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Latin America and the Caribbean

 

JAMAICA: Caribbean Can Achieve Zero Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV by 2015 

 

  

North America


AdvocateAdvocate Focus
Dr. Suneeta Sharma
Director, Health Policy Project
 

"Policy matters. It sets a foundation to build effective health systems, programs, and services. Moving from policy to action is a dynamic, iterative, and sometimes circuitous process that unfolds differently in different contexts. It's important to monitor these processes to identify and remove barriers to high-quality, affordable, health services."

 

Suneeta Sharma, PhD, has over 20 years of experience teaching and implementing health policy, financing, and equity projects globally, and is the project director of the USAID- and PEPFAR-funded Health Policy Project, led by Futures Group. HIV Policy Monitor spoke to Dr. Sharma about her experience in the global health field and why policy and advocacy are important. Click here for the interview. 

 

PolicyPolicy Analysis
Malaysia's Public Health Policies Assisting People Who Inject Drugs Are Found to Avert New HIV Infections, Save Lives and Reduce Health Care Costs, According to a New Study Funded by the World Bank 
World Bank


In 2006, Malaysia instituted a limited program of "harm-reduction" interventions that included offering clean needles and syringes, Methadone Maintenance Therapy, and other harm-reduction programs. This World Bank-funded study estimates that 12,653 HIV infections have been successfully averted since 2006 with the implementation of these programs.

Zimbabwe: An AIDS Strategy Focused and Aligned with Our Vision and the United Nations Targets for 2015

UNAIDS

 

http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/ unaidspublication/2013/2013CaseStudyZimbabwe_en.pdf  

 

This case study looks at how Zimbabwe evolved its work with UNAIDS and the Global Fund for HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria to fit the New Funding Model for the Global Fund, and received a US$311 million three-year grant --- equal to the combined total of HIV assistance the country received from the Global Fund in the past decade. 

Analysis: Fight for Cheap Drugs Shifts from AIDS to New Hepatitis Pills

Ben Hurschler

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/16/us-hepatitis-price-analysis-idUSBRE9BF0EU20131216  

 

The World Health Organization estimates that 150 million people worldwide are chronically infected with Hepatitis C, with the greatest burden of such cases in middle-income countries. This analysis considers the current legal and policy issues related to reducing the costs of hepatitis medication.

Uganda Parliament Passes Anti-homosexuality Bill, "Filling Gaps," Adding Further Blows to HIV Response

Science Speaks   

 

http://sciencespeaksblog.org/2013/12/20/uganda-parliament-passes-anti-homosexuality-bill-filling-gaps-adding-further-blows-to-hiv-response/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ScienceSpeaksHivTbNews+%28Science+Speaks%3A+HIV+%26+TB+News%29 

 

A 2012 analysis by Ugandan physicians showed that even before the anti-homosexuality bill had become law, men who have sex with men and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons were being denied critical healthcare services. This blog analyzes the ramifications of the Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill and how it might affect relations with donors and international treaties in the years to come.

NewNew Resources
Models, Tools, and Research
Road Map for Implementing and Monitoring Policy and Advocacy Interventions

Health Policy Project

 

http://www.healthpolicyproject.com/index.cfm?id=publications&get=pubID&pubID=322  

 

This suite of tools provides stakeholders in policy design and implementation with a systematic review of the policy process. Each tool targets a different step in the policy process and helps users fully view the different actions necessary to move the policy process forward from development to implementation and evaluation.

Act Global, but Think Local: Accountability at the Frontlines

Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24315067 (subscription only) 

 

There is a divergence between global advocacy on sexual health and rights, and issues at the local level. This paper proposes an approach to advocacy accountability that begins at the frontline of healthcare. Many conventional approaches to advocacy accountability have not led to transformative change, and only by drawing on other disciplines, such as political economy, ethnography, and organizational change management can meaningful change occur. 

Financing Essential HIV Services: A New Economic Agenda

A. Vassall, M. Remme, C. Watts, T. Hallett, M. Siapka, et al.

 

PLoS Medicine 

 

http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001567 

 

This article discusses how the financing needs of the response to HIV will remain large for years to come, requiring changes and new commitments for funding streams as well as innovative ways to support good governance and sustainable solutions.

Social Capital to Strengthen Health Policy and Health Systems

Jessica Ogden, Ken Morrison, Karen Hardee

 

Health Policy and Planning

 

http://heapol.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2013/11/24/heapol.czt087.full.pdf (subscription only)

 

This paper reviews the nature of social capital and the process by which it can enhance health policy and programs and improve advocacy and governance.

 

AdvocacyAdvocacy
Sexual Minorities Fight for Health Services in Uganda

 

http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/12/budding-recognition-health-needs-sexual-minorities-uganda/  

 

In Uganda, the "Come Out Post-Test Group" is helping to a fill a gap in support services by providing a safe space and advocacy group for trans women sex workers living with HIV. The group of around 50 transgender women fights against discrimination in the public health service and promotes awareness among health workers to offer better treatment and support for members of sexual minorities.

Transgender Equality Uganda

 

http://transgender-uganda.blogspot.com/ 

 

"A human rights organization started and led by transgender women in Uganda. It strives to create space for transwomen to speak out; and mainstream transpeople rights in Uganda's gender emancipation and feminist movement."

Joint Statement: Human Rights for All Post-2015

 

http://cesr.org/downloads/joint.statement.dec10.pdf?preview=1 

 

More than 330 advocacy organizations have signed this statement calling for a post-2015 development framework to be anchored in human rights and based on the model of respect for all human beings.

 

Stock Outs in South Africa: A National Crisis

Stop Stock Outs

 

http://www.health-e.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/stock_outs_a_national_crisis.pdf  

 

This report, released by a coalition of advocacy organizations known as the Treatment Action Campaign, examines the current stock outs of essential HIV medicines at South African healthcare centers and provides recommendations for the government and donors to ensure that people have access to the medicines they need. 

First Lady Lists OAFLA Achievements

The Namibian

 

http://www.namibian.com.na/indexx.php?id=7309&page_type=story_detail&category_id=1 

 

The First Lady of Namibia, Penehupifo Pohamba, served as president of the Organization of African First Ladies against HIV/AIDS (OAFLH) until October 2013. The organization advocates for the mobilization of awareness and resources, as well as the development of leadership and new policies in the response to HIV. Pohamba recently discussed the agency's work during her tenure, which included the mobilization of over US$400,000 in UNAIDS funding for the prevention and elimination of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT/EMTCT) and maternal and child health. 

InterviewInterview with Dr. Suneeta Sharma
HIV Policy Monitor: Why are policy and advocacy important in global and public health?

 

Suneeta Sharma: Policy is important because it sets priorities and gives direction. If you have the right planning, and strong, evidence-based policies in place, chances are your programs can be successful. Advocacy is a continuous process of reaching policymakers with the right message at the right time, including concrete policy solutions for the health challenges being faced in the community. We've had great successes globally in supporting policymakers and advocates in policy reform, resource allocation, and mobilizing political commitment.

 

HIV Policy Monitor: What is the value advocacy brings to the response to HIV?

 

Suneeta Sharma: Advocacy has been an important part of the policy projects that Futures Group has implemented over the past 35 years. In Nepal, for example, we helped mainstream HIV programs across several ministries through the ASHA Project, and helped advance the HIV/AIDS Bill in 2007 through a high-level advocacy effort with Ministries of Gender, Health, Labor, and Commerce. We strengthened the capacity of civil society organizations focused on vulnerable populations, including women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender populations, to advocate for their needs and supported the first-ever meeting of the Federation of Women Living with HIV in Nepal. Bringing together such diverse stakeholders helped enshrine a National HIV/AIDS Bill that respected the needs of all stakeholders and provided clear direction for the government's efforts in the national response to HIV.

 

Some of our work included drafting training manuals and supporting sensitivity trainings among diverse sectors of the government, primarily military and police forces. At the district level, Futures Group strengthened the capacity of District AIDS Coordinating Committees and local partners in implementing new HIV/AIDS policies. Futures Group also worked with the private sector, sensitizing journalists and other media personnel on issues related to HIV and AIDS. Only through reaching different sectors of society can we see a comprehensive, successful response to HIV.

 

HIV Policy Monitor: What is the importance of monitoring policies, laws, and strategies in the response to HIV around the world?

 

Suneeta Sharma: The Health Policy Project has an important role to play in terms of monitoring policies. It's important to have goals, and we need to be strategic in thinking in terms of how policies are directed based on evidence and how they are being implemented-what is working and what is not working-so we can help countries take corrective action. We can offer several approaches, including engaging beneficiaries in monitoring policy implementation.

 

In India, we have implemented a number of interventions that engaged the poor, pregnant women, community-based educators, and distributors of family planning methods. Healthcare providers and beneficiaries can play an important role in monitoring what is working and not working and act as links between the community, health centers, and local governments. The poor can and should be engaged in policy development and monitoring, and providers should be accountable for achieving health equity goals.

 

 

HIV Policy Monitor: What role do you see USAID, and other donors, playing in policy implementation in countries that receive assistance?

 

Suneeta Sharma: The role of USAID and other donors now is more focused on country ownership and sustainability. This is achieved by building organizational, institutional, and systems-level capacity, and strengthening resource centers in the country, so there are systems in place for policy development, monitoring, and implementation.

 

Countries' HIV programs will be more sustainable if local stakeholders identify, address, and remove barriers to policy implementation. Donors have an interest in building capacity to make sure there is an evidence-based, systematic process for examining and monitoring policy implementation to ensure countries are delivering on promises.

 

 

 

Dr. Sharma has written publications, journal articles, and technical briefs on health finance, equity, and health economics. Below are two examples of her work.

 

The Art of Moving from Policy to Action: Lessons Learned from the USAID | Health Policy Initiative (2005-2010)

 

The USAID- and PEPFAR-funded Health Policy Project's HIV Policy Monitor is a monthly newsletter focusing on the advancement, development, and analysis of policies and policy-related data to inform the response to HIV and AIDS at the global, national, and local levels. It includes news items, resources, and innovative policy analysis reports on a wide range of topics such as treatment, key populations issues, gender, and financing for HIV policies and programs.

 

If you would like to suggest an item for inclusion in the next issue, please send it to: [email protected].

 


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About the Health Policy Project   
The Health Policy Project is a five-year cooperative agreement funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under Cooperative Agreement No. AID-OAA-A-10-00067, beginning September 30, 2010. The project's HIV-related activities are supported by the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). It is implemented by Futures Group, in collaboration with CEDPA (part of Plan International USA), Futures Institute, Partners in Population and Development Africa Regional Office (PPD ARO), Population Reference Bureau (PRB), RTI International, and the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood (WRA).