Author: ihsection

PAHO Call for Applications: Edmundo Granda Ugalde Leaders in international Health Program (LIHP)

by ihsection, posted in Information and Social Media

PAHO’s Unit of Human Resources for Health, Bioethics and Research is pleased to launch the call for applications for the Edmundo Granda Ugalde Leaders in international Health Program (LIHP) 2014.  As you may be aware, this Program has a long tradition in the Organization, from its inception in 1985 to its current decentralized modality offered through the Virtual Campus for Public Health. To date, 270 persons from 36 countries have participated in the virtual decentralized modality of the LIHP, including program and project directors in health and other ministries, government personnel responsible for international relations and international cooperation, PAHO/WHO country office staff, partners from other international agencies, sub-regional integration bodies and NGOs, members of the Cuban Medical Brigades, and others.

The LIHP 2014 will strive to broaden knowledge and contribute to discussions regarding universal health coverage from an international health perspective, in recognition of its importance in the quest for health equity. The Program plans to facilitate debate on this issue, bringing together regional and global experts as well as promoting the development of country projects related to the same. Additionally, and taking into account the PAHO Strategic Plan 2014-2019 and the myriad challenges facing the Region, the LIHP will continue to support the analysis of other topics, including chronic diseases, food security, health diplomacy, and access to medicines, among others.

We invite you to disseminate information on the program in the attached brochure. Additional information including eligibility, application procedures and program requirements are available here.

For any questions, please see below for contact information:

Edmundo Granda Ugalde Leaders in International Health Program
Department of Health Systems and Services
Pan American Health Organization
525 Twenty-third St., NW
Washington,DC 20037-2895
Tel: (202) 974-3803
Fax: (202) 974-3612
email: INTLHLTH@paho.org

How will a trade agreement – the TPP — impact global health?

by ihsection, posted in Guest Blog, Policy and Advocacy

Guest post by Mary Anne Mercer, Senior MCH Advisor for Health Alliance International and the IH Section’s liaison with the Trade and Health Forum. Mary Anne spoke at a recent activist rally in Seattle on January 31st about public health concerns related to the TPP.

Only six months ago, when the TPP, or the Trans-Pacific Partnership, was brought up in discussions, even well-informed activists generally gave blank stares.  TP what?  But in recent weeks it’s been the subject of increasing news coverage, along with exposure to the so-called fast track authority bill that would grant President Obama authority to sign the agreement without prior Congressional review.  Although extensive negotiations on the TPP have been going on in secret over the past several years, as information about the TPP becomes better known, activist groups around the world have organized to oppose it. Just what is the TPP, and why do we care about it?

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a “trade” deal (but encompassing many other areas of corporate rights) among 12 countries of the Pacific Rim, including the United States. Official discussions are held behind closed doors without public information or input, and without input from our elected representatives in Congress, so little is known about the specific terms of the agreement.  However, WikiLeaks has published two chapters over the past few months detailing regulations concerning intellectual property and the environment. We have good reason to expect that the TPP will ratchet up terms that are prominent in existing trade agreements that have been signed between individual countries. So although only the negotiating committees, which include about 600 diplomats and corporate representatives, know the exact terms of the deal, we have substantial cause for concern.

National and international groups concerned about global health have voiced opposition to many terms of the agreement, believing that they would affect the health and quality of life of people around the world if enacted.  Some of the main health-related concerns about the TPP include:

  • Restrictions on individual countries’ abilities to pass and enforce laws protecting public health. Through a mechanism known as Investor-State Dispute resolution, corporations would be entitled to sue sovereign governments for passing laws that ‘restrict trade’ – even public health measures such as restricting tobacco advertising on cigarette packaging, which the Australian and other governments are now facing.
  • Intellectual property laws that would set up barriers to accessing generic medicines and other health commodities (including AIDS drugs), thus dramatically increasing their costs. By extending the already lengthy duration of patents and other corporate protections, Big Pharma will have an even stronger hold on the economic gains to be made from health problems around the world.
  • Detrimental effects on equity, including the distribution of income and other resources.  There is good evidence 20 years after NAFTA that poverty and inequality have increased in Mexico and wages in the US have stagnated.  The promises of NAFTA have not been kept.

But the TPP is far from a done deal.  Many progressive groups, including a number of labor, environmental and community organizations, as well as APHA’s Trade and Health Forum, are working to oppose the TPP and the Fast Track bill.

Sen. Harry Reid, Majority Leader in the U.S. Senate, recently indicated that he is not interested in having the Senate vote on legislation granting Fast Track Authority this year. There is no question that Reid’s decision is a result of mobilization of voters across the country. We need to continue to educate and inform as many people as possible about the content of the TPP and the negative impact it would have on jobs, the environment, and on public health in the US and globally.

CSIS Event: The Launch of the Global Health Security Agenda

by ihsection, posted in Information and Social Media

What: The Launch of the Global Health Security Agenda
When: February 13, 2014 from 3:00pm-4:30pm (EST)
Where: Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1616 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington, D.C., 20036
RSVP: http://www.SmartGlobalHealth.org/GHSAgenda

Please join us as Dr. Thomas C. Frieden, Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Ms. Laura Holgate, Senior Director, WMD Terrorism and Threat Reduction, National Security Council, discuss the administration’s launch of the new Global Health Security Agenda at 3:00pm on Thursday, February 13, at CSIS in the 2nd floor conference room. (Click here to learn more.) It is a timely opportunity to hear directly from them about the GHS Agenda’s genesis, key elements and future implementation.

It is also the occasion for the NGO sector to engage with Dr. Frieden and Senior Director Holgate and add their voice. Independent scientific, security and health experts will offer their perspectives on the GHS Agenda, including how they might in the future best contribute substantively to it. On the dais, kicking off that conversation will be Deborah Rosenblum, NTI, Kavita Berger, AAAS, Tom Inglesby, UPMC, and Nigel Lightfoot, CORDS. We are delighted that their respective organizations are, along with CSIS, co-sponsors of this event.

This event will be webcast live at: http://www.SmartGlobalHealth.org/Live.

Upcoming meetings and conferences

by ihsection, posted in APHA IH Section

Here are two upcoming meetings/conferences that may be of interest to global health professionals. The first is a meeting, the second a call for papers for a conference in October in Costa Rica.

Monitoring Progress towards Universal Health Coverage
Featuring Dr. David Evans and Dr. Ties Boerma (World Health Organization) and Dr. Tim Evans (World Bank)

The meeting will give civil society organizations an opportunity to comment on the recent draft report by the World Bank and the World Health Organization, “Monitoring Progress towards Universal Health Coverage at Country and Global Levels: A Framework,” and discuss health in the Post-2015 development agenda.

When: Tuesday, 21 January 2014, 08:30 – 12:00 EST / 14:30 – 18:00 CET
Coffee will be available at 08:30 / 09:00, with event starting promptly at 14:30 / 15:00.

Where: United Nations Foundation, 1750 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC
International Labour Organization, 4 route des MorillonsCH-1211 Genève 22 Switzerland

Toll-free dial-in access also available. For more information or to RSVP, email unfevents@unfoundation.org. Space is
limited.

III International Higher Education Congress
III Congreso Internacional de Educación Superior
October 6-10, 2014 San Jose, Costa Rica
Call for Papers
http://www.WCUPA.edu/KCB

Knowledge Crossing Borders: Building Partnerships Through Shared Knowledge

Introduction
The Knowledge Crossing Borders Planning Team is pleased to announce the Call for Papers for the 2014 KCB conference. You are encouraged to participate in the “Knowledge Crossing Borders: Building Partnerships through Shared Knowledge,” a multi-institutional conference to be held on the campus of the Universidad National (UNA), Heredia, Costa Rica. Program participants will share effective scholarly, pedagogical, and administrative practices with their international counterparts.

Program Objectives
The International Higher Education Congress seeks to build a sustainable future through global partnerships in higher education. The conference theme-Knowledge Crossing Borders, Building Partnerships Thorough Shared Knowledge – includes the research, pedagogical, outreach, and administrative functions of higher education. The conference will examine how knowledge transactions across regional and international borders create challenges and transformative opportunities for cooperation, change, creativity, and innovation.

Travel Support
Individuals will be required to support the expense related to their participation from their own funds toward the cost of participation. We encourage participants to anticipate their costs and apply to their institution, departments or professional associations for any financial support.

Submissions
The conference especially seeks papers that focus on border-crossing perspectives in broad contexts.
Topics should address at least one of these topics of inquiry:

  • Communication and Information Technologies in Higher Education
  • World Peace and Higher Education
  • Higher Education and the Reduction of Poverty
  • Ethics and the Role of Higher Education
  • International Cooperation and Institutions of Higher Education
  • Higher Education and Advances in the area of Health Worldwide

Applicants should submit proposals that comply with the following structures:

  1. Individual presentations not to exceed 20 minutes
  2. Panels or workshops that may be structured with three or more presentations for a total of 60 minutes of presentation and 15 minutes of audience response
  3. Poster sessions that will include 60 minutes of scheduled presence and dialogue with conference attendees

Submissions should be in Microsoft Word, double-spaced, using 12-point Times New Roman font. Full papers (15-20 pages) will receive blind peer review evaluations. Notification will be sent in May. Please include a one paragraph abstract and a few sentences of biographical information about yourself. Applications will be reviewed by peer selection committee. Decisions will be based upon quality and alignment with conference goals.

Deadline for receipt of complete applications: April 1, 2014.

Two Fellowships with upcoming application deadlines: Donald M. Payne (USAID) and Global Health Corps

by ihsection, posted in APHA IH Section, Internships and Fellowships

Below please find information about two fellowship programs that could be of interest to global health students, recent graduates, and new professionals.

Global Health Corps Fellowship: Positions available in Burundi, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, and the U.S.
To be selected as a Global Health Corps fellow you must:

  • Be 30 or under at the start of the fellowship
  • Have an undergraduate university degree by July 2014
  • Be proficient in English

Application Timeline for the 2014-2015 Fellowship:

  • November 6, 2013: Part 1 of the application opens
  • December 6, 2013: Position descriptions posted online. Part 2 of the application opens
  • January 26, 2014: Applications close at 11:59pm EST
  • February 17, 2014: 2 recommendation forms and Proof of Identity and Proof of Education documents due
  • February – March 2014: Each application is reviewed by at least two readers
  • March 2014: up to 10 semi-finalists are selected for each fellowship position. All candidates are notified of their application status by email
  • March 2014: All semi-finalists are interviewed by Global Health Corps and 3-5 finalists per position are selected
  • March 2014-April 2014: All finalists are interviewed by the placement organizations
  • April-May 2014: Fellowship offers extended

Fellows come from a wide range of educational and professional backgrounds, as each individual fellowship position requires different specific skills. Make sure to check out our fellowship FAQs page.

USAID Donald M. Payne Fellowship (through Howard University)

The Payne Program is designed to attract outstanding young people to careers in international development as USAID Foreign Service Officers. The Payne Fellowship Program provides benefits valued at up to $90,000 over two years toward a two-year master’s degree, arranges internships on Capitol Hill and at USAID missions overseas, and provides professional development and support activities. Fellows who successfully complete the program become USAID Foreign Service Officers. Fellows may use the fellowship to attend a two-year master’s program in a U.S. institution to study an area of relevance to the USAID Foreign Service, including international development, international relations, public policy, business administration, foreign languages, economics, agriculture, environmental sciences, health, or urban planning at a graduate or professional school approved by the Payne Program. At the end of the two-year fellowship, Fellows enter the USAID Foreign Service. Applicants must be college seniors or graduates looking to start graduate school in the fall of the year they apply, have GPAs of at least 3.2 and be U.S. citizens. The program welcomes applications from those with any undergraduate major and encourages applications from members of minority groups historically underrepresented in the USAID Foreign Service and those with financial need. Information and application materials for the program are available at http://www.paynefellows.org.

Application deadline: January 27, 2014