This Week's News 5 August 2011
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This Week's News 5 August 2011 Weekly news clippings service featuring articles on the Global Health Workforce Alliance and selection of articles from around the world on the issue of the health workforce crisis
GHWA and Partners
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Africa & Middle East
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GHWA and Partners 2 Health and Education at top priority of Government: PM Associated Press of Pakistan 01/08/2011 ISLAMABAD, Aug 1 (APP): Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani Monday said health and education are top priorities of the government. Talking to Mubashar Riaz Shaikh, Executive Director of Global Health Workforce Alliance at WHO HQs, Geneva who called on him at PM’s House this morning, the Prime Minister said although the education and health subjects have been transferred to the provinces but the Federal Government will remain engaged with the provinces to improve facilities in these areas in the country. He appreciated the cooperation of World Health Organization for women and child health programmes.He also appreciated the role of WHO in vaccination and training of doctors and nurses programmes. The Prime Minister acknowledged the contribution of Shaikh in launching Lady Health Workers Programme during Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed’s government in Pakistan which has earned international recognition. The Prime Minister approved his candidature for the position of WHO’s Regional Director, Eastern Mediterranean Region Organization (EMRO). He expressed his confidence that Mubashar Riaz Shaikh will continue to serve the humanity with the same passion and zeal. Mubashar Riaz Shaikh thanked the Prime Minister for reposing confidence and the government’s recommendation of his candidature. Prime Minister Gilani, referring to the issues of extremism and terrorism said these were hampering national growth. He said it goes to the credit of the government that it evolved a sense of ownership amongst the masses and the political leadership stood united to cleanse the society of such elements. Prime Minister Gilani said no one in the country dared support extremist or the terrorist elements openly anymore, as the civil society was totally against it and is aware that over 35,000 people have laid down their lives to safeguard their country. He said illiteracy and emotions were fuelling extremism and said these need to be checked through providing education and employment opportunities. He said law enforcement agencies were jointly working, in coordination with the provincial governments, to pre-empt and counter the threat. He said 2.9 million IDPs of Swat and Malakand were repatriated to their homes in 90 days and were compensated through smart card. He however regretted that this was never highlighted in the media. The Prime Minister urged the media to always hold supreme the national interest and to rise above differences and minor issues to create tolerance and a will to work for the betterment of the country. He said it has never been his objective that his government completes its five-year term. He said he has always said that the Parliament needs to complete its term as it would create hope amongst the masses that the democratic parliamentary system was functional and the political setup was working with full responsibility. Prime Minister Gilani also stressed the need of encouraging extra-curricular activities and said it could play a vital role in generating healthy activities in the country. He said as soon as the government frees itself from operations against extremists, it would focus on bringing about uniformity in the rules and regulations relating to FATA and PATA. The around 40 participants, mostly educationists, and a few hosts of television shows were in general critical of the several education systems running parallel in the country and urged measures to bring about a uniformity. They opined that poor standards of current syllabus at government schools were not designed to turn out students who can meet the future challenges, as it contains historical distortions, hatred and discrimination. There was general consensus on teacher-training, improvement of service structure, induction of trained and at least graduate level teachers, teaching in regional languages, encouragement of non-formal sector, distance learning, short literacy courses, and above all making education affordable. Mehtab Akber Rashdi said two segments have been created in the country; of those who have the means and study in private educational institutions, and those who study at government schools, and said steps need to be taken to provide opportunities to those who do not have enough resources. Prof. Elvin Adwin pointed that in some areas violence and extremism were treated as personality traits and said “we need heroes who are the heroes of intellect.” Yasin Masoom Zai said higher education in the country had achieved a level of dynamism and innovation that can help students compete the world. He however pointed that the universities in the public sector needed the support of the government so that opportunities are available for those who cannot afford the high costs involved. Sadrudin Pardhan said youth in the country has tremendous potential that needed to be given a positive direction. Irfan Awan stressed encouragement of non-formal education and a second opportunity to those who missed the initial chance to study, so as to sway them away from extremism and terrorism. Dr Salma stressed the need of accountability to check poor performance of teachers besides making education interesting to cut school dropout rates. She suggested that private schools be asked to have a quote of 10 percent for students from poor backgrounds. Nargis Zaidi said around 2-4 million students were out of the educational system and measures were needed to bring them back to school. She suggested that MNAs be asked to spend 60 per cent of their funds for education, while distant education be encouraged through the State-run television. 3 Strengthening Zimbabwe’s Social Services Workforce to Help Orphans and Vulnerable Children Capacity Plus 01/08/2011
4 Health Workers’ Role in Health Service Integration Capacity Plus July 2011 by Mesrak Belatchew In the past decade, the global health field has seen a number of interventions that tried to integrate health services for various purposes. Integrating family planning and HIV services have helped countries make use of the resources available for the latter to expand the scope and coverage of services. TB and HIV service integration is another example of synergy to strengthen both programs. The advantage of integration for consumers is clear: patients get comprehensive services, whether in the community or at health facilities. Focusing on health workers Through the years, we have learned that it’s vital to strengthen the existing health system as a whole. In integrating health services, these initiatives bring a welcome focus on the key role of health workers who provide services across the system. When the move to integrated programming came along, health workers were provided with integrated refresher trainings on how they could deliver multiple services during a single encounter with clients and patients. Lessons learned from integrated management of childhood illness (IMCI), for example, show that health workers are enabled to provide comprehensive services, appropriate referrals, and record-keeping when they work in integrated health service systems. In addition health workers are more empowered when provided with the capacity to provide comprehensive health services for their patients. Ethiopia’s experience with health extension workers (HEWs) reaffirmed the importance of integrated training of health workers by positioning these cadres to respond to the health needs of the communities. The need for coordination Apart from service provision, integrated programs require extensive coordination among the various supporting partners. Health workers’ productivity can be compromised when they get pulled into multiple training courses for separate programs and initiatives. Their workload also needs to be evaluated. It is also important to identify the expectations placed on the health workers compared with their actual ability to provide integrated services. Health workers’ turnover may challenge the success of health programs, irrespective of the extent of their integration. However, integrated health programs can withstand such challenges better than vertical programs, since each health worker is enabled to provide a wide range of services. Working together In the spirit of synergy, global health partners need to coordinate more effectively and share resources, experiences, and promising practices. To this end, CapacityPlus recently collaborated with the USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) on the new CHW Central by providing related health workforce resources. CHW Central serves as a forum to link and engage experts and practitioners of community health programs, strengthening the support for community health workers in countries. It allows CapacityPlus to share latest developments and promising practices in HR management systems for community health programs and facilitate policy interventions to enhance CHW productivity. CapacityPlus continues to forge partnerships and collaborations globally and in countries to support integrated interventions that will enable health workers to continue to save lives. Related items:
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