News of 27 October 2009

News of 27 October 2009

Network MMS: What's up?
Network MMS: News
International Health and more: Issues, Debates, Tools
Focus: Trendsetting courses
Advanced Learning: Distance Learning Programme
Adavanced Learning: International health

Network MMS: What's up?

Chronic diseases in developing and newly industrialized countries: A new challenge for global health
Basel, 10 November 2009
(E) MMS Symposium | Death rates caused by infectious diseases have been overtaken by chronic diseases in all parts of the world except southern Africa. Chronic diseases can no longer be regarded as a problem that is exclusive to the developed world. This presents major challenges not only for the affected countries, but also for international health policy and non-governmental organizations involved in health cooperation. The eighth Swiss Health Cooperation Symposium to be organized by Medicus Mundi Switzerland will take place within the established framework.
http://www.medicusmundi.ch/mms-en/services/events/Symposium2009

Symposium of the Novartis Foundation: "Tackle the crisis with a new world economic ethic?"
Basel, 27 November 2009
(E) Novartis Foundation | The subject of this year's Novartis Foundation Symposium is: "Tackle the crisis with a new world economic ethic?" Speakers will include Hans Küng, theologian and publicist, President of Foundation „Weltethos“; and Ioanna Kuçuradi, Turkish human rights activist and philosopher. The current economic, social and ecological crisis serves as a background for this topic. At the symposium, a new declaration on “Global Economic Ethic – Consequences for Global Businesses” will be presented. Speakers will debate this and other proposals of alternative ways out of the crisis critically. Not only the economic crisis, but also the social dimension, in particular extreme poverty, will prominently figure in the day’s discourse.
http://www.novartisfoundation.org

Welt-Aids-Tag in Zug mit SolidarMed
Zug, 1. Dezember 2009
(D) SolidarMed | Der Welt AIDS Tag in Zug organisiert SolidarMed usammen mit den der AIDS-Hilfe Zug, dem Integrationsnetz Zug und der Asylbrücke Zug.Beginn ist mit einem Apéro ab 18 Uhr, gefolgt von einer Ansprache von Peter Hegglin, Regierungsrat und Landammann, und von einer Betroffenen. Eine Bilderausstellung des Fotographen, Alexander Jaquemet, (AIDS in Afrika) ein Kurzfilm des Künstlers Remo Hegglin, (AIDS in der Schweiz), sowie Auftritte des Jazz-Ensembles Quint-Essenz und der Gruppe Quziem runden das kulturelle Programm ab. Kulinarisch wird man von einem interkulturelles Essen und Getränke verwöhnt und Infostände der Organisationen geben Einblicke in die Tätigkeiten im Bereich HIV/AIDS. Ort: Burgbachsaal, Zug
http://www.solidarmed.ch/index.php?id=57

STI Symposium: Environmental Health: Here and There
Basel, 10-11 December 2009
(E) STI | To commemorate the integration of the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM) into the Swiss Tropical Institute (STI), the 14th STI Symposium is built around the theme of “Environmental health: here and there”. A diverse set of case studies will be featured, both from industrialized countries and developing world settings. This thematic focus reflects the substantial body of research, teaching and training of the merged STI/ISPM centred on environmental health issues in the North and in the South.
http://www.sti.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/Pdfs/14th_STI_Symposium_Programmkorr.pdf

Network MMS: News

EZA-Bericht des Bundesrat: Gegen Ausgabenerhöhung
Alliance Sud: "Bundesrat ignoriert Beschlüsse des Bundesrates"
(D) Switzerland EDA/Alliance Sud | Bereits im Mai beschloss der Bundesrat dem Auftrag des Parlamentes, nicht Folge zu leisten und keine Zusatzbotschaft zur Erhöhung der Ausgaben für die Entwicklungszusammenarbeit auf 0,5% vorzulegen. Stattdessen legt er nun einen Bericht zuhanden des Parlamentes vor. Die entwicklungspolitische Arbeitsgemeinschaft Alliance Sud fordert das Parlament auf, an ihren Beschlüssen festzuhalten.
http://www.admin.ch/aktuell/00089/index.html?lang=de&msg-id=29620
alliancesud.ch/...

Christmas Present: FAIRMED anniversary calendar
Michael von Graffenried : eye on africa
(E) FAIRMED | In 2008 the renowned Swiss photographer Michael von Graffenried has visited Cameroon, one of our target countries and has succeeded in capturing on film the everyday life of the Cameroon people without explicitly drawing attention to the difficult conditions in which they live. 13 large-sized panoramic pictures taken to celebrate our 50th anniversary enable you to enjoy fascinating encounters with the people in the pictures each month. A perfect Christmas gift. Order at the anniversary price of CHF 50.- plus CHF 6.- postage and packaging. Send us an e-mail info@fairmed.ch or call us on 031 311 77 97. The proceeds from their sale will benefit our Buruli ulcer project in Cameroon.
www.fairmed.ch/50/d/eyeonafricashop.php

Neue Gesundheitsausbildung in Kolumbien
Stärkung von Kinder- und Müttergesundheitsprogrammen
(D) El Salvador , Colombia edm | Ende Oktober 2009 haben 22 Verantwortliche für Kinder- und Müttergesundheitsprogramme aus Kolumbien und Salvador die Weiterbildung „Gesundheitsförderung“ an der Universität Antioquia in Medellin (Kolumbien) begonnen. Diese Ausbildung wurde von Enfants du Monde, der Weltgesundheitsorganisation sowie der Panamerikanischen Gesundheitsorganisation konzipiert. Ziel ist, die Teilnehmenden im Gesundheitsansatz „Zusammenarbeit mit Einzelpersonen, Familien und Gemeinden zugunsten der Gesundheit von Müttern und Neugeborenen“ (IFC-Ansatz) auszubilden. Dieser Ansatz wird von der Weltgesundheitsorganisation empfohlen und konzentriert sich auf die Verbesserung des Zugangs zu medizinischer Versorgung für Mütter und Neugeborene sowie auf die Stärkung der Kompetenzen der Frauen, Familien und Gemeinden bezüglich ihrer Gesundheit. Die Weiterbildung wird anschliessend in jedem Semester durchgeführt und ist zugänglich für andere Länder Lateinamerikas.
http://www.edm.ch/de/index.php

SRK hilft in Vietnam mit Nahrung
Zerstörte Reisernte
(D) Vietnam SRK | Mehrere Taifune haben im September in Vietnam schwere Überschwemmungen verursacht. Die Nothilfe des Roten Kreuzes an die Bevölkerung läuft auf Hochtouren. SRK-Logistiker Thomas Büeler steht in der betroffenen Provinz Danang im Einsatz.
http://www.redcross.ch/activities/international/news/news-de.php?newsid=1173

Obdach für die Katastrophenopfer in Asien
Enge Zusammenarbeit mit dem lokalen Roten Kreuz
(D) Philippines , Vietnam SRK | In den von Überschwemmungen und Erdbeben betroffenen Ländern Asiens konzentriert sich das SRK darauf, die Bevölkerung mit einem sicheren Obdach zu versorgen.
http://www.redcross.ch/activities/international/news/news-de.php?newsid=1169

International Health and more: Issues, Debates, Tools

Stiftung Weltethos formuliert Grundwerte für die Wirtschaft
»Erklärung zu einem Globalen Wirtschaftsethos«
(D) Novartis Stiftung für nachhaltige Entwicklung | Eine Gruppe von Intellektuellen und Wirtschaftsleuten um den Tübinger Theologen Hans Küng hat ethische Grundsätze für Gerechtigkeit in der Wirtschaft formuliert. Es gehe um Werte, die alle Menschen weltweit anerkennen könnten, sagte Küng. Die »Erklärung zu einem Globalen Wirtschaftsethos« wurde am 6. Oktober 2009 bei einem Symposium im Hauptquartier der Vereinten Nationen in New York vorgestellt. »Damit wird die Weltethoserklärung des Parlaments der Weltreligionen von Chicago 1993 in die Welt der Wirtschaft übersetzt«, sagte der Tübinger Professor.
http://www.weltethos.org/00-grundwerte-wirtschaft.htm
www.novartisstiftung.org/...

New Global Economic Ethic Manifesto Launched
Consequences for Global Businesses
(E) Novartis Foundation | A new manifesto titled “Global Economic Ethic – Consequences for Global Businesses” was launched during a business ethics symposium at UN Headquarters on October 6, 2009. Developed by Swiss-German theologian Hans Küng, President of the Global Ethic Foundation, the document aims at laying out a “common fundamental vision of what is legitimate, just and fair” in economic activities.
http://www.weltethos.org/dat-english/00-economic-manifesto-2009.htm
www.novartisfoundation.org/...

Focus: Trendsetting courses

Nachhaltiges Engagement in der Lehre in Internationaler Gesundheit
Axel Hoffmann über die Lernangebote des Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute
(D) STI | „Seit Mitte der 1990er Jahre bietet das „Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute“ (STI) in Basel postgraduierten Kurse in Internationaler Gesundheit für Gesundheitsfachpersonal an. Neben der individuellen Förderung ist das STI aber auch in der institutionellen Förderung von Lehr- und Lerneinrichtungen in ressourcenarmen Ländern engagiert. Neben zahlreichen Forschungspartnerschaften, die auf eine langjährige Erfahrung zurückblicken können, ist hier die seit 2004 bestehende Partnerschaft zwischen STI, der Regierung Tansanias und der Novartis-Stiftung für Nachhaltige Entwicklung hervorzuheben, die im ländlichen Raum Tansanias das „Tanzanian Training Centre for International Health (TTCIH)“ in Ifakara hervorbrachte. In einem einzigartigen Umfeld aus Forschung (Ifakara Health Institute), Lehre (Assistant Medical Officer Training Centre) und Versorgung (St. Francis Designated District Hospital) werden hier neben der Ausbildung von klinischem Personal auch Kurse in Internationaler Gesundheit durchgeführt.“
www.medicusmundi.ch/...
http://www.sti.ch/en/teaching-and-training.html
http://www.healthtraining.org/schools/basel.php#Crs5

Commentary: Learning and teaching public health
Advocacy & Policy
(E) ProCor | “Recognizing the pressing need for experienced health managers to design and run programs in many countries of the South, BRAC University in Dhaka, Bangladesh, created the James P. Grant School of Public Health as its first graduate school offering a Masters of Public Health degree through a one-year experiential course of study. Located in a poor country of the South, the School endeavors to expose its students to the practice of public health, emphasizing first-hand experience in both rural and urban settings in preference to lectures and book learning.”
http://www.procor.org/advocacy/advocacy_show.htm?doc_id=1023253

Medical schools in rural areas – necessity or aberration?
Original Research
(E) Rural and Remote Health Journal | “There is major maldistribution of physicians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). While 70% of Congolese live in rural areas, relatively few doctors practice there. Of the 25 medical schools in the DRC only one private medical school is located in a rural area. The purpose of this article was to analyse and compare the graduates of an urban- and a rural-located university in DRC. The results support the policy of establishing medical schools in rural areas, and also provide indications of approaches likely to increase the number and expertise of rural-located physicians.”
http://www.rrh.org.au/articles/subviewnew.asp?ArticleID=1131

Training of public health workforce at the National School of Public Health: meeting Africa’s needs
(E) WHO | “The burden of chronic diseases continues to increase in Africa, and numbers of new skilled health personnel are not keeping pace. Training and increasing the number of health-care personnel, therefore, remains a priority in African countries. Clearly Africa needs public health professionals with the knowledge and skills to deal with myriad public health challenges. One solution is distance learning. For example, in “Who will keep the public healthy?” distance education is advocated as a method of “… enabling workers to continue in their work responsibilities by completing self-paced coursework … this approach reduces the burden overworked and understaffed agencies feel as their staff members participate in educational programs.”
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/85/12/07-044552/en/index.html

Experience with a "social model" of capacity building: the Peoples-uni
(E) Human Resources for Health | “Taking advantage of societal trends involving the "third sector", a social model of philanthropy and the open-source software and educational resource movements, provides the opportunity for online education for capacity building at low cost. The Peoples Open Access Education Initiative, Peoples-uni, aims to make a substantial contribution to capacity building in low-income settings.”
http://www.human-resources-health.com/content/7/1/43
http://www.healthtraining.org/schools/manchester_peoples-uni.php

Open Access Week
19-23 October 2009, To broaden awareness and understanding of Open Access
(E) ProCor | “In recognition of Open Access Week (www.openaccessweek.org), ProCor is highlighting a range of open-access resources. These materials are freely available to anyone with access to the internet. While open access does not solve the issue of the digital divide - people without internet access cannot directly access these resources - it does increase access in some regions, and allows people with access to download and then share resources with others through local interpersonal networks. The quality and quantity of open-access resources has increased enormously over the past several years and these resources are enormously popular and useful to people in developed and developing countries alike.”
http://www.procor.org/advocacy/advocacy_show.htm?doc_id=1059340

Advanced Learning: Distance Learning Programme

Masters in International Primary Health Care
UCL, September 2010 – London, United Kingdom
(E) healthtraining.org | “The health of a nation depends to a large extent on the quality of its primary health care system (that is, on the provision of accessible, first-contact care for people outside hospital). The MSc in International Primary Health Care (IPHC) is aimed at leaders and change agents who seek to improve primary health care services. Students on this three-year part-time course learn the principles of effective primary health care, research methodology, and evidence-based practice. The course is the world's first fully online postgraduate degree in primary care taught via a Virtual Learning Environment.” (University College London)
www.londonexternal.ac.uk/...
http://www.healthtraining.org/schools/london_uni.php#Crs2

MSc Poverty Reduction and Development Management
University of Birmingham, September 2010 – Brimingham, United Kingdom
(E) healthtraining.org | "Make Poverty History has become a familiar slogan in recent years in the global North, whilst for those in the global South it is a challenge with very personal significance. But what does poverty reduction really mean? This programme enables students to explore the current debates within both academia and the policy arena around poverty reduction, and also to gain or enhance their practical skills in development management. Students will explore what poverty is and entry points for poverty reduction policies and programmes. They will develop skills to critically evaluate government, donor and NGO strategies for development and poverty reduction." (University of Birmingham)
http://www.idd.bham.ac.uk/degree/pg/poverty.shtml
http://www.healthtraining.org/schools/birmingham.php#Crs5

Master-Online Study Program "@dvanced Oncology"
University of Ulm, September 2010 – Ulm, Germany
(E) healthtraining.org | “There is a growing global demand for academic continuing education of oncologists comprising aspects of patient management, standardization of treatment procedures as well as expertise in the performance of clinical trials and cooperation with the industry. Ulm University is developing an innovative international postgraduate study program „@dvanced Oncology“ addressing graduates in human medicine currently completing specialized training, but also includes practicing oncologists as well as employees of the pharmaceutical industry working in the field of oncology. It is the aim of the study program to conduces to the export of knowledge in order to improve and harmonize the health care of cancer patients worldwide.” (University of Ulm)
www.medicusmundi.ch/...
http://www.uni-ulm.de/med/icas/master-online-advanced-oncology.html
http://www.healthtraining.org/schools/ulm.php#Crs9

Health and Human Rights - Dimensions and Strategies
InWent, 2 November 2009 – 30 April 2010, Bonn, Germany
(E) healthtraining.org | "The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health as a fundamental right of every human being ("the right to health") was first enshrined in WHO's Constitution in 1946. Since then, the right to health has been enshrined in numerous international and regional human rights treaties as well as national constitutions all over the world. Other key health-related human rights include freedom from discrimination and the rights to participation, education and information. This online training intends to generate increased clarity and understanding about the important synergy between health and human rights." (InWent)
http://gc21.inwent.org/de/index.jsp
http://www.healthtraining.org/schools/bonn_inwent.php#Crs9

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's OPENCOURSEWARE (OCW)
JHSP, Baltimore, United States
(E) healthtraining.org | “The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's OPENCOURSEWARE (OCW) project provides free access to content of the School's most popular courses. As challenges to the world's health escalate daily, the School feels a moral imperative to provide equal and open access to information and knowledge about the obstacles to the public's health and their potential solutions." (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg)
http://ocw.jhsph.edu/
http://www.healthtraining.org/schools/baltimore.php#Crs15

Adavanced Learning: International health

Summer Programme on Global Health Diplomacy
IHEID, June 21 - 25, 2010 - Geneva, Switzerland
(E) healthtraining.org | "As health moves beyond its purely technical realm to become an ever more critical element in foreign policy, security policy and trade agreements, new skills are needed to negotiate international agreements and to maintain relations." (Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva)
graduateinstitute.ch/...
http://www.healthtraining.org/schools/geneva_hei.php#Crs3

Summer School in International Health 2010
SSIH, 2 - 27 August 2010, Copenhagen, Denmark
(E) healthtraining.org | “The main objectives is to provide participants with a basic understanding of the health problems facing developing countries and the challenges these provide for their health systems as well as to enable them to participate in health provision at hospitals and health centres in developing countries.” (University of Copenhagen)
http://globalhealth.ku.dk/courses/2009-2010/ssih/
http://www.healthtraining.org/schools/copenhagen.php#Crs9

Health District Management: Planning and Program Design
STI, 14 - 25 June 2010., Basel, Switzerland
(E) healthtraining.org | “This module provides information and tools on planning district health services. The course aims at introducing the basic principles of strategic program and project management. It is based on exercises that simulate real problems in planning and management as closely as possible to real life situations.” (Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute)
www.sti.ch/...
http://www.healthtraining.org/schools/basel.php#Crs4

MSc, health systems and public policy
CIPHP, September 2010, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
(E) healthtraining.org | | “This programme analyses and evaluates public health systems in order to respond to the challenge of reducing health inequalities. It provides a detailed examination of the concepts of partnerships, offers methods for evaluating them, and examines the basic principles of health system funding and provision. It evaluates PPPs from a public health perspective and accounts for the organisational changes in health care provision accompanying PPPs.” (Centre for International Public Health Policy)
http://www.health.ed.ac.uk/CIPHP/postgraduate/partnerships.htm
http://www.healthtraining.org/schools/edinburgh_ciphp.php#Crs3