Energy is crucial for achieving almost all of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), from eradication of poverty through advancements in health, education, water supply and industrialization to combating air pollution and climate change. This new report includes updated data from WHO on household air pollution showing that 3 billion people – or more than 40% of the world’s population – still do not have access to clean cooking fuels and technologies. Household air pollution from burning solid fuels and using kerosene for cooking alone are responsible for some 4 million deaths a year, with women and children being at greatest risk. The report provides a comprehensive summary of the world’s progress towards the global energy targets on access to electricity, clean cooking fuels, renewable energy and energy efficiency. It was launched at the Sustainable Energy for All forum held on 2 May 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal.
Monitoring equity and research policy
These four briefs (separately shown on this site) provide information on evaluation of social participation and power in health to support capacity and practice. They are intended primarily for those working directly with social participation and power in health systems, but also for managers, funders and others who engage with them. They intend to inform thinking and approaches and provide links to deeper resources and do not intend to prescribe or be a ’how to’ toolkit. The four briefs address:
BRIEF 1: The concepts and approaches applied in ‘monitoring and evaluation processes at www.tarsc.org/publications/documents/Shapinghealth%20eval%20brief%201%20May2018.pdf
BRIEF 2: Approaches to assessing change in social participation and power in health at www.tarsc.org/publications/documents/Shaping%20health%20eval%20brief%202%202018.pdf
BRIEF 3: The methods used for participatory evaluation at www.tarsc.org/publications/documents/Shaping%20health%20eval%20brief%203%202018.pdf
BRIEF 4: Engaging funders and formal systems on evaluations of social power in health at www.tarsc.org/publications/documents/Shaping%20health%20eval%20brief%204%202018.pdf
The authors propose that there are some underlying differences between the disciplines of epidemiology and economics how trials are used and conducted and how their results are reported and disseminated. They hypothesize that evidence-based public health could be strengthened by understanding these differences, harvesting best-practice across the disciplines and breaking down communication barriers between economists and epidemiologists who conduct trials of public health interventions. Differences between disciplines suggests that more can be done to incorporate behavioural theory into trials and to improve the reporting of trial results and share data. The authors hypothesize that evidence-based public health can be strengthened by understanding differences in how economists and epidemiologists conduct trials of public health interventions and harvesting best-practice across the disciplines.
This paper assessed, whether and how, two knowledge translation platforms housed in government-affiliated institutions in Cameroon and Uganda have influenced health system policy-making processes and decisions aiming at supporting achievement of the health millennium development goals and the general climate for evidence-informed health system policy-making. The authors conducted an embedded comparative case study of four policy processes in which Evidence Informed Policy Network Cameroon and Regional East African Community Health Policy Initiative Uganda were involved between 2009 and 2011. The authors combined a documentary review and semi structured interviews of 54 stakeholders. A framework-guided thematic analysis, inspired by scholarship in health policy analysis and knowledge utilization was used. The coproduction of evidence briefs combined with tacit knowledge gathered during inclusive evidence-informed stakeholder dialogues helped to reframe health system problems, unveil sources of conflicts, open grounds for consensus and align viable and affordable options for achieving the health millennium development goals thus leading to decisions. New policy issue networks have emerged. Knowledge translation platforms were perceived as change agents with positive impact on the understanding, acceptance and adoption of evidence-informed health system policy-making because of their complementary work in relation to capacity building, rapid evidence syntheses and clearinghouse of policy-relevant evidence. The authors indicate that this embedded case study illustrates how two knowledge translation platforms influenced policy decisions through pathways involving policy issue networks, interest groups interaction and evidence-supported ideas and how they influenced the general climate for evidence-informed health system policy.
This paper illustrates a case of applying the Urban Health Equity Assessment and Response Tool in Matsapha, Swaziland. A descriptive single-case study design using qualitative research methods was adopted to collect data from purposively selected respondents. The study revealed that residents of the Matsapha peri-urban informal settlements faced challenges with conditions of daily living which impacted negatively on their health. There were health equity gaps. The application of the tools was facilitated by the formation of an all-inclusive team, intersectoral collaboration and incorporating strategies for improving urban health equity into existing programmes and projects.
TDR Global has launched a 3-month mobilization initiative on gender equity in health research. The aim is to enhance women’s position in health research and to address the impact of gender on infectious diseases of poverty through research. The initiative will share experience and thoughts on gender equity in health research. Challenge-solving workshops are being planned to identify local challenges, create local teams and offer training. TDR Global talks are opportunities to share best practices and experiences on enhancing gender equity in health research. Working groups on specific issues are options for organizing webinars, training and sharing ideas.
This paper presented the results of a priority setting exercise that brought together researchers and program managers from the World Health Organization Africa and Eastern Mediterranean regions to identify key sexual reproductive health issues. In June 2015, researchers and program managers from the World Health Organization Africa and Eastern Mediterranean regions met for a three-day meeting to discuss strategies to strengthen research capacity in the regions. A prioritization exercise was carried out to identify key priority areas for research in sexual reproductive health. The process included five criteria which are answerability, effectiveness, deliverability and acceptability, potential impact of the intervention/program to improve reproductive, maternal and newborn health substantially, and equity. The six main priorities were identified as creation and investment in multipurpose prevention technologies, addressing adolescent violence and early pregnancy, improved maternal and newborn emergency care, increased evaluation and improvement of adolescent health interventions including contraception, further focus on family planning uptake and barriers, and improving care for mothers and children during childbirth. They indicate that setting priorities is the first step in a dynamic process to identify where research funding should be focused to maximize health benefits. A focus on priority setting suggests a need to identify who is thus involved in this process.
The South African Child Gauge® is published annually by the Children’s Institute, University of Cape Town, to monitor progress towards realising children’s rights. This issue focuses on children and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Part one summarises and comments on policy and legislative developments that affect children. These include developments in international and South African law. Part two motivates for greater investment to ensure South Africa’s children not only survive but thrive and reach their full potential, by focusing on the SDGs, ensuring that the 2030 Global Agenda promotes children’s survival and development, identifying local priorities, promoting nurturing care, creating safe environments, improving child nutrition, getting reading right, creating inclusive and enabling environments and reflecting on progress and calling for action. Part three presents child-centred data 2002-2015 to monitor progress and track the realisation of children’s socio-economic rights in South Africa. A set of key indicators tracks progress in demography, income poverty, unemployment and social grants, child health and access to education, housing and basic services.
This paper describes the similar and divergent approaches to increase data-driven quality of care improvements and implementation challenge and opportunities encountered in these three countries. Eight semi-structured in-depth interviews were administered to program staff working in each country. Project successes ranged from over 450 collaborative action-plans developed, implemented, and evaluated in Mozambique, to an increase from 80% of basic clinical protocols followed in intervention facilities in rural Zambia, and a shift from a lack of awareness of health data among health system staff to collaborative ownership of data and using data to drive change in Rwanda. Based on common successes across the country experiences, the authors recommend future data-driven quality improvement interventions begin with data quality assessments to promote that rapid health system improvement is possible, ensure confidence in available data, serve as the first step in data-driven targeted improvements, and improve staff data analysis and visualization skills. They pose that explicit Ministry of Health collaborative engagement can ensure performance review is collaborative and internally-driven rather than viewed as an external “audit.”
This paper analyses the implementation of health systems strengthening initiatives inclusive of research capacity building. During Population Health Implementation and Training, specific research capacity building activities varied across countries. However, all five countries used African Health Initiative funding to improve research administrative support and infrastructure, implement research training and support mentorship activities and research dissemination. Funders were recommended to provide adequate and flexible funding for research capacity building activities and for institutions to offer a spectrum of research capacity building activities to enable continued growth, provide adequate mentorship for trainees and systematically monitor research capacity building activities.