Public Health Program Newsletter Spring 2009

This issue of the Public Health Program Newsletter highlights our work from December 2008 to March 2009, with upcoming events in April and May. We encourage information sharing to explore potential collaboration and receive feedback. Contact Paul Silva at psilva@sorosny.org. Please visit www.soros.org/health for more information on our work. 

Table of Contents

Advocacy on Our Issues

“Stop the Stock-Outs” Campaign Launched in Africa
Civil society organizations from across East and Southern Africa have launched a campaign to end widespread “stock-outs” of medicines in public health facilities. The campaign, supported by the Access to Essential Medicines Initiative and Health Media Initiative, calls on governments to ensure that pharmacies are stocked with essential medicines and to end corruption in the medicine supply chain. more

OSI Advocates for Human Rights at UN Drug Policy Meeting
The International Harm Reduction Development program joined a coalition of OSI grantees working to shape the outcome of a high level UN meeting on drug policy held in Vienna in March. After a campaign that included media efforts, demonstrations outside the UN, side events, and work with friendly governments, language affirming comprehensive HIV prevention and human rights was included in the UN declaration meant to guide nations for the next decade. Twenty-six countries also signed a statement asserting that they believed the declaration authorized harm reduction, marking a significant shift from the previous declaration issued ten years ago. The United States, Russia, Japan, and Cuba, among other countries, opposed the move.

Advocates Address Anti-Trafficking Efforts and Sex Worker Rights
In December 2008, the Sexual Health and Rights Project collaborated with NGO and donor partners to hold two meetings to explore anti-trafficking approaches that affirm the rights of sex workers. The meetings included a briefing with the UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons. more

European Workshop on Minority Health and Rights Focuses on Roma
The Roma Health Project convened a workshop on minority health and rights during the European Public Health Association’s 2008 annual conference in Lisbon. The workshop raised awareness within the broader public health community of the health and human rights of minorities in an expanding Europe, with a focus on specific challenges faced by Roma in accessing health services. more

People with Mental Disabilities Move Out of Institutions in Kyrgyzstan
In early 2009, people with disabilities in Kyrgyzstan were released from institutions to move into community housing with their families as part of a program supported by the Mental Health Initiative. The multi-year program established by Family and Society Kyrgyzstan and Habitat for Humanity tackles two main causes of institutionalization of people with mental disabilities: poverty and a lack of support from communities. The program aims to show policymakers that there are simple, low-cost alternatives to isolating people with mental disabilities in institutions. 

Public Health Watch at the Stop TB Partnership Forum
The Public Health Watch project, in collaboration with ARASA and Human Rights Watch, organized a session on TB care for neglected populations at the Stop TB Partners’ Forum in Rio de Janeiro on March 24. Entitled Rights and Access: Promoting TB Care for Undocumented Migrants, Drug Users, and Mineworkers, the session addressed how social marginalization can increase the risk of contracting TB and compromise access to TB care. The session also presented creative approaches to providing appropriate TB care that respects human rights. more

New Campaign Educates Ukrainians about Drug Treatment Medicines
With support from OSI, Ukrainian drug user groups launched the “Return Ticket” campaign to raise awareness about the benefits of methadone and buprenorphine—medications for opiate dependence that are shown to increase family function, productive employment, and adherence to HIV treatment. The campaign aims to reduce stigma and promote the benefits of the medications, through billboards in major cities and a website (www.zpt.in.ua) with comprehensive information, including testimonials from leading national experts, lawyers, human rights advocates, and people using the medications.

Sex Workers in Kenya Face Glaring Human Rights Violations
An OSI-supported report, Documenting Human Rights Violations of Sex Workers in Kenya, details the abuses experienced by sex workers in six locations in Kenya, and analyzes the policy framework that undermines sex workers’ access to rights. The study finds that Kenya’s laws and practices in relation to sex work breach its own constitutional provisions and violate international human rights standards. more

New Book Uncovers Human Toll of the War on Drugs
Released to coincide with a global summit on drug policy, At What Cost? HIV and Human Rights Consequences of the Global War on Drugs takes a closer look at the impacts of punitive drug policies on health and human rights. The book features testimonials and research studies showing how the war on drugs has turned into a war on people who use drugs and fueled HIV and AIDS epidemics in many parts of the world. more

LGBT Activists Call for Improved Health Care in Kyrgyzstan
In December 2008, the Sexual Health and Rights Project supported the Kyrgyz NGO Labrys to organize the first-ever training on LGBT health and rights for health care professionals in Kyrgyzstan. The six-day event was attended by 14 medical professionals from three regions of Kyrgyzstan, specializing in gynecology, psychiatry, urology, neurology, and endocrinology. more

Roma Health NGOs Deliver Message to EU Open Health Forum
Several Roma Health Project grantees and partner organizations participated in the EU Open Health Forum in Brussels on December 10-11. OSI grantees Center Amalipe of Bulgaria and the National Roma Centrum of Macedonia delivered statements that emphasized the importance of involving the Roma minority and other vulnerable groups in the implementation of national health strategies, and the role the EU can play in prompting member states to act towards this end. more

Report Finds Obstacles to Mental Health Care in Kyrgyz Budget
On February 16, OSI partner NGO Mental Health and Society launched the first-ever monitoring report on spending in mental health care in Kyrgyzstan. The report identified grave inefficiencies and a lack of transparency in mental health spending, and found that Kyrgyzstan continues to invest in large, isolated hospitals where human right abuses are frequent. The monitoring report shows government spending at odds with the country’s policies to promote the social inclusion of people with mental health problems.

OSI Guide Helps Document Human Rights Abuses Against Drug Users
The International Harm Reduction Development program released a new guidebook to help drug user activists recognize, document, and report human rights abuses. Called Human Rights Documentation and Advocacy: A Guide for Organizations of People Who Use Drugs, the book also provides tools for conducting interviews and monitoring legal systems. more

Capacity Building

New Round of Health Scholarships for Roma Launched in Romania
The Roma Health Project and the Roma Education Fund have launched the second year of a groundbreaking health and pharmacy scholarships program for Roma students and health professionals. The scholarships are provided by OSI, and will support 60 Roma students in medical schools and in nursing and midwives colleges, as well as resident doctors. more.

Storytelling Workshop Held for Marginalized Women in Africa
The Public Health Watch project organized a communications workshop for the African grantees of its Marginalized Women Initiative in December 2008. The workshop was facilitated by Narativ, which trains advocates on effective use of personal stories to reach out to their communities and convey messages to policymakers and key stakeholders. The facilitators also addressed the safety and privacy concerns of making a personal story public, and how advocates can avoid burnout. The workshop included participants from Bomme Isago Association, Swaziland Positive Living for Life, and the Women and AIDS Support Network.

International Seminar on the Psychiatric Aspects of Palliative Care Held in Salzburg
Health care professionals from 23 countries participated in a seminar on the psychiatric aspects of palliative care, supported by the International Palliative Care Initiative and the Open Medical Institute. Led by course directors Dr. David Kissane and Dr. Kathleen Foley, and faculty from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the weeklong course focused on the suffering and diminished quality-of-life of patients and their families. The course provided instruction and skills-building in several areas, including interventions to ameliorate existential distress and psychiatric disorders; assessment and management of pain; and communication training to provide patient and family support in palliative care settings.

Moldova Certifies First Palliative Care Trainers
On January 29, the National Hospice Palliative Care Society of Moldova awarded 19 health care professionals with a train-the-trainers certificate and diploma of specialization in palliative care approved by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection. This was the first class in the country to be awarded such a distinction, and it was comprised of physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals. The 15-month program was led by several international experts, including specialists from the Educational Center of Palliative Medicine in Brasov, Romania, and supported by the International Palliative Care Initiative, Soros Foundation—Moldova, and the National College of Medicine. The course taught the concepts of palliative care to the trainers, who will teach the curriculum to members of multidisciplinary teams working in palliative care across the country.

Joint Initiatives

Moldova Ensures Right to Education for Children with Disabilities
The right to education for children with disabilities in the Criuleni district in Moldova is being realized through the efforts of OSI-supported NGO Woman and Child. This model of inclusive education was piloted for several years with the support of the Mental Health Initiative and the Soros Foundation—Moldova, and has now become part of the educational system at the district level through the adoption of a regulatory framework for inclusive schools and the addition of support teacher salaries in local budgets.

Parsons-OSI Internships Support Communication Technology for Advocacy
2009 marks the third year of the Parsons-OSI internship program, which supports communication design and technology students from Parsons The New School for Design to work with health and human rights NGOs. Six Public Health Program grantees will host interns this summer: AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa in Windhoek, Namibia; Association for Self Advocacy in Zagreb, Croatia; Kenya Hospices and Palliative Care Association in Nairobi, Kenya; Health Action International Africa in Nairobi, Kenya; Network of Zambian People Living with HIV/AIDS in Lusaka, Zambia; and Hospice Casa Sperantei in Brasov, Romania. Parsons-OSI interns will work in-country for eight weeks from May to July, and continue to provide offsite support for several months thereafter. 

Palliative Care Providers and Human Rights Advocates Meet in Ukraine
The International Renaissance Foundation, in partnership with the Law and Health Initiative and the International Palliative Care Initiative, convened palliative care providers and human rights advocates for a two-day sensitization meeting in Kharkiv, Ukraine in February. Leading experts discussed how palliative care can be advanced by utilizing a legal and human rights framework. The agenda included presentations on legal issues identified in accessing opioid medicines for pain relief and case studies from successful efforts in countries such as Hungary and Georgia. The advocates and providers will continue to work together and formalize areas of collaboration based on the issues identified at the meeting.  

Other News and Announcements

Françoise Girard Named Co-Chair of International AIDS Conference Committee
Françoise Girard, Director of the Public Health Program, has been appointed international co-Chair of the Leadership and Accountability Programme Committee (LAPC) for the XVIII International AIDS Conference, to be held in Vienna in July 2010. The LAPC designs and puts together entire segments of the conference’s official program, including plenaries, symposia, and panel discussions. It aims to generate greater leadership and accountability by the various sectors that are or should be engaged in the AIDS response—including governments, civil society, businesses and private entities, and the media.

International Meeting Held on Roma Health Research and Policy
As part of a series of events on health and social care for migrants and ethnic minorities in Europe, COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) organized an international meeting on Roma health research and policy development. The meeting, held in February in Budapest, featured discussions on the health status of Roma people, barriers to effective health care, and exchange of experience and good practices for improving Roma health. The meeting brought together 25 participants working on Roma health research and advocacy, including representatives of OSI grantees HealthMonitor and the European Roma Rights Center, who presented their work to promote research and dialogue in the field of Roma health.

Experts Discuss New Prizes for Scientific Innovation on TB and Other Diseases
In January 2009, OSI partners hosted a roundtable on designing innovation inducement prizes for diagnostics, new drugs, and vaccines for diseases and conditions affecting the poor and the developing world, with a particular focus on TB and Chagas Disease. The meeting was attended by approximately 40 high level policymakers and technical participants, including industry, donor, civil society, and government officials. 

Upcoming Events

Hepatitis C Workshop to be Held in Kiev
The Access to Essential Medicines Initiative is supporting the Eurasian Harm Reduction Network to host a meeting on Hepatitis C diagnosis and treatment in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The meeting will be held on March 27-28 in Kiev, Ukraine. More than 30 participants from Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and Kyrgyzstan will meet with global experts to plan advocacy strategies and discuss the role of generic manufacturing in increasing access to diagnostics and treatment. 

University of Pretoria Offers Trainings on Access to Medicines
With the support of the Law and Health Initiative and the Access to Essential Medicines Initiative, the University of Pretoria will be training LLM students and legal practitioners from across Africa on the human rights implications of medicines law and policy from May 4-8, 2009. SADC parliamentarians will also be trained on using legislative measures to improve access to medicines through a second course on May 11-13. The aim of this training is to build the capacity of parliamentarians to play an effective role in oversight and legislation. 

Kyrgyzstan Workshop on Improving Medicine Procurement Process
Soros Foundation–Kyrgyzstan, in collaboration with Procurement Watch, will host a workshop in late March 2009 on the role of transparency in the procurement and registration of medicines in Kyrgyzstan. This workshop follows an earlier training in December 2008, where organizations were first introduced to the principles and concepts of procurement supply management. The organizations will be encouraged to submit proposals focused on increasing transparency in government procurement of medicines. 

Health Ministers Meeting to Address Access to Medicines
The Access to Essential Medicines Initiative is collaborating with the Commonwealth Secretariats’ Health Section to organize a panel at the annual Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting on May 16 in Geneva. The panel will focus on using flexibilities within global intellectual property agreements to advance access to medicines. The panel will also address recent public health developments, including anti-counterfeit legislation and the implementation of the WHO Intergovernmental Working Group on Public Health, Innovation, and Intellectual Property Global Strategy. 

OSI Grantee to Assess Sexual and Reproductive Health in Vietnam at International Conference
The Vietnam Civil Society Partnership Platform on AIDS will present preliminary results from its assessment on the sexual and reproductive health and rights of people living with HIV at the 2009 International Association for the Study of Sexuality, Culture and Society conference in Hanoi in April. The Public Health Watch project is supporting the assessment, which seeks to identify the gaps and challenges of the Vietnamese national health system in meeting the needs of people living with HIV. The results of the assessment will contribute to the development of national guidelines on the sexual and reproductive health of people living with HIV.