A disproportionate burden of infant and under-five childhood mortality occurs during the neonatal period, usually within a few days of birth and against a backdrop of socio-economic deprivation in developing countries. To guide programmes aimed at averting these 4 million annual deaths, recent reviews evaluated the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of individual interventions. However, no systematic review of the empirical data on packages of interventions, including consideration of community based intervention packages, has yet been performed. To address this gap, we reviewed peer-reviewed journals and grey literature to evaluate the content, impact, efficacy (implementation under ideal circumstances), effectiveness (implementation within health systems), type of provider, and cost of packages of interventions reporting neonatal health outcomes.
Health equity in economic and trade policies
On International Workers’ Day PSI called for a fair globalisation and the defence of quality public services. Fair globalisation means committed and adequate investment in vital public services such as health, water, sanitation, electricity and education, where the contributions of workers are properly recognised and recompensed. It is through the proper funding and provision of these services that we will achieve more just and inclusive societies. Policies which drive countries, particularly developing countries, to restructure, outsource and privatise their public services only serve to perpetuate poverty and underline inequalities”
The quiet advance of trade and investment agreements between rich and poor countries threatens to deny developing countries a favourable foothold in the global economy. Driven by the USA and the European Union, these agreements impose far-reaching rules that place severe restrictions on the very policies developing countries need in order to fight poverty.
At the World Health Assembly’s discussions on the patenting of viruses by drug companies, WHO admitted patents have been taken on the avian flu virus, and WHO collaborating centres have entered into Material Transfer Agreements with vaccine manufacturers. Various countries responded to the non compliance of the WHO’s 2005 Guidance on sharing viruses.
WHO’s handling of issues at the 2007 World Health Assembly, has received sharp criticism from both member states and NGOs for its bias and neglect of traditional priority issues. This article highlights the complaints of developing country members.
After much discussion and hard-won willingness to shift positions on what a chair referred to as a “difficult resolution,” member states concluded the 2007 World Health Assembly on 23 May with the adoption of an agreement on innovation of medicines and intellectual property. But it was done without support from the United States, the biggest medicines innovator. The resolution requests the World Health Organization (WHO) to get more involved in supporting member states using trade law to improve access to treatments, and to encourage discussion of new incentive mechanisms for research and development (R&D), such as addressing the link between the cost of R&D and the price of medicines.
This research paper draws together analysis of recent trends in food and agriculture from a gender perspective within an analysis of how trade and investment have affected food security and agricultural development. Although a number of case studies exist exploring how women have been affected by changes in global and local food systems, few have situated these case studies and their findings in the more global context of international trade and investment. This paper explores these linkages, pointing to the connections as well as to the need for further research to deepen our understanding of why women, who aremore than half the world’s population and overwhelmingly responsible for child nutrition, must be involved in policy decisions that affect agriculture and food security.
The ability of African countries to respond to HIV and AIDS is dependent on their ability to control the terms of trade, elicit more favourable patent policies on medication and climb out of poverty - all linked to globalisation. While globalisation has brought some benefits to the urban elite in Africa - information, communication and technology - the outcomes have not reached the urban poor and rural folk who form more than 80 per cent of African populations.
This paper argues that Uganda needs a secure and predictable trading regime with their main export market in the EU. This makes an EPA essential. The possible shocks that normally come with any change have been well anticipated and safeguards built into the negotiations and ultimately the EPA. Safeguards include for example designation of certain products as sensitive and therefore not eligible for tariff reduction (liberalization) when imported into Uganda, longer (up to twenty five years) tariff phase-down/reduction periods for products where tariffs may be reduced, and reservation of the right to restrict imports should they threaten to cause injury to domestic industry.
This newsletter looks at the current state of play on EPAs and the global campaign for fair trade.