Do global health platforms provide meaningful opportunities to advance equitable health systems and population health in east and southern Africa? What factors have supported effective negotiation of African policy goals on health systems within international and global health diplomacy? This brief outlines, with hyperlinks to the relevant reports, the findings and proposals for follow up policy review, action and research from a three year EQUINET led policy research programme with government officials, technical institutions, civil society and other stakeholders and in association with the East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA –HC). The first two pages provide the broad findings, proposed actions and research agenda. Subsequent text presents the findings and proposals from the specific themes investigated in the programme.
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Malawi's 1994 Constitution obliges the state to provide adequate health care within the resources available, and guarantees equality in access to these health services. Community participation is a central pillar for implementing PHC in Malawi’s 2011-2016 Health Sector Strategic Plan, which commits to ensuring that local communities have a voice and an opportunity to participate in issues that affect their health. This brief describes the role ad functioning of health centre advisory committees in supporting services to be responsive to the needs of people living with HIV. The committee members worked with volunteers, visiting villages with messages about prevention of vertical transmission and the services available for it.
Neighbourhood Health Committees (NHCs) have been set up in all ten provinces in Zambia and district community health offices. Their role is being strengthened across the country, and there are many examples of efforts that have been made to promote their participation in planning, budgeting and health actions. This brief outlines these initiatives and the lessons from the work.
This report presents the proceedings of a meeting held on March 13 and 14 a regional meeting was convened with objectives to i. Present and discuss the findings from the EQUINET research programme and from related research in Africa, and the implications for policy, negotiations and programmes in east and southern Africa; ii. Review methods and challenges for implementing research and analysis on global health diplomacy for policy relevance, from review of research and experience of the work; iii. Discuss and propose areas for follow up policy, action and research, within ESA and through south-south collaboration. It included senior officials involved in health from national and regional organisations, health diplomats, researchers from the EQUINET work and others working on health diplomacy and on south-south co-operation in the region and internationally.
This report presents the proceedings of a meeting held on March 13 and 14 a regional meeting was convened with objectives to
i. Present and discuss the findings from the EQUINET research programme and from related research in Africa, and the implications for policy, negotiations and programmes in east and southern Africa;
ii. Review methods and challenges for implementing research and analysis on global health diplomacy for policy relevance, from review of research and experience of the work;
iii. Discuss and propose areas for follow up policy, action and research, within ESA and through south-south collaboration. It included senior officials involved in health from national and regional organisations, health diplomats, researchers from the EQUINET work and others working on health diplomacy and on south-south co-operation in the region and internationally.
Health Centre Committees (HCCs) in Zimbabwe have made a vital contribution to health services and community health. HCCs have supported health activities and played a role in discussing how funds including those from fee collections are used in the clinics. In 2011 training materials were developed jointly by TARSC, CWGH and MoHCC for an approximately three to four day training for HCCs on these roles using participatory tools. This case study brief outlines the training of HCC members and of community members in health literacy.
In 2012 EQUINET initiated a three year policy research programme working with government officials, researchers, diplomats and others in the ESA region on the role of health diplomacy and international co-operation in health, including south –south diplomacy, in addressing selected key challenges to health and strengthening health systems. We aimed to use the evidence and learning to inform African policy actors and stakeholders within processes of health diplomacy. The work was done in association with the Strategic Initiative of Global Health Diplomacy co-ordinated by the East Central and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA-HC). The research reports and policy briefs have been produced and are included in the EQUINET publications on this website. A March 2015 workshop included senior officials from national and regional organisations, health diplomats, researchers from the EQUINET work and others working on health diplomacy and on south-south co-operation in the region and internationally. The workshop discussed the evidence from the EQUINET research and from research on GHD from other institutions with a particular focus on east and southern Africa and proposed areas for follow up policy, action and research, within ESA and through south-south collaboration. The meeting report is on this website. EQUINET is now taking forward the proposals from this meeting in association with a consortium of institutions in the region, and is working with the ECSA Health Community in its Strategic initiative on global health diplomacy to share evidence and analysis for key global processes, including in the forthcoming regional workshop on GHD hosted by the ECSA HC with EQUINET.
Communities in the Eastern Cape have played a role in formulating and implementing the guidance on their roles and functioning. In the Nelson Mandela Bay Health District, for example, health in 2006, a team from the Eastern Cape Provincial Department of Health invited health committee members, health service, local government, community and other local stakeholders to a meeting to contribute and to provide substance to the policy on health committees. This workshop served to frame the draft policy, which was later sent to all districts for discussion before further review and feedback by HCC representatives. The amendments made in this process were integrated into the final policy that was adopted in 2009 by the legislature in the province and published in 2010. This brief discusses this case study on the role of health centre committees as part of a series of case study briefs on the topic.
In the 21st century there is a growing demand to channel collective energy towards justice and equity in health, and to better understand the social processes that influence health and health systems. Communities, rontline health workers and other grass-roots actors play a key role in responding to this demand, in raising critical questions, building new knowledge and provoking and carrying out action to transform health systems and improve health. There is a widening array of methods, tools and capacities – old and new – to increase social participation and power in generating new knowledge through participatory research. At the same time, we need to be clear about exactly what participatory research is and what it can offer. This reader promotes understanding of the term ‘participatory action research’ (PAR) and provides information on its paradigms, methods, application and use, particularly in health policy and systems. This version of the reader is in Spanish. It was produced through the Regional Network for Equity in Health in East and Southern Africa (EQUINET), with Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (AHPSR) and International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Canada. The result of team work, the reader draws on experience and published work from all regions globally and explains:
• key features of participatory action research and the history and knowledge paradigms that inform it;
• processes and methods used in participatory action research, including innovations and developments in the field and the ethical and methods issues in implementing it; and
• communication, reporting, institutionalization and use of participatory action research in health systems.
This workshop is being held to discuss the evidence from research in EQUINET and related research with a particular focus on east and southern Africa (ESA) on global health diplomacy. It will present and discuss the findings from the EQUINET research programme and from related research in Africa, and the implications for policy, negotiations and programmes in east and southern Africa; review methods and challenges for implementing research and analysis on global health diplomacy for policy relevance, from review of research and experience of the work; and discuss and propose areas for follow up policy, action and research, within ESA and through south-south collaboration. The reports of the EQUINET research are on the website