The vision of Children’s Global Health Initiative (CGHI) is to enable sustainable global health for children and their communities through education, training, clinical care and translational research.
Global Health TV travels to Phu Tho in Northern Vietnam to take a look at a new study by CGHI to improve nutrition for pregnant women by providing them with locally made, high protein food supplements.
Guest blogger: Dr. Isobel Hoskins
I never come away from the APHA meeting without being inspired.
This year, the inspiring speech for me came right at the end. I attended the closing session almost by chance when I realised I had a little time. The theme was occupational health so as someone keen on global health I didn’t think it would be all that relevant. When the second speaker took the stand I realised how wrong I was.
Leo Gerard from the United Steelworkers Union showed how health and safety is a global issue and exactly why we need to address occupational health worldwide to match the globalisation of trade. Have you ever thought about who made the clothing you wear, the conditions they work under and the impact that has on their health?
He showed a short video about the Triangle fire – a fire that happened in 1911 in New York at a garment factory. Fire broke out in the factory and panicked workers rushed to the two exits only to find them blocked by fire or locked. The workers couldn’t get out and in desperation some even threw themselves from the upper floors to escape the fire. 146 of them died. This event was one of the drivers of health and safety regulation in theUSA. Those workers were low paid and not allowed to unionise and so negotiate their conditions.
Fast forward to 2010. Gerard described a fire at a garment factory in Bangladesh and guess what? The exits were locked. 29 people died trying to get out, some threw themselves from the upper floors. No regulations prevented this accident in Bangladesh and there was no union to help protect the low paid workers.
Nothing has changed except the geography.
In the rush of globalization, developed country companies are getting round regulation at home by exploiting places where there is none. What does this mean for regulation at home? It means it is under pressure. We could lose all that has been gained since the Triangle fire. In the race to the bottom and the lowest prices, people’s health is being put on the line.
Trade regulations preventing import into the US of goods made in sweatshops or by children, for example, could be a way of forcing global companies to adopt safe working conditions, said Gerard. Having stronger more global unions is another way. Leo’s union the United Steelworkers Union has just gone global – forging partnerships and mergers with other unions worldwide.
Individually I think we can make a difference as well- reading the label and knowing the reputation of companies you buy from could help prevent exploitation. Consumers have power….
Triangle fire: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_Shirtwaist_Factory_fire
Bangladesh fire: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/14/bangladesh-clothes-factory-workers-jump-to-death
Dr Isobel Hoskins manages the Global Health database at CABI.
Nearly every disease, cause, and social issue claims a calendar date for itself to raise awareness, from well-known causes such as HIV/AIDS and cancer to somewhat more obscure issues, such as parental alienation. World Pneumonia Day, which was yesterday, is no exception. It, like many others, came amid general fanfare, advocacy, and, well, awareness, but it will undoubtedly step back into the crowd of causes competing for attention and funding.
But should it?
In this climate of fiscal austerity, foundations and organizations competing for an ever narrowing stream of donor funding. Times are tight, so each disease has to make its case, so to speak. Without a doubt, all of them are worth funding, but none of them will get the funding they need. The question, then, becomes one of priority: how do donors decide how to make their dollars count?
Pneumonia can make a compelling case for being at the front of the line. It is simultaneously the world’s number one killer of children under five and one of the world’s most preventable diseases. We have effective vaccines and proven interventions, including reducing indoor air pollution (which will also make the clean cookstoves people happy) and increasing breastfeeding during the first six months (which will make the breastfeeding advocates and MCNH people happy).
Unfortunately, the impact of pneumonia and the ease of treating it do not diminish the importance of other diseases. Many NTDs, for example, are extremely debilitating and only cost of a few cents to treat. Tuberculosis is re-emerging with a vengeance and frightening antibiotic resistance. And recent shortfalls in contributions to the Global Fund endanger the gains we have made against HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria.
So what is a cause to do? Own its awareness day and get the word out, which is precisely what the major players, like the GAVI Alliance and IVAC at Johns Hopkins, have done. Dr. Orin Levine is making his usual rounds. IVAC
has published a report card on the progress made by the 15 countries with the highest rates of childhood pneumonia, which examines their vaccination, treatment, and breastfeeding rates, in addition to progress in reducing pneumonia-related mortality. Extra points for getting their recent
vaccine drive in Nicaragua on PBS, too.
I am no judge of which global health causes should be prioritized when it comes to funding – but then again, who among us is? All advocates can do is make their own individual cases. Let us hope that pneumonia can get the respect it deserves among the other worthy global health causes and not just go back to being another disease in the crowd after World Pneumonia Day.
Apologies for the delay in posting this, but it has taken us all a little while to regroup after the Annual Meeting.
The major event every year on Tuesday of the Annual Meeting is the Governing Council session. The IH section was, as always, active and vocal in this year’s session. Nominations Committee Chair and Governing Councilor Amy Hagopian provides a great summary of this year’s session:
The governing council meetings this year were the usual mix of deadly dull and rivetingly interesting. On Saturday we had a lively candidates’ forum, hearing from the six candidates for executive board and the two candidates for chair-elect. The governing council is the electoral body for these positions (although we did vote on a proposal this year to allow the full APHA membership to vote for chair-elect….um, that failed). The candidates for these positions were very high quality this year, and it was hard to choose! Our section was very happy with the results of the election, which took place on Tuesday: Adewale Troutman for chair-elect; and 3 winners for executive board, Lisa Carlson, Durrell Fox and Paul Meissner.
Tuesday’s full-day governing council meeting opened with a riveting (not) discussion of detailed bylaws changes. We did vote on changes to the membership categories, which will favor members who join during their student years and transition into “new professionals.” We voted on the theme for the 2013 conference, and chose (by 54%): “Think Global, Act Local: Best Practices Around the World.”
We adopted 23 resolutions on a variety of policy matters, including six sponsored by the International Health Section:
B1: Improving Access to Higher Education Opportunities and Legal Immigration Status for Undocumented Immigrant Youth and Young Adults
B2: Improving Housing for Farmworkers in the U.S. is a public health Imperative
C1: Prioritizing non communicable disease prevention and treatment in global health
C3: Call to Action to Reduce Global Maternal, Neonatal & Child Morbidity and Mortality
C7: Highlighting the health of men who have sex with men in the global HIV/AIDS response
D1: APHA Endorses the World Health Organization’s Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel
We also approved two policies supported by the IH section:
B6: Reducing PVC in Facilities with Vulnerable Populations (sponsored by our friends in the Occupational Health Section)
LB2: Opposing the DHS-ICE “Secure Communities” Program (in support of immigrant rights)
The governing board also made some changes to the policy submission process. Some highlights:
1) Late-breakers now must be submitted 10 days before the conference
2) There are no longer two categories of policy submissions (short resolutions vs. policy statements); now all policies should be about 10 pages with plenty of evidence and background
Further, we accepted the report of the ad hoc “Policy Working Group,” which worked for two years to discuss how to manage policy resolutions that can be characterized as largely based on qualitative data or are values-based.
And, finally, there was a fun “wild card” vote on a statement to support the Occupy movement. It passed, 76% to 24%:
“The Occupy Wall Street movement is now active in more than 1,000 cities in the US and has related protests around the world. APHA supports its call for greater social equality, social justice, reducing income inequality, and its demand that corporate crime be investigated and prosecuted. We ask members to identify opportunities to build on the energy and enthusiasm of the nationwide Occupy movement and its synergies with public health.”
The governing council meetings are always open to the general membership at the annual conference. Next year, stop in and watch for a while–it’s always interesting! Even during the bylaws conversations!
The section also held its third and final business meeting, during which members discussed the section goals that emerged from the most recent Strategic Plan and ways to implement those in a concrete way. The leadership will continue this discussion in more detail during the next conference call, which (as always) is open to any member who wishes to call in.
IH CONNECT 