Equinet Africa

EQUINET, the Regional Network on Equity in Health in East and 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 in East and Southern Africa.

EQUINET is building a forum for dialogue, learning, sharing of information and experience and critical analysis. We do this to build knowledge and perspectives, shape effective strategies, strengthen our voice nationally, regionally and globally and to buiild 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 institutions in the region, has leads co-ordinating major areas of work and a secretariat at the Training and Research Support Centre Zimbabwe.

The EQUINET Conference and steering committee identified key areas of work on health equity within our three strategic areas - Reclaiming the resources; Reclaiming the state; Reclaiming collective agency and solidarity.  Building on past work and alliances, EQUIMNET has renewed network leadership and is implementing research, sharing practice, facilitating dialogue, and engaging in different platforms  on therse areas.  Go to Meetings to see information on our webinars on climate justice and register for our next webinar on climate justice and extractives on February 28th. Read about our online regional training on health impact assessment February to May 2024. Visit Publications to read new briefs on urban health innovations related to food, waste, circular economy and climate justice and new publications on taxing for health.   Read and subscribe to the Newsletter for a quick catchup on a range of publications, resources and opportunities related to health equity in the region 

EQUINET Regional meeting May 23 and 24 Nairobi on Strategies for tackling commercial determinants of health and for urban wellbeing in ESA- read the meeting report on the website

This EQUINET regional meeting, convened by TARSC, gathered people from institutions involved in work in ESA on urban health and health impact assessment HIA. It was held on May 23rd and 24th 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya. It used a mix of presentation, discussion and participatory processes to:

1.    Share and review experience and evidence from both urban health work and HIA in ESA on the laws, policies, systems, features, measures and tools that positively impact on health and that make linkages across economic, social, health and ecosystem wellbeing, including to respond to climate change.

2.    Identify the implications for policy and practice at national, regional and global level.

3.    Identify a theory of change and strategies to advance, support and scale-up in ESA the promising policies, practices and tools identified in the meeting.

4.    Identify issues from the meeting to communicate to policy, technical and wider audiences in and beyond the region on improving health (equity) and climate adaptation in urbanisation and in economic/ commercial activity in ESA.

See the meeting report under EQUINET publications on this site and email admin [at] equinetafrica.org for further information.

COURSE COMPLETED! EQUINET Online skills course on Health Impact Assessment February to June 2024
Between February 20th and June 4th 2024 EQUINET in association with regional and international partners convened an online course in 12 sessions to build capacities on health impact assessment (HIA). The course built understanding of the theoretical basis of HIA, and knowledge of the methods, evidence, analysis in an HIA, of reporting of and engagement on HIA, and implementation and monitoring of proposed actions. It provided mentored guidance of participant HIA practical work, using real HIA case studies, and discuss implementation issues and strategies for scaling up and integrating HIA in law and practice in east and southern Africa. If you are interested in the course or future sessions please contact the EQUINET secretariat.

EQUINET Webinars on Climate justice and health equity
Climate-related challenges affect every experience and dimension of health equity in the region. EQUINET invites you to explore this with us in a series of cross-cutting webinars in the coming months. The videos of the sessions are available on the EQUINET site as well as a brief of key points arising from each session in the online EQUINET bibliography.  There are also two rapid reviews on climate and health systems and on climate financing and health on the EQUINET website.

Watch the video for the webinar on climate justice and extractives in east and Southern Africa on Wednesday February 28th 2024
The fifth in EQUINET's series on health equity and climate justice in east and southern Africa on  Wednesday, 28th February 2024 was hosted by SATUCC and focused on climate justice and health equity in the extractive sector.  We heard inputs from expertise in the region working on environmental and climate law, on extractives and a just transition; and on experiences and actions from a trade union lens. The session will explore the evidence of impacts on health and climate of the extractive sector, and proposed legal, policy, advocacy and other actions at local, national and regional level and in global engagement. To watch the session please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vvGnvDWBI8 and read the brief on the website publications page

See the video for the webinar on climate justice and trade in east and Southern Africa on December 6th 2023
The fourth webinar session was on Climate Justice and trade systems hosted by SEATINI  in EQUINET. The webinar focused on how climate intersects with trade systems that impact on health.  We heard from speakers with experience on these issues at community/local level, at national level and at global level.  If you missed it please visit the link here to watch the session - great presentations and discussion!.  You will also find a brief on the deliberations on the EQUINET publications page.

The first webinar on how climate justice intersects with protection of the right to health,  hosted by the Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) was successfully held in July with three interesting speakkers from local/national,  regionaland global level and participant views and comments. If you missed it  you can watch the session at this link.

The second webinar session on Climate Justice and Urban food and waste management systems was held on  Tuesday 29th August  hosted by Innovations for Development in EQUINET. The webinar focused on how climate intersects with urban food systens and waste management systems, and their link to water, energy and green spaces.  Speakers presented experience on these issues at community/local level, at national level and at global level.  The full webinar can be viewed at this link 

The third webinar session on Climate Justice and primary health care systems was held on  Wednesday 25th October  hosted by REACH Trust Malawi and IWG  in EQUINET. The webinar focused on how climate intersects with equity oriented primary health care systems.  Speakers presented experience on these issues at community/local level, at national level and at global level.  The full webinar can be viewed at this link

Expanding promising practice on urban health and wellbeing
EQUINET is supporting a community of practice on promising practice for sustained urban and periurban wellbeing in east and southern Africa to share and review evidence on practice features that could be scaled up across countries.  Visit the analytic framework that the community of practice is working with,  see the reports of the regional meetings.  We On this website you can read new reports published in 2024 on holistic case studies on urban health. Please contact us if you are interested in this area of work and have interesting experience, tools and practice to share.

Call closed: Online course in early 2024 on health impact assessment in east and southern Africa. 

EQUINET through TARSC, in association with ECSA Health Community, SATUCC, TalkAB[M]R, Nossal Institute of Global Health and other international experts is convening online training including mentored case work to build HIA capacities in different actors in ESA countries. See further information on the 'Meetings' page. Participants are from an ESA country, from state, non- state, labour, professional or academic institutions.


Latest Equinet Publications

Discussion paper 73: Experiences of Parliamentary Committees on Health in promoting health equity in East and Southern Africa
Loewenson R; London L; Thomas J; Mbombo N; Mulumba M; Kadungure A; Manga N; Mukono A; TARSC, UCT, SEAPACOH (2009 March)
Themes:
Values, policies and rights, Resource allocation and health financing, Governance and participation in health, Monitoring equity and research to policy
Country
Zimbabwe
PRA Report 11: HIV testing and disclosure in women attending prevention, treatment and care clinics at Katutura hospital, Windhoek, Namibia
Hofnie-//Hoëbes K, Kakororo O.M, Jankowsky V, Shilongo N, Callard B, Paulus D, Kaim B, Loewenson R; University of Namibia; TARSC (2009 March)
Themes:
Equity and HIV/AIDS, Governance and participation in health
Country
Namibia
Discussion paper 72: Protecting public health and equitable health services in the services negotiations of the EU-ESA Economic Partnership Agreements
Munyuki, E (2009 March)
Themes:
Health equity in economic and trade policies
Country
Zimbabwe
Health care worker retention in east and southern Africa: Report of a Regional Meeting
EQUINET; University of Namibia; Training and Research Support Centre; University of Limpopo; ECSA HC (2009 February)
Themes:
Human resources for health
Country
Namibia
Report of a training workshop: Writing for peer reviewed journals on health equity in Uganda
TARSC (2009 February)
Themes:
Equity in health
Country
East and southern Africa region
Workshop Report: “Keeping an eye on Equity: Community visions of equity in health” Training workshop on photography skills
TARSC; EQUINET (2009 February)
Themes:
Equity in health
Country
East and southern Africa region
Recommendations from the regional meeting on health worker retention in East and Southern Africa, 27 February 2009
EQUINET; University of Namibia; University of Limpopo; TARSC; Regional Health Secretariat East, Central and Southern Africa (ECSA- HC) (2009 February)
Themes:
Human resources for health
Country
East and southern Africa region
Integrating equity into Resource allocation: Report of a methods workshop, with Ministry of Health Mozambique Meeting Report, 26-27 November 2008, Cape Town
Health Economics Unit, University of Cape Town; EQUINET (2008 November)
Themes:
Resource allocation and health financing
Country
Mozambique
Policy Brief 21: Protecting health and health services in the services of the ESA-EU EPA
Munyuki E, Machemedze R, Mabika A, Loewenson R (2009 February)
Themes:
Health equity in economic and trade policies
Country
Discussion paper 71: A review on the impact of HIV and AIDS programmes on health worker retention
Dambisya YM, Modipa SI, Nyazema NZ; Health Systems Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, University of Limpopo (2009 February)
Themes:
Human resources for health
Country

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