EQUINET AFRICA

EQUINET, the Regional Network on Equity in Health in Southern Africa, is a network of professionals, civil society members, policy makers, state officials and others within the region who have come together as an equity catalyst, to promote and realise shared values of equity and social justice in health.

EQUINET gathers people to overcome isolation, give voice and promote networking using bottom-up approaches built on shared values. We have come together in a spirit of self determination and collective self reliance working through existing government, civil society, research and other mechanisms and institutions i n the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region and in southern and East Africa.

EQUINET is building a forum for dialogue, learning, sharing of information and experience and critical analysis. We do this to build knowledge and perspectiv es, shape effective strategies, strengthen our voice nationally, regionally and globally and our strategic alliances to influence policy, politics and practice towards health equity and social justice.

EQUINET's work covers a wide range of areas identified as priorities for health equity, within the political economy of health, health services and inputs to health, covered in the theme areas shown on this site. EQUINET is governed by a steering committee with representatives from fourteen institutions in southern Afr ica and is co-ordinated at the Training and Research Support Centre Zimbabwe.

EQUINET CONFERENCE report on the website

The Third EQUINET Regional conference on equity in health in east and southern Africa was held in Munyonyo Uganda September 23-25 2009. The theme was "Reclaiming the Resources for Health" and the conference involved delegates from government, non state organisations, academic and research institutions, civil society, parliaments, regional and international organisations and other institutions promoting and working on equity in health in east and southern Africa!

The conference resolutions are presented in the latest EQUINET newsletter

The conference report is on the website and we invite you to read the the proceedings of the conference

The conference website has information about the conference held, and the programme and list of workshops
. The abstract book can be found on this website.

WISHING YOU ALL PEACE, HEALTH AND JUSTICE IN THE NEW YEAR

The EQUINET steering committee wishes all a peaceful new year. To all those we have worked with in 2009 we express our thanks for a fruitful partnership as we continiue to advance the knowledge, action and advocacy to produce progress in health equity and justice for people in our region. We look forward to working together in 2010.

EQUITY WATCH: Monitoring progress in equity in health

Giving policy profile to health equity demands monitoring and measurement of how well we are doing. In follow up to the Regional Equity Analysis, EQUINET is now supporting work and networking to produce an Equity Watch in countries, that will
* track and engage on priority indicators of equity in health and health care
* monitor progress against commitments and goals,
* identify areas for research, advocacy
* critique and offer positive alternatives to negative influences and initiatives harmful of equity, and
* exchange information on promising practice.
A report of the regional methods meeting held to review the methods and progress markers for the watch was held in Cape Town in Deccember 2009 and you can read the report at http://www.equinetafrica.org/bibl/docs/EWmtg%20repNov09.pdf.

To champion those values, principles and systems that we have identified as central to reclaiming the resources for health, we have identified selected targets and indicators discussed in our analysis that reflect our progress in key dimensions of equity. We propose that these quantitative and qualitative targets and indicators be monitored and reported on by governments, parliaments and civil society within countries and across the ESA region to assess how well we are doing in implementing our commitments.

EQUINET invites feedback on these progress markers, and invites you to submit materials on health equity relevant to your country in east and southern Africa. Please let us know your institutional experience in this area. Please send any input, queries or requests for information to admin@equinetafrica.org with EQUITY WATCH in the subject line.

RECCOMENDATIONS OF THE REGIONAL REVIEW MEETING ON HEALTH WORKER RETENTION Namibia, February 25-27 2009

EQUINET in co-operation with ECSA-HC have, with government and researchers in five countries, carried out review and field studies on the implementation of incentives for health worker retention and of their impact on the adequacy and distribution of health workers. A regional meeting was held in February 2009 to review this work and other work on health worker migration and distribution in EQUINET in Windhoek Namibia, locally hosted by the University of Namibia. The recommendations of the meeting are shown below. For further information please contact us at admin@equinetafrica.org, using "HCW Retention" in the subject line.

Recommendations from the regional meeting on health worker retention in East and Southern Africa February 27 2009

The EQUINET –ECSA HC regional meeting on health worker retention in east and southern Africa (ESA) was held in Windhoek, Namibia February 25-27 2008 and involved 32 delegates from government, academic and research institutions, health worker organisations, parliament and civil society from 10 ESA countries and from regional organisations including SADC and WHO (see delegate list). In line with the ECSA Regional Health Ministers Conference (RHMC) resolutions 2006-2008, the SADC Resolutions on Health workers, and the ECSA and SADC strategies on health workers, the meeting reviewed evidence from two regional review papers, five country field studies (see reference list), a multi-country participatory research programme and delegate experience to propose areas for policy, guidelines and research on health worker retention, especially in priority health services. ... continued below

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