrition, gender, education and other issues inter-relate in people’s lives. All too often the potential impact of one set of interventions is undermined by the lack of interventions in other areas.
There has been increased recognition for more integrated approaches that work across disease programmes and beyond the remits of the healthcare delivery system to respond to the burden of disease. Further progress on improving health and wellbeing can only be made by reducing inequities and addressing the social, environmental and economic determinants of health, including water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).
Dr Tim Crocker-Buque, International Committee, British Medical Association
Esmee Russell, International Coordinator, End Water Poverty
Yael Velleman, Senior Policy Analyst, Health & Sanitation, WaterAid
Organised by
British Medical Association – BMA, End Water Poverty – EWP, WaterAid
toritimms@wateraid.org, esmeerussell@endwaterpoverty.org, plaffin@bma.org.uk
#EDD13_Health
Strategies to prevent cancer and encourage an enabling
legal environment in developing countries
Some 275 000 women in the world die of cervical cancer every year: more than 85 % in low-income countries, where incidence of HPV infection is higher and few women have access to screening and treatment. Estimates of cervical cancer deaths are expected to rise to 430 000 per year by 2030. HPV vaccines are primarily available as part of routine immunisation to girls in relatively wealthy countries.
In the WHO European Region, cervical cancer causes the deaths of around 32,000 women each year. Sadly, the risk of dying from cervical cancer is 10 times higher in central Europe than in Western Europe. In 90 % of cases deaths could be averted. Many countries do not include prevention of cervical cancer in the primary healthcare system.
Some two million people are infected with hepatitis B worldwide and 250 million are chronic carriers of the virus. Nearly 600 000 deaths occur each year, many of which could be prevented by hepatitis B vaccine. While frameworks exist to address communicable diseases, emerging challenges such as NCDs in developing countries, where universal social security schemes are often lacking, remain unaddressed.
This session aims to address the rising challenge of the burden of cervical cancer in developing countries. A panel of cancer prevention advocates and experts will discuss key strategies for saving lives through vaccination and screening and requisite enabling legal environments. Identified best practices will create recommendations on what the EU’s role should be in supporting cancer prevention in the post-2015 era.
(Panellists – tbc)
Organised by
Association of European Cancer Leagues – AECL, European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development – EPF, GAVI Alliance, Marie Stopes International
info@europeancancerleagues.org, marina@epfweb.org , peter.schaffler@mariestopes.org, vmessager@gavialliance.org
#EDD13_Health
Post-2015, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria
Where do we stand with fighting these poverty related diseases?
Whilst there is significant progress towards preventing HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, these infectious diseases are far from being under control.
HIV/AIDS numbers are on rise in the European region.
Universal access to prevention and treatment are not ensured and social stigma, discrimination and cycle of poverty and these poverty related disease continue to have their impact on development.
Dr Masoud Dara, Programme Manager, Division of Communicable Diseases, Health Security and Environment, World Health Organization
Charles Goerens,Member of European Parliament
Bruno Rivalan, Director for Advocacy, Global Health Advocates
Kristian Schmidt, Director Human and Society Development, DG Development and Cooperation – Europeaid, European Commission
Péter Wintermantel, Deputy State Secretary for Global Affairs, Hungary
Organised by
World Health Organization – WHO
#EDD13_Health
Science and innovation for development
Wireless networks in rural areas
Science, technology and innovation have been a vital drive for our societies.
In these important times of global change, where the sustainability of our planet is a challenge and establishing a decent human life worldwide is essential, science and technology have a lot to say.
This session will bring hands-on examples on what the technologies of communication and information have been doing in recent years by tackling developmental challenges, and more specifically how they have alleviated poverty in isolated areas of developing countries and how they have worked in those areas where sustainability is critical.
TUCAN3G, an FP7 project on mobile communications for rural areas, will be explained as example of the challenges that still need to be addressed and the latest research lines in this matter. After explaining the communications solutions available, the session will focus on innovative telemedicine tools that can make the difference in these environments.
The session will also raise awareness on the vital role the technologies of communication and information have in the developing world.
Patricia Hanna Crispín Milart, Gynaecologist, Hospital Universitario Fundación Alcorcón, Peru
Ignacio Prieto Egido, Project Director, EHAS Foundation
Organised by
EHAS Foundation, Fair World, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
ignacio.prieto@ehas.org, soraya.hidalgo@fairworld.org.es, josep.vidal@upc.edu
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The video of Eloke Onyebuchi, the Coordinator of Youth Glbal Platform on HIV/AIDS, a Public health specialist and Principal Consultant Onyibupet Consulting limited discussing on HIV/AIDS and the Nigerian society, in the light of the anti - stigmatization law passed by the President of Nigeria as we mark 2015 Zero discrimination day.