Health & Well Being

Photo: Community Health Workers in Kenya. Credit: Brian-Otieno

Advocating for Gender Equality in Universal Health Coverage

By Roopa Dhatt & Samiratou Ouedraogo

Roopa Dhatt is Executive Director and Co-Founder of Women in Global Health. Samiratou Ouedraogo is the Coordinator and Co-Founder of Women in Global Health, Francophone West Africa, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

WASHINGTON DC (IDN) — If there was a Harvey Weinstein in health, we probably wouldn’t know about it. Not because sexual harassment in the health workforce isn’t widespread—we know that it is and not because women don’t want to report their experiences of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH) at work—we know that they do; but because across much of the world’s health systems, there are simply no feasible reporting or legal mechanisms in place that women health workers can use with confidence.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 21 December 2022

COVID-19 Enables Rise in OECD Development Aid

By Robert Johnson

PARIS (IDN) — Though ODA-official development assistance from members of the OECD’s DAC-Development Assistance Committee rose to a new high last year, it amounted to the equivalent of only 0.33 per cent of their combined GNI-gross national income, thus falling short of a United Nations goal to reach an ODA/GNI ratio of 0.7%.

The biggest ODA givers by volume in 2021 were the United States (USD 47.8 billion), Germany (USD 33.3 billion), Japan (USD 17.6 billion), the United Kingdom (USD 15.7 billion), and France (USD 15.5 billion).

: Robert Johnson; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 20 December 2022

Image: The revolution will not be televised. Source: Wuhan Art Museum.

China: From A Health Crisis to A Political Crisis?

By Jan Servaes*

BRUSSELS (IDN) — After nearly three years of fighting Covid-19 tooth and nail with a so-called 'zero-Covid' policy and denouncing Western countries for choosing to live with the virus at the cost of millions of lives, China's rhetoric seems to be moving in a more nuanced direction.

The current number of 5,235 Covid-related 'official' deaths in China is a small fraction of the population of 1.4 billion and, to global benchmarks, extremely low.

: UN Bureau; COVID-19; 12 December 2022

UNCTAD: This Time is Indifferent

Viewpoint by Alexander Kozul-Wright*

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) hosted its biennial debt management conference on December 5-7. The forum brought together governments, international organizations and academia to share views on the current debt landscape in developing countries.

LONDON (IDN) — Covid-19 shuddered the world economy to a halt, and the impact on developing countries was particularly severe. A combination of informal working conditions, underfunded healthcare systems and limited fiscal space constrained policy responses to the virus. By the end of 2020, sharp falls in export earnings and remittance inflows had pushed tens of low-income countries to the economic brink.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 10 December 2022

Photo: A view of Wiyumiririe town in Laikipia County

Kenya Prides in Progress Towards Attainment of Development Goals

By Joseph Maina

NAIROBI (IDN) — Seven years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015, Kenya has made significant strides towards the realisation of the SDGs. Official sources cite “remarkable progress” made towards achieving the goals. SDGs and other development initiatives are well anchored in its long-term development blueprint dubbed Vision 2030, as well as a robust constitutional framework under the Constitution of Kenya 2010 that has a strong Bill of Rights and principles that are good drivers of Agenda 2030.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 08 December 2022

Image: Collage of images from platforms #HealthToo and Surviving in Scrubs.

Health Workers Protect Us, but Who Protects Them?

By Dr Roopa Dhatt and Dr Becky Cox*

WASHINGTON DC | OXFORD (IDN) — The pandemic generated waves of applause for frontline health workers, 90 per cent of whom are women, but some others continued to behave in a more sinister way. Our two organisations received reports of increased issues around protection and safety and some of it related to sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH). But when we looked for the data to see the scale, little had been formally collected.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 07 December 2022

Image: Refugees arrive at a 'temporary' camp. Source: University of Birmingham.

Climate Change Threatens the Health of Refugees in Camps

By Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA | LONDON (IDN) — Climate uncertainty is creating health threats for thousands of migrants as overcrowding and pollution place huge stresses on humanitarian organisations’ ability to provide sanctuary in refugee camps, a new study reveals.

Locating camps in disaster-prone or climate hotspot areas increases their vulnerability and, coupled with stress from overcrowding that increases pressure on water, sanitation, and hygiene resilience (WaSH), leads to the overexploitation of resources.

: Jaya Ramachandran; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 03 December 2022

Photo: South Africa's Abdurrazack “Zackie” Achmat stepped up to become one of the iconic AIDS crusaders. Source: University of Cape Town.

World Aids Day Addresses Inequalities Between Global South and North

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — Every year, on December 1, World AIDS Day is commemorated. People worldwide unite to show support for those living with HIV and remember those who have passed on from AIDS-related illnesses.

Ten years ago, HIV had infected at least 10 per cent of the population in Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Some 50,000 infections were reported in the U.S. per year over the same period.

: Global Information Network; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 02 December 2022

The 34th World AIDS Day: “Achieving Equity to End HIV”

By Somar Wijayadasa*

Last year, every two minutes one person got infected with HIV, and every minute one person died of AIDS-related causes.

NEW YORK (IDN) — Every year on December 1, people throughout the world commemorate World AIDS Day to raise awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection.

The day is earmarked to educate people about the disease’s causes and early symptoms, to eliminate the stigma associated with it, to support those who are HIV positive, and pay tribute to those who lost their lives to the disease.

: Somar Wijayadasa; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 27 November 2022

Photo: In advance of COP27, public development banks meeting in Abidjan agreed on action points to tackle Africa’s climate finance gap. Source: The African Development Bank Group

Africa Needs A Massive Aid Programme

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Surely a massive infusion of aid into Africa would be to pour money down a rat hole? Isn't this the mistake that was made in the past—enormous generosity by the rich countries only to see it wasted on misconceived projects, bad economic management and, at its worst, siphoned away into war and corruption, as is so evident in, say Zimbabwe, Congo and Somalia right now?