June 2013

June 06, 2013

WOMEN LEAD: On Gender Equity, UHC, and Family Planning [2]

[2]Photo credit: Warren Zelman

The May issue of the MSH Global Health Impact newsletter (subscribe [5]) features stories on gender equity, UHC, and family planning [6] including:

Add Your Voice: "WOMEN LEAD with..." [8]

Management Sciences for Health [9]

Health Systems Strengthening [10]

Women & Gender [4]

[8]"Women lead with... her rights"

A version of this post originally appeared on the LMGforHealth.org blog [11].

(Photos by Sarah Lindsay, Rachel Hassinger, Willow Gerber, and Barbara Ayotte / MSH)

Video: Why Universal Health Coverage is a Women's Issue: MSH President Dr. Quick at Women Deliver [13]

Management Sciences for Health [9]

Health Systems Strengthening [10]

Universal Health Coverage [3]

Women & Gender [4]

[13]MSH President Jonathan D. Quick on "Why UHC is a Women's Issue"

Watch: "Why Universal Health Coverage is a Women's Issue" [14]

How Do We Measure Impact? The Seven "Cs" [16]

Health Systems Strengthening [10]

HIV & AIDS [17]

[16]From left to right: Sara Bennett, Eric Sarriot, Kenneth Sklaw and the author, Reshma Trasi.Photo credit: LMG

Cross-posted with permission from the LMGforHealth.org blog [18].

I had the pleasure and privilege of moderating a stimulating discussion, hosted by the USAID-funded AIDSTAR-Two [19] project entitled, "Organizational Capacity Development: How Do We Measure Impact?".

The thoughtful and brilliant panelists Sara Bennett, Associate Professor in the Health Systems Program at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Eric Sarriot, founder and director of the Center for Design and Research in Sustainable Health and Human Development at ICF International; and Kenneth Sklaw, Team Lead for the Capacity Building Team in the Office of HIV/AIDS within USAID [20] validated and challenged my thinking on ways to measure the results of organizational capacity development—which is core to the work that the LMG Project does around the world.

Welcome to the New MSH.org [22]

Benjamin Greenberg [23]

Chronic Diseases [24]

Fragile States [25]

Health Systems Strengthening [10]

HIV & AIDS [17]

Universal Health Coverage [3]

US Global Health Policy [26]

Women & Gender [4]

[22]

Did you notice that our website looks and feels really different?

We've redesigned and rebuilt our site from the ground up: showcasing our unique technical expertise and staff, values, global footprint, and mission to save lives and improve health among the poorest and most vulnerable around the world.

We also have integrated our Global Health Impact blog into the website to continue cutting-edge discussions on global health.

And we've made the new MSH.org easier to use.

Learn more about the new MSH.org

Watch the short video [27] -- and see some of the new features firsthand:

New Global Social Service Workforce Alliance Launched [29]

Health Systems Strengthening [10]

[29]Photo credit: Warren Zelman

A new global network for addressing critical social service workforce issues has formed, called the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance [30] (@SSWAlliance" href="https://twitter.com/SSWAlliance">@SSWAlliance [31]). Comprised of organizations and individuals, the SSWAlliance: "recognizes the key challenges facing this workforce and aims to promote the knowledge and evidence, resources and tools and political will and action needed to address them, especially within low to middle income countries."

Amy Bess, coordinator, introduced [32] the SSWAlliance via webinars on June 6 and 7, 2013.

Ummuro Adano, a steering committee member of the SSWAlliance, and a principal technical advisor at MSH, said:

'Victory for First Amendment Rights of NGOs': GHC Lauds Supreme Court Decision [34]

Management Sciences for Health [9]

HIV & AIDS [17]

US Global Health Policy [26]

Women & Gender [4]

[34]Photo credit: kjetil_r via Flickr

In a landmark 6-2 decision, the US Supreme Court ruled [35] unconstitutional a 2003 law requiring organizations that receive US government funding for global health work on HIV & AIDS to have a policy explicitly opposing prostitution. The plaintiffs in the USAID v. AOSI case [35] included the Global Health Council [36] (GHC), Pathfinder [37], the Alliance for Open Society International (AOSI), and InterAction [38].

In a letter to GHC members, Jonathan D. Quick, MD, MPH, chairman of the GHC board of directors and MSH president and CEO, said:

From Capitol Hill to Cambridge: Highlighting Community Health Workers and Maternal and Child Health in Fragile States [40]

Management Sciences for Health [9]

Fragile States [25]

US Global Health Policy [26]

Women & Gender [4]

[40]Dr. Florence Guillaume, Minister of Health of Haiti.Photo credit: MSH/Filmona Hailemichael

On June 7, Management Sciences for Health (MSH) and partners hosted Dr. Florence Guillaume, the Minister of Health of Haiti, and panelists for a Capitol Hill luncheon on community health workers in fragile states. The day before, MSH hosted Guillaume in Cambridge, MA, for a town-hall style event on improving maternal and child health. Revisit the two events through a "Storify" story of photos, text, and tweets.

View the story "From Capitol Hill to Cambridge: Learning from Haiti and Other Fragile States on Importance of Community Health..." on Storify[41]

Distributing New Shoes to Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Lesotho [43]

Johanna Theunissen [44]

Health Systems Strengthening [10]

[43]Photo credit: MSH/Johanna Theunissen

Cross-posted with permission from the Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Regional Exchange [45] (SHARE).

I used to smile at the sentimental nickname for Lesotho, “The Mountain Kingdom.” Following a few visits to the capital Maseru, I had the opportunity to travel to the district of Mokhotlong, in the east of the country. Here I discovered that this term is more literal than symbolic, and no laughing matter. Narrow gravel roads with incredible switchback turns had me engaging in lively discussion in the car to avoid thinking about how close I was to the edge. More important than experiencing the rugged beauty of the physical landscape, it was on this trip that I began to discover and appreciate the grace and resilience of Lesotho’s people. A subsequent trip to Mohale’s Hoek, a district south of Maseru (further explained below) reinforced my growing admiration.

Post-2015: Sustainable Health Development Requires UHC: Dr. Quick on Devex [47]

Jonathan D. Quick, MD, MPH [48]

Health Systems Strengthening [10]

Universal Health Coverage [3]

Women & Gender [4]

[47]Photo credit: MSH

This post originally appeared on Devex.com [49].

The Afghan health system was in shambles after the Taliban government was chased from power in December 2001. Immunization rates had fallen below 20 percent and nine out of ten women were on their own for labor and delivery. Suhaila Seddiqi, newly appointed as public health minister, could have begun her tenure with highly visible and politically popular moves like building hospitals in the major cities. She didn’t. Instead, she led the development of a basic package of essential primary care services and coordinated its delivery to Afghans throughout the country, including remote rural areas. It worked. By 2010, twice as many Afghans had access to family planning, maternal deaths were down by two thirds, and reductions in child mortality had saved 150,000 lives.

Read more [47]

Links
[1] https://www.msh.org/blog/2013/06/06/women-lead-on-gender-equity-uhc-and-family-planning#comments
[2] https://www.msh.org/blog/2013/06/06/women-lead-on-gender-equity-uhc-and-family-planning
[3] https://www.msh.org/blog-categories/universal-health-coverage
[4] https://www.msh.org/blog-categories/women-gender
[5] http://www.msh.org/newsletter
[6] http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs124/1102482301888/archive/1113597332954.html
[7] https://www.msh.org/blog/2013/06/06/add-your-voice-women-lead-with#comments
[8] https://www.msh.org/blog/2013/06/06/add-your-voice-women-lead-with
[9] https://www.msh.org/users/management-sciences-for-health
[10] https://www.msh.org/blog-categories/health-systems-strengthening
[11] http://www.lmgforhealth.org/blog/2013-05-28/photo-blog-women-lead
[12] https://www.msh.org/blog/2013/06/06/video-why-universal-health-coverage-is-a-womens-issue-msh-president-dr-quick-at#comments
[13] https://www.msh.org/blog/2013/06/06/video-why-universal-health-coverage-is-a-womens-issue-msh-president-dr-quick-at
[14] http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BpsKMTbk9-g
[15] https://www.msh.org/blog/2013/06/07/how-do-we-measure-impact-the-seven-cs#comments
[16] https://www.msh.org/blog/2013/06/07/how-do-we-measure-impact-the-seven-cs
[17] https://www.msh.org/blog-categories/hiv-aids
[18] http://www.lmgforhealth.org/blog/2013-05-31/how-do-we-measure-impact
[19] http://www.msh.org/our-work/projects/aidstar-two
[20] http://usaid.gov
[21] https://www.msh.org/blog/2013/06/14/welcome-to-the-new-mshorg#comments
[22] https://www.msh.org/blog/2013/06/14/welcome-to-the-new-mshorg
[23] https://www.msh.org/users/benjamin-greenberg
[24] https://www.msh.org/blog-categories/chronic-diseases
[25] https://www.msh.org/blog-categories/fragile-states
[26] https://www.msh.org/blog-categories/us-global-health-policy
[27] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oAXnB06l84
[28] https://www.msh.org/blog/2013/06/20/new-global-social-service-workforce-alliance-launched#comments
[29] https://www.msh.org/blog/2013/06/20/new-global-social-service-workforce-alliance-launched
[30] http://www.socialserviceworkforce.org/resources/blog/global-social-service-workforce-alliance-celebrates-its-launch
[31] http://twitter.com/SSWAlliance
[32] http://www.socialserviceworkforce.org/webinar-10-connecting-people-transforming-lives-launch-global-social-service-workforce-alliance
[33] https://www.msh.org/blog/2013/06/21/victory-for-first-amendment-rights-of-ngos-ghc-lauds-supreme-court-decision#comments
[34] https://www.msh.org/blog/2013/06/21/victory-for-first-amendment-rights-of-ngos-ghc-lauds-supreme-court-decision
[35] http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/agency-for-international-development-v-alliance-for-open-society-international-inc/
[36] http://www.globalhealth.org/
[37] http://www.pathfinder.org/news/us-supreme-court-rules-in-favor-of-pathfinder-coplaintiffs-in-usaid-v-aosi.html
[38] http://www.interaction.org/document/updated-usaid-v-aosi-supreme-court-rules-favor-free-speech
[39] https://www.msh.org/blog/2013/06/21/from-capitol-hill-to-cambridge-highlighting-community-health-workers-and-maternal#comments
[40] https://www.msh.org/blog/2013/06/21/from-capitol-hill-to-cambridge-highlighting-community-health-workers-and-maternal
[41] https://storify.com/MSHHealthImpact/msh-hosts-haitian-minister-of-health
[42] https://www.msh.org/blog/2013/06/25/distributing-new-shoes-to-orphans-and-vulnerable-children-in-lesotho#comments
[43] https://www.msh.org/blog/2013/06/25/distributing-new-shoes-to-orphans-and-vulnerable-children-in-lesotho
[44] https://www.msh.org/users/johanna-theunissen
[45] http://www.hivsharespace.net/node/3173
[46] https://www.msh.org/blog/2013/06/26/post-2015-sustainable-health-development-requires-uhc-dr-quick-on-devex#comments
[47] https://www.msh.org/blog/2013/06/26/post-2015-sustainable-health-development-requires-uhc-dr-quick-on-devex
[48] https://www.msh.org/users/jonathan-d-quick-md-mph
[49] https://www.devex.com/en/news/post-2015-sustainable-health-development-requires/81301?source=MSH