Latest Equinet Updates

Webinar on Climate Justice and Comprehensive PHC systems in East and Southern Africa
EQUINET, REACH Trust, IWG: Online October 25th 2023 2-4pm Southern Africa time

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. Following webinars held on health rights and climate Justice in July and on urban health and climate justice in August the next webinar will explore the intersect between climate justice and comprehensive PHC oriented health systems in east and southern Africa on October 25th 2023 2-4pm Southern Africa time (3-5pm East Africa time). We will hear from speakers with experience on these issues at community/local level, at national level and at global level, and provide time for participant discussions and proposals for engaging on the issues raised for the region. Visit the link to register in advance for the meeting, providing your name, institution and contact email.

Equity dimensions in initiatives promoting urban health and wellbeing in east and southern Africa
Loewenson R, Mhlanga G, Gotto D, et al: Frontiers in Public Health, section Public Health Policy, 11: 1-18, 2023

Urbanisation in east and southern Africa (ESA) has brought opportunity and wealth together with multiple dimensions of deprivation. Less well documented in published literature on the ESA region are features of urban practice that promote health equity. This work thus aimed to explore features of urban initiatives aimed at improving health and wellbeing in ESA countries and their contribution to different dimensions of health equity. The paper discusses learning on local process and design features to strengthen to promote the different dimensions of equity found, and issues to address beyond the local level to support such equity-oriented urban initiatives.

A review of public health-related food laws in east and southern Africa
Kasapila W: EQUINET Discussion paper 129, EQUINET, with ECSA HC, MoHCC Zimbabwe, TARSC, Harare, 2023

Food systems have a key role in promoting health and nutrition. National constitutions in many East and southern Africa (ESA) countries provide for a right to food or adequate nutrition, and food law is increasingly important, given expanding food products, trade and risks to health. This report presents findings from a desk review of current food-related laws of 17 countries in the ESA region and international and regional standards. In terms of key areas of food safety and risks covered, most countries include provisions for food labelling, standards for premises used for food production, storage and processing, as well as provisions prohibiting the sale of unwholesome, poisonous or adulterated food; food preparation under unsanitary conditions, inspection of food establishments, testing and recall.The laws generally include provisions for setting of standards, monitoring, inspection, food-testing and disposal of unsafe foods, and for food labelling and consumer information. Few countries have provisions for risk assessment, scientific research, testing, and labelling of novel and GMO foods. The report identifies specific legal clauses in ESA laws that may serve as useful text for law reform.

An invitation to a webinar on Climate justice and the right to health and wellbeing
Tuesday 11 July, 2023 11:00-1300 East African time 10.00-12.00 Southern African time

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. In the first we ask, how do issues of climate justice intersect with constitutional and legal protection of health rights? What issues, advocacy and actions does this raise for the region? The Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD), lead for the work on legal protection of the right to health in EQUINET is convening this first webinar with speakers from community, national and international level. The webinar will invite participant input and discussion during the webinar. Register now in advance to receive a confirmation email with further information on the meeting and your link to join. And watch the EQUINET website for the forthcoming webinars in the series!

Case study on health-promoting urban food systems in Bulawayo
City of Bulawayo, Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe (UCAZ), Training and Research Support Centre (TARSC): EQUINET, 2023

UCAZ and TARSC in EQUINET with review input from Ministry of Health and Child Care (implemented work in 2022-23 to gather and share evidence on initiatives underway in Zimbabwean cities/ towns to promote healthy food systems, to share and promote uptake of promising practice. Bulawayo is one of the urban case studies, using a collectively developed shared framework. Dietary diversity in Bulawayo was higher than the national average in 2018. The major foods consumed, as for the rest of the country, are maize and vegetables, with access to food dependent on household socio-economic features. Bulawayo residents engage in peri-urban and urban agriculture in residential stands, in peri-urban plots and on available vacant land. Modernisation has, however, changed diets in the city, with a shift towards processed foods. The lack of legislation controlling production and marketing of these foods hampers efforts to promote healthy diets. Various interventions are underway to promote health in the city’s food system, including providing an enabling environment for urban agriculture; promoting consumption of unprocessed foods and healthy diets; fortifying staple foods to provide micro nutrients to under-five year old children and their mothers, and inspecting foods to prevent falsification and adulteration. These and other areas of practice are described in the case study.

Case study on health-promoting urban food systems in Chegutu
Chegutu Municipality, Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe (UCAZ), Training and Research Support Centre (TARSC): EQUINET, 2023

UCAZ and TARSC in EQUINET with review input from Ministry of Health and Child Care (implemented work in 2022-23 to gather and share evidence on initiatives underway in Zimbabwean cities/ towns to promote healthy food systems, to share and promote uptake of promising practice. Chegutu is one of the urban case studies, using a collectively developed shared framework. In 2018, nearly half (49%) of Chegutu’s urban population was food insecure, compared to the national urban average of 37%, and compared to 31% in 2016. The situation was worsened by the impact of COVID-19, with lockdowns and interrupted economic activities undermining urban household access food and basic services. The local authority with partners has implemented an Urban Resilience Building Program, where community members were capacitated with startup and skills training in sustainable livelihood value chains in agriculture and nutrition, water and sanitation, and in financial literacy and social protection. Two areas of food systems, poultry production and peanut butter processing, implemented by the Shasha Community Group are detailed in this case study, with other initiatives on the food system.

Case study on health-promoting urban food systems in Harare
Harare City Council, Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe (UCAZ), Training and Research Support Centre (TARSC): EQUINET, 2023

UCAZ and TARSC in EQUINET with review input from Ministry of Health and Child Care (implemented work in 2022-23 to gather and share evidence on initiatives underway in Zimbabwean cities/ towns to promote healthy food systems, to share and promote uptake of promising practice. Harare is one of the urban case studies, using a collectively developed shared framework. In Harare city 13.7 % of children under 18 years are poor, and 2,2% food poor, living in households that are below the poverty datum line The city’s food supply comes from food industries located in the city and other urban areas of Zimbabwe, and food imported from other countries. Fresh fruits and vegetables are mostly obtained from the people’s markets, shops, hawkers, unlicensed vendors and from production in resident’s back yards for home consumption and sometimes for sale to supplement incomes. The City Health Department’s Environmental Health Division conducts regular monitoring to ensure the food sold to the Harare public is safe, from the planning stage of buildings where food will be handled, through to food handlers, informal food vendors and food business operators. Community Services officers and agricultural extension (Agritex) officers train women groups in high density areas of the city on food-related skills, including cooking, baking, fish farming and mushroom growing. The city convenes competitions involving preparation and cooking of traditional foods by women from the community groups. A range of traditional foods and dishes are showcased, including boiled roundnuts, peanuts, cowpeas, whole maize grain (mutakura in Shona), and dried vegetables (mufushwa) with peanut butter. The case study outlines these and other practices in the city.

Case study on health-promoting urban food systems in Kariba
Kariba Municipality, Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe (UCAZ), Training and Research Support Centre (TARSC): EQUINET 2023

UCAZ, TARSC in EQUINET, with review input from Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) implemented work in 2022-23 to gather and share evidence on initiatives underway in Zimbabwean cities/ towns to promote healthy food systems. Kariba is one of the urban case studies, using a collectively developed shared framework. Kariba is a small tourist resort town in north-eastern Zimbabwe near the border with Zambia and is located in a National Parks area. The town was initially developed to house workers involved in the construction of Lake Kariba on the Zambezi River for hydro-electricity generation. Most of the food consumed in Kariba town is sourced from far away as farming around the town is not viable because of wildlife. Kariba town is located on a border, raising the challenge of managing cross-border trade and food imports. While there are challenges to urban agriculture and local food processing in Kariba, noted earlier, there are also a number of initiatives to promote health food options in the town, including aquaculture, hydroponics, and recycling of bio-waste to support urban agriculture. The Municipality is also represented in cross-border dialogue mechanisms, such as a Technical Committee between Zimbabwe and Zambia on Kapenta fishing in Lake Kariba. This case study outlines the various processes underway.

Case study on health-promoting urban food systems in Kwekwe
Kwekwe City Council, Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe (UCAZ), Training and Research Support Centre (TARSC): EQUINET, 2023

UCAZ and TARSC in EQUINET with review input from Ministry of Health and Child Care (implemented work in 2022-23 to gather and share evidence on initiatives underway in Zimbabwean cities/ towns to promote healthy food systems, to share and promote uptake of promising practice. Kwekwe is one of the urban case studies, using a collectively developed shared framework. Kwekwe city in Zimbabwe’s Midlands region is in a mining and industrial area. Over half of the city population are self-employed in the informal economy, with activities including open food preparation and sale, vending farm produce, and grocery tuck shops. Kwekwe City Council has made several urban food system interventions described in this case study, including constructing farm produce/vegetable markets in over 15 locations in the city. In 2010, Council entered into a public-private ‘build-own-operate-transfer’ (BOOT) partnership with a local company to build shops to accommodate small to medium businesses, including for food vending and processing. The city health department established an environmental health post in 2021 to monitor and ensure food hygiene and health standards, and has set enabling legislation for this.

Case study on health-promoting urban food systems in Masvingo
City of Masvingo, Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe (UCAZ), Training and Research Support Centre (TARSC): EQUINET, 2023

UCAZ and TARSC in EQUINET with review input from Ministry of Health and Child Care implemented work in 2022-23 to gather and share evidence on initiatives underway in Zimbabwean cities/ towns to promote healthy food systems, to share and promote uptake of promising practice. Masvingo is one of the urban case studies, using a collectively developed shared framework. Masvingo is one of the oldest cities in Zimbabwe. Food security in Masvingo city, as for the wider country, has been affected by drought, economic challenges and household poverty, with the COVID-19 pandemic adding to this. Ultra-processed foods such as sweetened drinks, crisps, sweets, and other foods containing high levels of sugar, fats, salt and additives are mainly imported into the city. The city identifies urban agriculture as one of the important livelihood strategies for many urban residents and a method for alleviating poverty and improving household food security. To facilitate multi-sectoral broad-based collaborative approaches, the local authority identified open spaces to be used for agricultural purposes, and set aside land for this within the city. The council is implementing the various activities outlined in this case study brief, making resources such as land available for urban agriculture, engaging non-state agencies to collaborate on infrastructure for initiatives, and community members to collaborate on interventions. Having a Council policy helps to align different actors and personnel.

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