L’agenda 2030, ouvrage de référence dans un monde marqué par les crises

"Diabetes affects about half a billion people worldwide, most of them in low- and middle-income countries. Every year, 1.5 million deaths are directly attributed to diabetes, and both the number of cases and the prevalence of diabetes are constantly increasing. In Kosovo, diabetes is highly prevalent, yet often poorly controlled or undiagnosed. A new project funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and implemented by Swiss TPH aims to tackle the burden of non-communicable diseases in Kosovo by supporting the development of a sustainable health system that provides high quality, affordable and integrated care for affected patients."

• Swiss TPH

"Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the world’s biggest infectious disease killers. It is a complicated disease to diagnose and treat, even more so when it affects organs outside of the lung. A clinical trial in Tanzania tested a diagnostic algorithm including point-of-care ultrasound to increase the proportion of correctly managed patients. While the proportion of correctly managed patients could not be increased, the study indicates that this diagnostic algorithm could be a feasible approach to increase confirmation of TB. This is the first clinical randomized controlled trial successfully conducted at the St. Francis Referral Hospital in Ifakara, highlighting the excellent clinical research knowhow and collaboration between the Ifakara Health Institute, Swiss TPH, and other partners. The results were published in the peer-reviewed journal Clinical Infectious Diseases."

• Swiss TPH

"(...) For this years’ World AIDS Day, CDCI and the Ifakara Health Institute have teamed up with the district AIDS coordinator in Ifakara to celebrate World AIDS Day – to meet people in the community and raise a loud voice for equity for those infected with HIV or at risk to become infected. During the day, HIV testing will be offered together with other preventive health measures, and people living with HIV will share how HIV has affected their lives and how they manage to live a normal life in the community. Games for children, dances and theatre plays will convey the message of U=U (undetectable equals untransmittable), claiming equity for all!"

• Swiss TPH

"Carolyne Mabunde ist Gründerin und Geschäftsleiterin der Organisation DAMKA (Don Amolo Memorial Kids Ark) in Kenia. Die 57-jährige hat es sich zum Ziel gesetzt, in ihrem Umfeld möglichst vielen HIV-infizierten und armutsbetroffenen Kinder und Jugendlichen zu einem normalen Leben zu verhelfen. (...) Welche Art von Unterstützung brauchen Kinder und Jugendliche mit HIV? In erster Linie müssen sie ihre Medikamente zur Unterdrückung des Virus regelmässig einnehmen können und wollen. Manche sehen keinen Sinn darin, weil sie denken, ihr Leben habe mit HIV sowieso keine Zukunft."

• SolidarMed
• Further information in the current Focus, SolidarMed's magazine

"Seit mehr als hundert Jahren demonstrieren Frauen auf der ganzen Welt jährlich am 8. März für Frauenrechte, Gleichstellung und Diskriminierung. Trotz vielen Errungenschaften in der vergangenen Zeit liegt die gelebte Gleichstellung in der Schweiz und insbesondere in unseren Projektländern noch in weiter Ferne. Lesen Sie mehr dazu in der Dezember-Ausgabe unseres Magazins, in dem sich alles um das Thema Frauen im südlichen Afrika dreht. Im Fokus: (sexuelle) Gesundheit & nachhaltige Lebensgrundlagen."

• Magazin von terre des hommes schweiz

"Anlässlich unseres Fachsymposiums vom 21. November im Romerohaus Luzern diskutierten fünf namhafte Expertinnen und Experten die Frage, ob und wie Entwicklungszusammenarbeit in einem Umfeld gelingen kann, in welchem korrupte Mechanismen zur täglichen Realität gehören. Allianz zur Bekämpfung von Korruption? In den rund 90 Minuten ist es gelungen, die Vielschichtigkeit des Themas zu beleuchten. Aber nicht nur: Am Ende standen auch verschiedene Vorschläge und Handlungsoptionen im Raum, die gerade für EZA-Organisationen Orientierung und Hilfestellung bieten, um einen sinnvollen Umgang mit diesem heiklen Thema zu finden. Einigkeit bestand auch zum weiteren Vorgehen: Gerade im Kontext Korruption ist das gemeinsame Handeln von Schweizer EZA-Organisationen, Bund und Wirtschaft besonders wichtig. Vielleicht ein Anstoss, in einer Allianz an dieser Herausforderung weiterzuarbeiten?"

• Comundo

"Sfe makes a powerful argument that community values are the seedbed of development in Africa. Africans who are not alienated from these values will provide the best inputs how development initiatives can work. this is a short version of the longer online text, which provides many more examples from the social reality of the communities and the disconnect of development from that lifeworld. There is not a more Afro-centric culture that is more misunderstood than the concept of Ubuntu. Ubuntu is a Bantu word that means to be human. It is not a mere Sub Saharan Africa concept but the general ethos of being African. This concept says without you there is no me and without me there is no you. We are one and belong to each other -the greater community of humanity."

• FEPA

"Kriminelle Banden in ganz Haiti erschweren das Leben der Menschen in allen Bereichen. Trotzdem bleibt unser Spital weiterhin jeden Tag und jede Nacht für Verletzte und Kranke offen! Das ist nur dank dem riesigen Einsatz der rund 500 haitianischen Pflegepersonen, Ärzte und Techniker möglich. Dank unserem Solarsystem konnte das Spital trotz fehlenden Treibstoffen im Gegensatz zu den meisten anderen Spitälern Haitis normal betrieben werden. Ein kurzer Rückblick auf die letzten 25 Jahre unserer Arbeit für das HAS ist aber der Anfang unserer Mitteilungen. Am Schluss steht unsere Beurteilung der nachhaltigen Entwicklungs-Zusammenarbeit."

• Schweizer Partnerschaft HAS Haiti
• Download (pdf | 543 kB)

"L'OMS lance son Rapport mondial sur l'équité dans la santé pour les personnes handicapées aujourd’hui 2 décembre à 14h. L'occasion de mettre en lumière les obstacles que rencontrent les personnes handicapées pour accéder aux informations et aux services de santé. Notre organisation humanitaire travaillant aux côtés des personnes handicapées depuis 40 ans et présente dans une soixantaine de pays, nous avons travaillé en étroite collaboration avec l'OMS sur ce rapport : groupe de travail, consultation pour fournir des commentaires sur le contenu. Trop de personnes handicapées - notamment dans les pays à revenu faible ou intermédiaire - se heurtent à des obstacles pour accéder aux informations et aux services de santé. Il s'agit d'obstacles physiques, de communication, d'attitude et financiers. Le bâtiment peut ne pas être adapté à l'accueil des personnes handicapées, par exemple, il n'y a pas de rampe pour les personnes en fauteuil roulant ou pas d'ascenseur disponible."

• WHO - Global report on health equity for persons with disabilities

"83 États, dont la Suisse, ont adopté le 18 novembre 2022 à Dublin l’accord international visant à mieux protéger les civils contre l'utilisation des armes explosives en zones peuplées. Pour notre organisation, c'est une reconnaissance du lourd tribut des bombardements payés par les civils. Les États doivent commencer à travailler immédiatement à la mise en œuvre effective de leurs engagements."

• Handicap International Schweiz

"De nombreuses régions du Malawi ont été touchées par l’épidémie de choléra, qui n’a pas épargné le district de Mzimba, où vit Alice Chanza. La maladie n’a pourtant pas sévi dans son village. Bénévole auprès de la Croix-Rouge, elle aide la population à mettre en pratique des mesures d’hygiène et diffuse des informations de santé. La Croix-Rouge se mobilise dans des villages tels que celui-ci pour y assurer l’accès à l’eau potable, aux installations sanitaires et à l’hygiène – autant de facteurs de santé fondamentaux. Les bénévoles comme Alice Chanza apportent une contribution essentielle au succès de tels projets."

• La Croix-Rouge Suisse

"La crise alimentaire qui frappe l’Afrique subsaharienne continue à s’intensifier. L’absence de précipitations et la persistance des conflits ajoutent encore à la détresse des populations. Nous prolongeons notre aide d’urgence dans le sud de l’Ethiopie et prévoyons de l’étendre à une autre région. En outre, nous sommes aux côtés de nos Sociétés sœurs au Soudan, au Soudan du Sud et au Malawi pour les aider à faire face à la crise."

• La Croix-Rouge Suisse

"La maladie du papillon, une affection cutanée défigurante, incurable et de surcroît douloureuse, est due à une anomalie génétique. L’Hôpital de l’Enfance Bethléem permet aux « enfants-papillons » de retrouver un peu de normalité grâce à un concept global qui inclut les soins médicaux, l’information et la mise en réseau des familles concernées. Un reportage d’Andrea Krogmann depuis Bethléem."

• Secours aux Enfants Bethléem 

L'UE veut jouer un rôle déterminant dans le nouvel ordre sanitaire mondial qui se dessine et assumer un rôle de leader. C'est l'un des messages de la nouvelle stratégie de l'UE en matière de santé globale pour les prochaines années, qui vient d'être publiée. Cette stratégie met l'accent sur l'application d'une approche "One Health" et sur la création de règles internationales contraignantes pour mieux lutter contre les pandémies, surveiller les agents pathogènes et se protéger contre les agents résistants aux antibiotiques. L'Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS) doit être mieux financée et constituer le centre d'un système multilatéral réactif, et l'on suppose que l'UE elle-même aspire à devenir membre de l'OMS. En outre, l'UE s'est engagée à aider l'Union africaine à produire elle-même des vaccins sur le continent.

• Health Policy Watch
• EU Global Health Strategy

Dans mon dernier livre ‘La pharma pour tous’, j’analyse la crise des médicaments qui couve, certes, depuis des décennies déjà, mais qui est justement en train de s’exacerber de façon considérable: prix qui augmentent de manière vertigineuse; importants médicaments qui ne sont plus disponibles; résistances accrues aux antibiotiques contre lesquelles aucun nouveau médicament n’est développé; clivage global au Nord et au Sud, toujours et encore attisé. Au beau milieu de cette crise, il y a la Suisse en tant que l’un des sites économiques majeurs du secteur pharmaceutique.

• Medicus Mundi Schweiz

"What competencies will be needed in the future of international cooperation (IC)? The sector is dynamic and experiencing changes. The required competencies for practitioners are shifting, and more than subject-specific competencies are needed to work in an increasingly complex world. This study shows how competencies will be essential to respond to the future sector's needs, with a focus on the year 2030 and the Swiss context."

• Cinfo
• Study

"This report reviews evidence that overshooting 1.5°C may push the earth over several tipping points, leading to irreversible and severe changes in the climate system. If triggered, tipping point impacts will rapidly cascade through socio-economic and ecological systems, leading to severe effects on human and natural systems and imposing important challenges for human adaptation. Of particular concern are the likely collapse of the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets and the abrupt melting of permafrost grounds in the Arctic, which would result in additional sea-level rise and greenhouse gas releases, leading to more warming. Based on the most recent science and consultations with renowned experts, Climate Tipping Points: Insights for Effective Policy Action argues that it is no longer appropriate to consider the risk of crossing tipping points as low-probability."

• OECD Report
• Video

"The links between climate change and health are increasingly being recognized, and there has been more discussion about these in and around COP 27 than at previous COPs. Despite this, health still hardly features in climate policies, targets, and negotiations. It’s time this changed."

• Devex

"The 27th annual UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) has ended with a historic deal to create a new fund in which countries responsible for high carbon emissions will compensate lower-income countries. However, there was disappointment over the failure to move on from COP26 last year regarding fossil fuels. “Despite support from over 80 countries, governments’ collective failure to deliver a clear commitment to phase out all fossil fuels puts us on course to go beyond the already dangerous 1·5°C global temperature rise, and locks in further increase in loss and damage due to climate impacts on people's health and livelihoods”, said Jeni Miller, Executive Director of the Global Climate and Health Alliance in a public statement."

• The Lancet

"Climate change harms health in all populations. Heat-related illness and deaths are increasing worldwide, from heatstroke, adverse pregnancy outcomes, worsened kidney function, and adverse mental health effects. (...) For these reasons the 2009 Lancet Commission on managing the health effects of climate change described climate change as the “greatest global health threat of the 21st century”. However, it was wrong, both qualitatively and temporally. The threat is now to our very survival and to that of the ecosystem upon which we depend. Grave impacts of climate change are already with us and could worsen catastrophically within decades. A UN Environment Programme report states there is “no credible pathway to 1·5°C in place” today."

• The Lancet

"Existing patterns of health funding and emergency response in Africa—many of which focus on filling short-term gaps and aligning with donor interests—are insufficient. The 255,000+ COVID-19 deaths across the continent, as well as the many hospitalizations and long recoveries have delivered a painful lesson. (...) If we do not act now to strengthen health security and build resilient health systems, Africa, and indeed the world, will remain vulnerable to disease outbreaks and epidemics. Africa’s vision of a New Public Health Order, first proposed in 2017, is actively tackling health challenges and planning for the future, shaped by local leadership and regional solutions. It aims to ensure that effective health systems exist before a crisis and remain resilient during and post-crisis."

• Global Health Now

"Following the declaration of an Ebola outbreak in Uganda on 20 September 2022, the outbreak has now spread to seven districts (Kasanda, Kyegegwa, Bunyangabu and Kagadi districts beyond the original epicenter in Mubende district, and then to Kampala City and Wakiso). The government-led response has activated the Incident Management System in order to control the outbreak. In support of the Ministry of Health-led efforts, CEPI, Gavi and WHO have outlined a plan to accelerate research during the outbreak, to ensure access to investigational doses, and to facilitate scaling up and access to any subsequent licensed vaccine."

• Gavi

Avant la publication d'un premier projet de traité sur les pandémies par un organe de l'OMS (INB), la société civile a attiré l'attention sur les pièges concernant le financement d'un tel instrument de prévention des pandémies. Dans le rapport commandé par le Geneva Global Health Hub (G2H2), les experts mettent en lumière les tensions inexprimées entre l'architecture financière internationale et les modèles de financement de la santé et mettent en garde contre l'adoption d'un modèle de financement obsolète dépendant de la charité coloniale. Le rapport critique également les solutions de financement actuelles, qui ont contraint de nombreux pays à réduire les dépenses publiques en matière de santé nationale, ouvrant ainsi la voie à la commercialisation des services de santé. Dans la plupart des cas, cela a entraîné une détérioration massive des conditions de santé pour la grande majorité de la population et n'a pas permis d'atteindre l'objectif d'une santé pour tous.

• G2H2 Medienmitteilung
• Bericht: Financial Justice for Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response

"Keep the momentum to negotiate a pandemic instrument, urged Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) at the start of the third meeting of the intergovernmental negotiating body (INB) on Monday. “The conceptual zero-draft that your bureau has developed is a true reflection of the aspirations for a different paradigm for strengthening pandemic prevention, preparedness, response and recovery,” said Tedros. “As we move to a new phase of this process, I urge you to maintain momentum.”

• Health Policy Watch

"Regional production of vaccines and other pandemic-related products – and sharing the technical know-how to enable this – features strongly in the much-anticipated first draft of the global pandemic treaty proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO). (...) Intellectual property is the most obvious hot potato. The draft offers four proposals on IP, all of which recognise the negative impact IP protection can have on prices."

• Health Policy Watch

Case studies gathered by the Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research (SRH) and the Human Reproduction Program (HRP) and first published on the website of Medicus Mundi Switzerland. (...) This Bulletin contains a collection of these case studies from 16 countries. The case studies demonstrate how organisations adapted their efforts nimbly to provide adolescents with SRH information and education, health services, and commodities in the context of the restrictions in place. Each case study describes how were these adaptations developed, how were they put in place, and how organizations assessed whether they were in fact responding to adolescents' needs.

• Case Studies

"World AIDS Day is a moment to honour over 40 million lives lost to AIDS, take stock of the AIDS response, and commit to ending AIDS. This week we launched a powerful new report, Dangerous Inequalities. In it, we called the world’s attention to a painful reality: currently, we are not on track to end AIDS by 2030, and the reason is inequality. But there is good news: by equalizing, we can end AIDS."

• UNAIDS Press statment
• Dangerous inequalities: World AIDS Day report 2022
• Video

"Inequalities in the HIV response: Advances in the field over the past 40 years have been significant. Yet, a staggering 1.5 million people acquired HIV last year and 650,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses. The latest data from UNAIDS is clear: inequalities are a principal driver of the HIV pandemic."

• International AIDS Society

"It has been 40 years since AIDS was first reported. HIV unmuted, the IAS podcast, talks to the global HIV change makers who have shaped the response and asks what we must do to end the AIDS epidemic. This special episode of HIV unmuted, the award-winning IAS podcast, marks World AIDS Day, which has taken place on 1 December every year since 1988. On this day, we remember the people we have lost, reflect on how far we have come, and rally together to strengthen our resolve in the HIV response."

• HIV unmuted podcast

« Juillet 2022 : la greffe de cellules souches guérit un quatrième patient infecté par le VIH. » Cette information venue de Californie a été diffusée à point nommé pour l’ouverture de la 24e Conférence internationale sur le sida, qui s’est tenue à Montréal du 29 juillet au 2 août 2022. Pourtant, cette guérison isolée vaut-elle vraiment la peine d’être signalée, compte tenu des millions de personnes infectées qui ne reçoivent toujours aucun traitement ? La pandémie du sida pourrait être surmontée depuis longtemps si toute personne infectée, dès le moment de son infection, pouvait avoir accès aux médicaments antirétroviraux (ART) déjà disponibles depuis les années 1990.

• Medicus Mundi Suisse

"Reacting to the news that the UK Government is pledging £1 billion to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria – an almost 30% cut from its 2019 pledge – Mike Podmore, Director of STOPAIDS said: “For decades the UK has been a leader in the global response to these infectious diseases, but no more. When other allies met the Global Fund’s call for a thirty percent increase, the UK went in the opposite direction, with a thirty percent cut from their 2019 pledge. This is a disastrous decision that risks 1.54 million potential lives lost and over 34.5 million new transmissions across the three diseases, setting back years of progress. At a time when the global HIV response is in danger, with over 1.5 million new transmissions last year, this UK pledge undermines the international goal to end AIDS as a global public health threat by 2030."

• STOPAIDS

"Newly elected Kenyan President William Ruto has made his position on critical human rights issues such as safe abortion and LGBTQ rights clear over many years – and now, by including a controversial “family protection policy” in his first executive order, he is likely to promote a narrow definition of family that stigmatises anyone who is not part of a nuclear family. After the August elections, anti-rights groups started to clamour for the Department of Labour and Social Protection to revive the 2019 National Policy on Family Promotion and Protection that was drafted by an isolated handful of individuals devoid of public participation. This draft was not signed into policy and hence never implemented."

• Health Policy Watch

"The digital transformation of health offers both significant empowerment potential and significant risks for young people, according to a new study published Tuesday by the Global Health Centre of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. (...) “We hear all this excitement around digital health and we don’t know how much is hype and how much is true,” explained Prof Sara “Meg” Davis, a senior researcher for the Digital Health and Rights Project, who led the study. “There are also concerns for people who are marginalized or vulnerable” on the digital platforms."

• Health Policy Watch
• Report: Digital health and human rights of young adults in Ghana, Kenya, and Vietnam

"ELIGIBILITY FOR APPLICATION Selection of national coordinating partners will be based on the following criteria: National organisation or network formally registered as a not for profit organisation, headquartered at the national or regional level; Advocacy and campaigning experience on the issues of relevance to the coalition; Experience working in an inclusive and consultative manner and to promote the leadership of communities traditionally excluded from decision-making processes; Experience working with multi stakeholder initiatives; Ability to coordinate the development of multi stakeholder strategies and to work with others to deliver on the strategy; Track record and ability to engage and mobilise youth, women and marginalised communities; and Commitment to Transform Health’s principles. Successful applicants will be invited to submit a full six month proposal, M&E framework and budget. (...) Interested candidates are requested to submit an electronic copy of their expression of interest/ proposal to Frank Smith: frank.smith@transformhealthcoalition.org & cc Beatrice Okech: beatrice.okech@transformhealthcoalition.org.

• Transform Health

The purpose of the Transform Health National Coalitions is to work together to localise Transform Health’s strategy, based on a landscape analysis that will be carried out in that country. The National Coordinator will work with partners to influence the government and others to bring about the changes identified in the national strategy. The national partners will receive grants through the National Coordinator to support certain activities, particularly the engagement of youth, women and marginalised communities in the coalition. The National Coordinator will also work with other partners, particularly our regional partner RECAINSA, to coordinate and leverage the technical expertise, information, and networks they have developed through their programming work to advance the objectives of the coalition. - Interested candidates are requested to submit an electronic copy of their expression of interest/ proposal to Frank Smith: frank.smith@transformhealthcoalition.org & cc Beatrice Okech: beatrice.okech@transformhealthcoalition.org."

• Transform Health