La catastrophe de Washington

"On the 24 June 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned Roe v Wade, the landmark 1973 decision to legalise abortion in the US, which for half a century has guaranteed that women had the fundamental right to choose whether to have an abortion. The ruling had ensured that states could not implement laws banning abortion before fetal viability. Its recent annulation means that states will be able to decide their abortion laws. Thirteen states have since decreed so-called trigger laws banning abortion; 13 more are likely to follow suit, ensuring that abortion will become illegal or highly restricted in more than half of all states. At least 300 000 pregnant women across the US will be affected by the bans, with no exception made even for terminations of pregnancies resulting from rape or incest."

• British Medical Journal

"The U.S. Supreme Court effectively revoked the constitutional right to abortion Friday through its ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, putting the U.S. alongside Poland, El Salvador, and Nicaragua as the only nations to backtrack on or restrict abortion policy in decades — a decision that will reverberate around the world, experts tell Devex. (...) “The signal it sends abroad is a big concern,” Nabeeha Kazi Hutchins — the president and CEO at PAI, an organization that advocates for accessible, quality health care and works to advance reproductive rights — told Devex."

• Devex

En 2022, la Suisse sera, parmi d'autres pays, au centre de l'attention. Quelle est la qualité réelle de la couverture sanitaire universelle en Suisse ? Quelles personnes ont un accès illimité et qui est exclu ou ne reçoit que des prestations partielles, quand et comment ? Les réponses à ces questions et à d'autres sont les bienvenues dans l'enquête ci-jointe. Participe et aide à montrer ce que la Suisse peut faire encore plus pour atteindre la santé pour tous.

• Survey

"Nicole Probst-Hensch, Head of the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at Swiss TPH, has been awarded this year's Science Award by the City of Basel. She received this prize for her pioneering research on the effects of air pollution on human health and her achievements in establishing biobanks and longterm cohort studies."

• Swiss TPH

"Forty-one-year-old Kuda Madzeke has been SolidarMed Country Director in Zimbabwe since October 2021 and is responsible for the implementation of all projects in that country. He sat down with us to talk about what has to be done in the fight against AIDS and about his vision for SolidarMed."

• SolidarMed

Waiting times are often long in the accident and emergency departments in northern Mozambique. Thanks to support from SolidarMed, children are now given a coloured card on arrival at four healthcare facilities. This means that those in life-threatening situations are treated more quickly than less urgent cases and therefore have better chances of survival than before. Child mortality in Mozambique remains high, with 74 in every 1,000 children not seeing their fifth birthday. By way of comparison, in Switzerland that figure is four in 1,000. The main cause of death in children in Mozambique is malaria. Particularly for children with pre-existing health problems, such as anaemia or malnutrition, a malaria infection can quickly become life-threatening."

• SolidarMed

"Le nord du Bangladesh, ainsi que certaines parties de l'Inde, sont frappés depuis le 10 juin par de violentes pluies de mousson. Elles ont provoqué des inondations et des glissements de terrain. Au Bangladesh, plus de 4 millions de personnes sont actuellement touchées par la catastrophe, en particulier dans les régions de Sylhet et Rangpur. La Croix-Rouge suisse, avec l’aide de la Confédération, soutient le Croissant-Rouge du Bangladesh à hauteur de 150 000 CHF."

• La Croix-Rouge Suisse

"Le Soudan du Sud est le plus jeune Etat du monde. Depuis 2011, la Croix-Rouge suisse (CRS) s’y engage pour les plus vulnérables aux côtés de la Croix-Rouge du Soudan du Sud, née cette même année. John Lobor, secrétaire général de la Société nationale, raconte les grands défis auxquels fait face son pays et comment il vit le partenariat avec la CRS."

• La Croix-Rouge Suisse

"Mobilität ist zentral für das Funktionieren unserer Gesellschaft. Das gilt in der Schweiz genauso wie im südlichen Afrika, wo viele Menschen auf öffentliche Verkehrsmittel angewiesen sind, um ihre Arbeit zu erreichen, zur Schule zu gehen oder für den Zugang zu medizinischen Dienstleistungen. Durch den weltweiten Preisanstieg im Energiesektor werden bereits teure Transportpreise nun zum Luxusgut. Das hat auch Auswirkungen auf die Arbeit unserer Partnerorganisationen im südlichen Afrika. Alle Partnerorganisationen von terre des hommes schweiz sind auf bezahlbare Transporte angewiesen. In Simbabwe kostet der Liter Benzin mittlerweile 2,79 USD pro Liter. Für eine*n Krankenpfleger*in auf dem Land mit einem Durchschnittseinkommen von 60 USD pro Monat, ist das eine unvorstellbar hohe Summe. Wenn man dies mit einem Mindesteinkommen von 4‘000 CHF in der Schweiz vergleicht, ergibt das proportional einen Literpreis von 119 Franken."

• terre des hommes schweiz

"Jeder Mensch hat das Recht auf das höchste erreichbare Mass an körperlicher und geistiger Gesundheit – so ist es im Internationalen Pakt über wirtschaftliche, soziale und kulturelle Rechte festgehalten. Dieses Recht beinhaltet den Zugang zu rechtzeitiger und erschwinglicher Gesundheitsversorgung von hoher Qualität, auch für unterprivilegierte Bevölkerungsgruppen. (...) In diesem Bulletin steht das Thema ‹Migration und Gesundheit› im Fokus. Im Rahmen ihres Engagements für Gesundheit für alle setzen sich die lokalen Partnerorganisationen von medico international schweiz auch für Migrant*innen und Vertriebene ein."

• medico international schweiz

Successful national government-led large scale and sustained adolescent pregnancy/childbearing prevention programmes. The cases of England, Ethiopia, Chile and Jamaica.

• Final remarks by Dr. Venkatraman Chandra-Mouli at the Webinar
• Medicus Mundi Suisse

"A Bill that aims to improve access to sexual and reproductive health services for women and girls in six East African countries faces a tough uphill battle to approval, with opposition from conservatives who claim that it would promote abortion and LBGTQ rights. Over the past week, the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) has conducted public hearings on East African Community Sexual and Reproductive Health Bill 2021 in its six member states, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Various members of the legislative assembly have been trying for five years to pass a Bill to address the very high maternal mortality and teen pregnancy rates in region."

• Health Policy Watch

" Over the past 20 years, our unique partnership has invested more than US$53 billion, saving 44 million lives and reducing the combined death rate from HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria by more than half in the countries in which the Global Fund invests. For the Seventh Replenishment, the Global Fund needs at least US$18 billion. This is the minimum required to get the world back on track toward ending HIV, TB and malaria, to build resilient and sustainable systems for health and strengthen pandemic preparedness, making the world more equitable and safer from future threats."

• The Global Fund

"The 50th meeting of the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) which began on 21 June has closed with decisions to strengthen access to HIV services for the people most vulnerable to the HIV pandemic and measures to help close the funding gaps in the global HIV response, including financing for UNAIDS. Financing shortfalls in the global HIV response continue to limit progress in key areas, especially for vulnerable groups of people. At the end of 2020, only US$ 21.5 billion was available for the HIV response in low- and middle-income countries—far short of the US$ 29 billion needed by 2025 to get on track to end the AIDS pandemic as a global health threat by 2030."

• UNAIDS

"De la prévention au dépistage du VIH en passant par l’accès aux traitements et l’accompagnement dans les soins, des progrès considérables ont été accomplis au cours des dernières décennies. Mais beaucoup reste à faire pour endiguer la pandémie. Pour le continent africain, ce sont des expériences porteuses d’espoir. Celui d’atteindre à l’horizon 2030 l’objectif fixé par l’Onusida des « trois 95 » : 95 % des personnes vivant avec le VIH connaissant leur statut sérologique, 95 % des personnes infectées sous traitement antirétroviral (ARV) durable et 95 % des personnes sous traitement ayant une charge virale indétectable et donc non contagieuses."

• Le Monde

"WGH Switzerland supports the global Women in Global Health movement, powered by over 60,000 supporters in 90 countries – many of which LMICs, and 39 official chapters. Together, we work to challenge power and privilege for gender equity in health. Co-founded in 2015 by Dr Roopa Dhatt, Women in Global Health is supportedby volunteers from around the world. Hosted by the Swiss-based HumanImpact5 – Hi5 Association, the WGH Switzerland Chapter is a ‘platform of platforms’ for the global health initiatives undertaken by women in Switzerland, as well as the international Geneva-based global health landscape."

• WGH Switzerland
• Recording of the Inaugural Event

"La Suisse prend du retard. A mi-parcours, elle peine à réaliser les engagements déclarés en 2015 pour un développement durable. Dans le présent rapport, des spécialistes de la société civile détaillent les lacunes et les faiblesses, pointent ce que notre pays doit faire encore. De son côté, le rapport du Conseil fédéral décrit aussi crûment la mise en œuvre hésitante des 17 objectifs de développement durable (ODD): le document officiel suisse partage plusieurs de nos constats à l’attention des Nations Unies. Mais les stratégies, les mesures concrètes y manquent encore pour combler les déficits."

• Le rapport 2022 de la société civile

Pour la première fois depuis la ratification de la Convention des Nations Unies relative aux droits des personnes handicapées, la Suisse a été examinée sur sa mise en œuvre aussi bien au niveau de la coopération nationale qu’internationale. Le Comité de l’ONU remarque un manque d’inclusion complète des personnes handicapées et a publié plusieurs recommandations pour le gouvernement suisse. Celles-ci doivent maintenant être mises en œuvre et faire l’objet de rapports d’ici 2028. CBM Suisse et Swiss Disability and Development Consortium (SDDC) ont suivi de près le processus.

• Medicus Mundi Suisse

"When delegates meet this week to discuss fragile progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, they do so against a bleak backdrop. The line that “climate change is the biggest health challenge of the 21st century” is an understatement. Climate change is not only a challenge to health, but to human development—and even survival. The evidence on climate change is indisputable. Ecosystem deterioration already affects more than 40% of the global population, and the climate crisis displaces 20 million people each year. People in low- and middle-income countries, who have contributed the least to global heating, are the most affected. Despite the enormity of the challenge, solutions to address the climate crisis are presently framed in terms of personal responsibility; it’s down to each of us to fly less and recycle more in order to save the planet. Why is it that this narrative prevails? The short answer is that it works for those who have most to lose—in particular, fossil fuel companies and those who profit from them. It also provides cover for governments in thrall to these companies from taking meaningful action. Much easier to deflect blame and responsibility onto individuals, and keep kicking the can down the road."

• British Medical Journal (bmj)

"Intersecting global crises are threatening the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and impacting food supplies, health, education, and security across countries worldwide, according to a new UN report released on Thursday. The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2022 reveals that the convergence of increased fighting, the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, and the long-term climate crisis, could push an additional 75 to 95 million people into extreme poverty this year – compared with pre-pandemic projections – and jeopardize the SDG blueprint for more resilient, peaceful and equal societies. “The road map laid out in the Sustainable Development Goals is clear,” stated Liu Zhenmin, UN Economic and Social Affairs chief (DESA), adding that “just as the impact of crises is compounded when they are linked, so are solutions”.

• United Nations
• The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2022

"The COVID-19 pandemic has caused extensive suffering and death around the world. Beyond the many millions who have lost loved ones to COVID-19, billions of people have had their lives, livelihoods, education, physical and mental health disrupted. Large-scale economic disruption has increased the poverty, hunger and economic vulnerability of hundreds of millions of people. The pandemic has set back progress towards many SDGs almost everywhere and slowed implementation of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. At the same time, historic progress was made in some areas such as use of ICT for public services. The 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) also made major advances with the adoption of the Glasgow Climate Pact. Today’s global challenges, such as climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and the major food, energy and financial crises triggered by the war in Ukraine, along with the deteriorating humanitarian situation, require extraordinary efforts to address the major risks we are facing, with 1.2 billion people living how to make up lost ground and accelerate progress."

• UNITED NATIONS - High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development
• Video: Urgent Solutions for Urgent Times

"The 2022 session of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) opened on 5 July 2022 with expressions of concern over the setbacks the global community has faced since the last in-person session of the HLPF in 2019. Nevertheless, speakers expressed optimism that we can improve the resilience of our socioeconomic and health systems. As reported in the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB), speakers highlighted challenges that were unforeseen when the SDGs were adopted in 2015, including the global pandemic, conflicts, and the resulting food crisis and setbacks in education, as “reasons we are losing ground on SDG implementation.”

• SDG KNOWLEDGE HUB
• Report on SDG Progress

"Selon le premier sondage national "Swiss Panel Global Cooperation", 55% des personnes interrogées estiment qu'il faudrait augmenter les dépenses de la coopération suisse au développement. La plupart surestiment toutefois le montant actuel des dépenses ; si elles étaient informées des dépenses réelles (inférieures), le soutien, déjà important, augmenterait encore nettement (à 71%). "

• alliance Sud

"La loi cantonale sur le financement de la solidarité internationale, qui a vu le jour en 2001, est un texte pionnier en Suisse. Elle s’inspire directement de l’esprit de Genève et marque le soutien de l’Etat à la vocation internationale du canton, fondée sur la tradition humanitaire et le droit, ainsi que sur les valeurs de paix et de solidarité. Voilà donc 20 ans que le canton de Genève consacre chaque année une partie de son budget à la solidarité internationale. Ces deux dernières décennies, ce sont au total plus de 2 000 projets qui ont été financés et 342 associations qui ont été soutenues à travers le monde. Les succès passés doivent inspirer nos actions au regard des défis à venir, qui sont aussi nombreux que conséquents."

• Service de la solidarité internationale (DAI-SSI)

"The article by Abdalla et al. raises some interesting points and presents a timely opportunity to reflect on aspects of the continuously evolving academic, policy and public engagement with ‘social determinants of health’ (SDOH). The study focuses on public understanding of SDOH, and surveyed people across eight countries (Brazil, China, Germany, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and the USA). The top line finding is that across countries the people surveyed consistently ranked healthcare as the most important determinant of health (among a list of options) except in China. There, respondents ranked education first then, healthcare." Aside from selecting and ranking their top three determinants of health, respondents were also asked about how they think policymakers might rank top three health determinants.

• British Medical Journal (bmj)

"African youth have lost confidence in their own countries and the continent as a whole to meet their aspirations and a rising number are considering moving abroad, according to a survey of young people from 15 countries. The pandemic, climate crisis, political instability and violence have all contributed to making young people “jittery” about their futures since the Covid pandemic began, according to the African Youth Survey published on Monday."

• The Guardian

"The number of people going hungry in the world has risen by 150 million since the start of the Covid pandemic, the UN has said, warning that the food crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine risks pushing the worst-hit countries into famine. Globally, the number suffering from chronic undernourishment rose to as many as 828 million last year, a rise of about 46 million on the previous year, and three times that increase if measured since the world shut down due to Covid, a report has found."

• The Guardian

"As the monkeypox outbreak grows, the preferred vaccine to combat it is in short supply—a problem that’s only getting worse now that countries are expanding access to the vaccine. But there is a strategy that could double overnight the number of people who can be vaccinated: use a single shot instead of the recommended two. Compelling data from monkey and human studies suggest a single dose of the vaccine—produced by Bavarian Nordic and sold under three different brand names—solidly protects against monkeypox, and that the second dose mainly serves to extend the durability of protection."

• Science

"Researchers from ETH Zurich and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) have created a risk map showing which regions in Africa may see a faster spread of infectious diseases due to lacking infrastructure. The coronavirus pandemic has made people around the globe realise how important individual behaviour is for mitigating the spread of diseases. But is it possible to comply with distancing rules everywhere in the world? Researchers from ETH Zurich and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) tackled this question in an interdisciplinary research project using the example of Africa."

• Swiss TPH
• An index of access to essential infrastructure to identify where physical distancing is impossible
• Download (pdf | 42 kB)

"Als sich im Juni 2021 in der britischen Stadt St. Ives die Staats- und Regierungschefs der G-7-Länder trafen, war als Gast auch Tedros Ghebreyesus, Generaldirektor der WHO, eingeladen. Er sagte: «Um die Pandemie wirklich zu beenden, muss es unser Ziel sein, mindestens 70 Prozent der Weltbevölkerung zu impfen, wenn Sie nächstes Jahr in Deutschland wieder zusammenkommen.» Der Satz wurde zum weltweiten Leitgedanken zur Bekämpfung der Pandemie."

• Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)

"At the “second resumed session” of their first meeting, on 6-8 June 2022, the members and the bureau of the “Intergovernmental Negotiating Body to draft and negotiate a WHO convention, agreement or other international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response” (INB) accomplished an important preliminary step in the drafting and negotiating of a “pandemic treaty”: the compilation of potential fields to be addressed in this new international instrument. (...) The INB has still to deal with the elephant in the room and to decide if it goes for compiling a compendium of non-binding recommendations that member states might consider (this is what is to be expected from a WHA resolution based on Article 23 of the WHO Constitution), or for a new international legal instrument (convention or agreement based on Article 19 ) that, if it is approved by the World Health Assembly, shall be signed and ratified by national governments."

• Medicus Mundi International

"Geneva is no stranger to contentious discussions in international health policy-making. The current times are also witnessing the conduct of crucial negotiations at breakneck speed. However, speed and time cannot be excuses in the way diplomatic processes are being conducted, Geneva-based health diplomats say. Several countries have not been happy about forcing consensus on several matters in recent weeks on the back of time and resource constraints. (...) In July, member states will discuss whether and to what extent the new rules to govern pandemics will be binding."

• Geneva Health Files

"Epidemic risk assessment and response relies on rapid information sharing. Using examples from the past decade, we discuss the limitations of the present system for outbreak notifications, which suffers from ambiguous obligations, fragile incentives, and an overly narrow focus on human outbreaks. We examine existing international legal frameworks, and provide clarity on what a successful One Health approach to proposed international law reforms—including a pandemic treaty and amendments to the International Health Regulations—would require. In particular, we focus on how a treaty would provide opportunities to simultaneously expand reporting obligations, accelerate the sharing of scientific discoveries, and strengthen existing legal frameworks, all while addressing the most complex issues that global health governance currently faces."

• The Lancet

"No matter the optics on the suggested success of the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference last month, the final outcome on the TRIPS Waiver discussions that resulted in a ministerial decision clarifying existing rules in the TRIPS Agreement, is mostly being seen as a blow to the goals of equitable access to medical products. One activist described the MC12 outcome on the TRIPS matter, as “a gut-punch”. And indeed, in the days that followed the ministerial, the supporters of the waiver seemed deflated, but not defeated, after batting for the proposal for 20 months. Barely has the dust settled, the proponents have picked themselves up, ready to push for improving the access to COVID-19 therapeutics and diagnostics. WHO reported a 30% increase in globally reported cases in the past two weeks. While vaccination targets remain unmet, the need for medicines and tests to fight COVID-19 continues to be urgent."

• Geneva Health Files

The Novartis Foundation has been co-chairing, along with the World Health Organization, the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development Working Group on Virtual Health and Care. The working group just published its report ‘The Future of Health and Care’, which delivers a roadmap that describes which policies have enabled a rapid uptake of virtual health and care during the pandemic, to serve as recommendations to help governments and other stakeholders ensure that virtual health and care drives access and equity, rather than entrenching or exacerbating existing divides. Listen to the recording of the live pre-launch event which took place in the HealthTech Hub Africa in Kigali, Rwanda. Please find attached the report, plus the dissemination kit.

• Working Group Report on Virtual Health and Care
• RECORDING: Broadband Commission Working Group on Virtual Health and Care Report Launch
• Download (pdf | 3 MB)

"Another World Health Assembly (WHA) has come to an end. (...) Much more must be done to ensure inclusive and meaningful engagement from all parts of the world, including holding more of these meetings in low and lower-middle income countries and facilitating equitable participation. Transform Health went into the WHA with clear calls - for Member States to endorse a new set of equity and rights-based Health Data Governance Principles and to support the development of a global framework. These are critical milestones towards maximising the public value of health data whilst protecting individual rights, and important for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) progress and pandemic preparedness and response."

• Transform Health at the 75th World Health Assembly
• Recording: Strengthening the governance of health data: side-event at #WHA75

"Le Mexique a décidé en 2019 de s’attaquer au fléau de l’obésité à l’aide d’étiquettes de mise en garde sur les aliments malsains. Mais le projet a suscité une levée de boucliers des grands groupes industriels et de leur pays hôte. En première ligne : Nestlé et la Suisse. Des documents et correspondances révèlent comment le Secrétariat d’État à l’économie s’est laissé instrumentaliser par le géant veveysan pour tenter de contrer la politique de santé mexicaine. En jeu : un marché de plus d’un milliard de francs, selon des données commerciales exclusives obtenues par Public Eye. Le Mexique n’est pas un cas isolé."

• Public Eye

Für unsere Geschäftsstelle in Basel suchen wir ab dem 15. August 2022 oder nach Vereinbarung für einen Zeitraum von zwölf Monaten eine*nPraktikant*in (80%) für Programm / Kommunikation. Deine Aufgaben: - Unterstützung der Organisation und der Durchführung des Filmfestivals «frauenstark!» sowie der Bewerbung des Filmfestivals, insbesondere via Social Media, - Redaktionelle Aufgaben und Erstellen von Inhalten für unsere Social-Media-Kanäle, Website und Publikationen - Unterstützung im Projektmanagement etc. Kandidat*innen mit Migrationsgeschichte sind ausdrücklich erwünscht. Gerne erhalten wir Deine Bewerbung (CV, Motivationsschreiben) online unter info@iamaneh.ch bis zum 31. Juli 2022.

• IAMANEH Schweiz
• Download (pdf | 412 kB)