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.

Monitoring equity and research policy


Latest Equinet Publications

PRA report: Community Strengthening for a People Centred Primary Health Care System: The Case of Cassa Banana Community in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights; Zimbabwe National Network or People living with HIV and AIDS; Training and Research Support Centre (2015 February)
Themes:
Governance and participation in health
Country
Zimbabwe
Discussion paper 104: Medicines production and procurement in east and southern Africa and the role of south-south co-operation
SEATINI, CEHURD (2014 November)
Themes:
Equitable health services, Public-private mix, Governance and participation in health
Country
East and southern Africa region
Annotated bibliography of e- platforms used in participatory and peer to peer exchange and learning
Loewenson T (2013 December)
Themes:
Governance and participation in health
Country
Zimbabwe
The Role of Health Committees in Equitable, People-centred Health Systems in the Southern and East African Region
Mdaka K; Haricharan H; London L (2014 November)
Themes:
Governance and participation in health
Country
Participatory action research in people centred health systems: International Workshop Report, 4 October 2014
EQUINET; TARSC; ALAMES (2014 November)
Themes:
Equity in health, Values, policies and rights, Governance and participation in health, Monitoring equity and research to policy
Country
International
EQUINET Policy Brief 39: Enhancing local medicine production in east and Southern Africa
SEATINI; CEHURD; TARSC; CPTL (2014 September)
Themes:
Health equity in economic and trade policies, Governance and participation in health
Country
East and southern Africa region
Participatory action research in health systems: a methods reader
Loewenson R; Laurell AC; Hogstedt C; D’Ambruoso L; Shroff Z (2014 September)
Themes:
Equity in health, Governance and participation in health, Monitoring equity and research to policy
Country
International
Policy brief 37: Health Centre Committees as a vehicle for social participation in health systems in east and southern Africa
TARSC, CWGH, Medico (2014 June)
Themes:
Governance and participation in health
Country
East and southern Africa region
Policy brief 38: Taking the WHO Global code of Practice on the International Recruitment of health Personnel in Africa from bottom drawer to negotiating table and action in Africa
U Limpopo, Mustang MC, ECSA, ACHEST, TARSC (2014 July)
Themes:
Human resources for health, Governance and participation in health
Country
East and southern Africa region
Policy brief 36: Increasing African agency in the design of Performance Based Financing
EQUINET, U Sheffield, et al (2014 July)
Themes:
Resource allocation and health financing, Governance and participation in health
Country
East and southern Africa region

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