Public Health in Crisis-Affected Populations

Dear Friends,

A professor from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has written a paper on public health in crises, meant mainly as a didactic tool for non-epidemiologists, and intended for people at all levels (donors, NGOs, UN, government, media, students etc.). It's open-access so please feel free to distribute to others who may be interested.

This is the link:

http://www.odihpn.org/documents/networkpaper061.pdf

His info is below:

Francesco Checchi

Lecturer

Disease Control and Vector Biology Unit
Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Room 51G6, 49-51 Bedford Square
London WC1B 3DP, United Kingdom
office +44 (0)20 7927 2336
mobile +44 (0)79 0671 9637
fax +44 (0)20 7927 2918
e-mail francesco.checchi@lshtm.ac.uk

International Day of the African Child

June 16th is the International Day of the African Child

I was just listening to a CBC report on the status of education in South Africa.
This program was particularly relevant because it brought up the 1976 Soweto uprising.
Schoolchildren protesting for their right to equal education were shot at by police officers.

At the time, the apartheid government established a school system that discriminated against all black students. Learning was made less accessible through the Afrikaans Medium Decree of 1974 which stated that lessons would be split between Afrikaans and English. Indigenous languages were excluded, except for physical, religious and musical instruction.

Imagine being a 7th grader and suddenly being told that you were no longer allowed to learn mathematics, socials studies and science in your own language! Students were required to learn in a language that was unfamiliar for many and oppressive for all.

The original Soweto rioting led to weeks of protesting that resulted in hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries. Although it took nearly 20 more years for national change, this event inspired the internationally recognized day of the African Child initiated by the Organization of African Unity in 1991.

The theme this year is “Right to Participation: Let Children be Seen and Heard”.

Sexual Exploitation at the Hands of UN Peacekeepers and NGO Aid Workers: Perpetuating the Power Imbalance, and the Poverty of Rights

The UK branch of Save the Children International released a report at the end of May 2008 detailing the extent of a problem that was first identified in 2002. It was meant not to be a technically rigorous expose of the perpetrators and the victims, but more a 'snapshot' of the current situation, and the ineffectiveness of the policies put in place by the international community in response to this problem in 2002.

I was shocked and dismayed to learn of these gross offenses, and disappointed to realize that even those with good intentions at heart are subject to the evils of the human form. Or, perhaps the very call to work in a supposedly glorified and distinguished position, as is often seen within these already decimated and impoverished communities, appeals to the sociopathic tendencies that would then permit them to avail of the inherent power-imbalance that the aid and NGO industry exacerbates.

The data was collected through field visits, focus groups, and interviews in locations where Save the Children International have projects: Haiti, Cote d'Ivoire, and Sudan. The interviews would reveal very explicit stories of abuse at the hands of foreign aid workers, peacekeepers, and local staff of NGOs. The whole spectrum of sexual abuse, from verbal sexual harassment, to forced/coerced sexual assault was revealed, often with the exchange for money, material goods, perceived promise of protection and security, or the basics of human subsistence, food and clean water.

Naturally, children are the most vulnerable in any population, and this study revealed that children displaced from their home communities, children from especially poor families, and children whose families are dependent on humanitarian aid. Orphans were also particularly susceptible, suffering the double offense of sexual exploitation, and then the absence of a parental figure to advocate for the child, to seek redress.

The perpetrators were found to be members of 23 humanitarian, peacekeeping, and security organizations, with a particular source being the UN Department of Peacekeeping Organizations. Outside the scope of this report, it is difficult to quantify to extent of the abuses, given the undereporting by victim, and the absence of a reporting system within each of these organizations.

It isn't hard to imagine the reasons for under-reporting, when these children come to understand that sex can be used as a survival tactic. And, the risk of losing the protection and security of much needed resources is enough to suspend the need for one's physical integrity. This only speaks to the double failure of the aid community, to subject these already disadvantaged population to further affronts to their security, and that aid is insufficient in sustaining those most in need, and instead further deepens this power differential. Stigmatisation is a powerful social element, as womanhood and purity are integral to a girl's identity and perception within her community, which also can cause negative economic ramifications for the family, who cannot marry out their daughter for the gain of a dowry. Even if a victim summoned the strength to step forward, there is a general lack of confidence in the system, for both reporting and for discipline, of those who perpetrate the abuse.

What should the international community do about this?
Below is some proposed solutions put forth by Save the Children

1. Formation of interagency bodies that then provide evaluation and policing of the NGO agencies
2. NGOs developing internal standards of conduct
3. Implementing effective local complaints mechanisms for reporting abuse
4. Formation of a new global watchdog
5. Tackling the root causes or drivers of abuse: this goes beyond monitoring and reprimanding individuals within aid and peacekeeping agencies, but looking at the systematic failures of child protection services within the communities.

The only other thing I would like to see added is an ongoing evaluation mechanism for the effectiveness of these 'interventions'. Since this problem was identified in 2002, the extent of child sexual exploitation has not diminished, but has indeed increased. Are we to wait another 6, 12, 20 years for another field-based qualitative review of the issue, revealing that yet more years of child abuse have occurred?

Global Survey on Pediatric Curricula - We Want You!

What is this?

The Global Survey on Pediatric Curricula is an official trans-national project of International Federation on Medical Students' Association (IFMSA) in collaboration with WHO Department of Child and Adolescent Health and Development. The survey is being conducted by IFMSA SCOME from October 2007- May 2008 and extended until June 2008.

The Aim and Objectives

The aim of this project is to create a Map and Database of Paediatric Curricula around the world which enables us to get the information about the Paediatric Curricula. It is intended as a tool to gather and consolidate information on what medical students learn and understand, and also what skills they have in paediatric.

The main objectives of this project are to : (1) describe what medical students learn during their paediatric curricula, (2) describe clinical skills taught in Paediatric Curricula, and (3) find out what medical students know and learn about IMCI in their paediatric curricula.

Target Audience

We need your help to promote this survey in your home country and encourage medical students who had finished paediatric clerkship/clerkship to participate. We need at least 1387 responses, with at minimum three minimum students from each medical school taking part. We also extended the target audience to freshly graduated doctors (not exceeded by 6 month after graduation).

Link

The on-line survey can be accessed through:

http://tools.ifmsa.org/surveys/survey.php?sid=39

Username: pediatrics

Password: pediatrics

Current Response

So far, we have received 543 responses from people in 61 countries

What do we need you to ?

Fill in the survey if you have completed paediatric clinical rotation or clerkship

Send the link to your peers in your own language, add the link to your national and local medical student websites

What do you get in return?

In addition to the reward of knowing that you are contributing to an important piece of research, you'll be the lucky recipients of a free copy of the Pocket book

http://www.who.int/child_adolescent_health/documents/9241546700/en/index.html

In addition, all those who participate in the survey will receive summary of the final results.

Final Extended Deadline

June 16, 2008 at 24.00 (Geneva time)

On behalf of GSPC team,

Fina Hidayati Tams, B.Med
International Project Coordinator
Global Survey on Pediatric Curricula

Faculty of Medicine

Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia

Intern CAH Dept. WHO HQ, Geneva, Switzerland
Period : May-June 2008

Mobile : +41 (0) 76 286 0944

UN Letter Advocating Against Travel Restrictions for PLWHA

Please read about PLWHA travel restrictions.

You can sign a petition and perhaps forward to your own networks.

SUNSIH/REUSSI has signed on as one of the petitioners.

Travel restrictions for PLWHA - issue raised by EAA
http://www.e-alliance.ch/hiv/temp/wac.jpg

Call on governments to lift HIV travel restrictions

Introduction

In advance of the United Nations High Level Meeting on AIDS in New York from June 10- 11, the World AIDS Campaign and the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance urge organizations to sign onto a letter from civil society to the UN missions and Heads of State of countries that impose travel restrictions on people living with HIV.

We join with other members of civil society in condemning such restrictions as discriminatory and in contradiction to the commitments made through the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the 2006 Political Declaration. We urge governments that continue to impose travel restriction on people living with HIV to lift these, whether short or long-term.

Signatures will be collected via email until June 5. To sign on, email the name of your organization and country to universalaccess2010@icaso.org. Signatures will also be collected during the civil-society pre-meeting taking place the day before (June 9) of the High Level Meeting in New York.

Background

When the HIV and AIDS epidemic was identified in the early 1980s and little was
understood about the disease, many countries established travel restrictions in an effort to prevent the virus from entering their borders. Such measures included mandatory HIV testing for persons seeking entry to the country and negative HIV status declarations by would-be entrants. Based on these mandatory tests and declarations, a number of countries have excluded from entry people living with HIV or people suspected of being infected.

Despite the medical advances that have made HIV a manageable disease, and a general consensus from the public health community that travel restrictions are inappropriate and discriminatory in nature, over 70 countries still impose some form of restrictions, citing two main reasons - to protect the national public health and to avoid the economic costs of providing health care and social assistance to people affected by HIV and AIDS.

These travel restrictions can take on different forms, including restrictions on people wishing to enter or remain in a country for a short stay such as business, personal visits or tourism; or for longer periods, such as labour migration, employment, asylum or refugee resettlement, or study. Of the countries with restrictions in place, some 10 countries bar people living with HIV from entering or staying in their country for any reason or length of time.[1] Countries
requiring special attention include: Burnei, China, Iraq, Qatar, South Korea, Libya,
Oman, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sudan, Yemen, United Arab Emirates and the United
States.

The 2001 Declaration of Commitments on HIV/AIDS saw governments agreeing to "enact, strengthen or enforce as appropriate legislation, regulations and other measures to
eliminate all forms of discrimination against, and to ensure the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by people living with HIV/AIDS", and in the 2006 Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS governments committed to intensifying efforts to eliminate all forms of discrimination directed towards people living with HIV and AIDS. Also, the report of the consultation on international travel and HIV infection of the WHO, April 1987 states "HIV-related travel restrict ions have no valid public health rationale and may in fact undermine HIV prevention and other efforts to stop the epidemic".

Unfortunately, these commitments are not being kept.

What can YOU Do?

As part of a wide coalition of civil society organizations, we encourage you to sign on to letter below and take other steps as an individual or as an organization to join the call to countries to lift any form of HIV- related travel restrictions policies and/or laws.

Sign on to the letter below by sending your organization's name and
country to universalaccess2010@icaso.org no later than June 5.

Find out the status of any travel restrictions imposed by your country.
The list of countries with HIV-related travel restrictions is always changing. Check
up-do-date information before you advocate with a specific government. (For more
detailed information country-by country, visit http://www.eatg.org/hivtravel
www.eatg.org/hivtravel or www.aidshilfe.de)

Use the upcoming 2008 UN High Level Meeting on AIDS as a moment to press for new commitments (and action) by your own government and others to remove travel restrictions. This could be a very positive example of progress.

Use the 2008 UN High Level Meeting on AIDS to begin to strategize about national level action to oppose HIV-related travel restrictions.

Inform the media about the issue and the discriminatory practices of many countries.

Do not hold international conferences in countries with HIV-related travel restrictions. Future UN High Level Meetings or Reviews on AIDS should not be held in countries with such restrictions.

Raise awareness among your networks and constituency about the travel restrictions.
Many people are not even aware that such restrictions exist.

Advocate with others: Create a letter writing campaign to officials in your government. You can advocate at all levels of government: from your local representatives all the way up the President or Prime Minister. Work together with other religious communities, civil society organizations and networks of people living with HIV. Make sure you let the media know about your plans.

Lobby your government officials to speak out against HIV-related travel restrictions at 2008 UN High Level Meeting on AIDS.

Text of the Letter:

Civil Society Letter on HIV-related Travel Restrictions Addressed to the UN Missions and Heads of State in Countries with Restrictions

Dear Excellency,

As we approach the 2008 UN high-level meeting on AIDS, all governments and the global
community are called to review the progress and performance in achieving universal access to treatment, care, support and prevention by 2010.

As leaders within civil society, we are writing to ask for your urgent attention and leadership in removing your country's travel restrictions (short or long-term) that restrict access to people, based solely on their HIV status. These restrictions are discriminatory and are contrary to the commitments made through the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the 2006 Political Declaration.

We are asking you to consider announcing in New York, plans to lift your country's restrictions. This is the right thing to do. It does not create financial or other burdens. And as civil society, we are ready to stand with you in making and implementing such a commitment. This would be a noteworthy step and a sign of real leadership at the high-level meeting on June 10 -11 in New York.

Overview

HIV-related travel restrictions are not something new. They have existed since the beginning of the epidemic, but are increasingly obsolete and discriminatory in a world with more access to treatment and ever-increasing mobility.

Today, there are more than 70 countries that still impose some form of HIV- specific restrictions on the entry and residence of positive people. Of these, some 10 countries bar HIV positive people from entering or staying in their country for any reason or length of time. There are close to 30 countries that deport people once their HIV infection is discovered. More than 70 countries do not have HIV specific travel restrictions. For the remaining 49 countries, the information is either contradictory or unavailable.[2]

The most visible impact is when HIV positive people-against the principle of the greater involvement of people living with HIV-are denied entry into countries where major conferences or meetings on HIV are being held. This robs people living with HIV from opportunities to contribute their experience and expertise, while also diminishing the credibility and accomplishment of the conference or meeting. This situation is very problematic at UN high-level meetings on AIDS held in the United States, which has a complete ban on the entry of people living with HIV (HIV positive delegates, civil society representatives, UN staff, religious leaders, media, trade union members, and business people). In order to enter the United States
legally to attend such meetings, people living with HIV must disclose their status in a discriminatory and humiliating waiver process. The often lengthy and intrusive process to receive a visa waiver is all the more stigmatizing and discriminatory, when a mark is placed in a person's passport, indicating the waiver and its purpose.

However, in terms of largest impact and numbers of people affected, HIV- related travel restrictions are felt most by labour migrants. Prospective migrants are either barred from entering a country when determined to be HIV positive through a mandatory pre-departure HIV test, or are deported when required to take a periodic HIV test during their residence abroad, and test positively. Rarely is this type of HIV-testing confidential or linked to any other services, either in a person's country of origin or destination. This exposes to and places people who are already highly vulnerable in situations of great discrimination and economic
devastation. Similarly, people living with HIV, who want to cross borders for the
purposes of family reunification, suffer from the same restrictions.

Fulfilling existing commitments

The 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS saw governments agree to "enact, strengthen or enforce as appropriate legislation, regulations and other measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination against, and to ensure the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by people living with HIV/AIDS" (para.58).

The 2006 Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS saw governments commit to intensifying efforts towards these ends (para.29). These commitments are not being kept.

The realities are: HIV-related travel restrictions have no valid public health rationale and may in fact undermine HIV prevention and other efforts to stop the epidemic. This has been definitively stated by the World Health Organization and the World Health Assembly on several occasions. [3] HIV-specific travel restrictions are discriminatory and contribute to the stigmatization of people living with HIV. HIV-related travel restrictions are anachronisms, and highly inappropriate in the age of globalization, increased travel, treatment for HIV, and national and
international commitments to universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and
support. There is no demonstrated proof that the spectre of a huge negative economic impact on countries without travel restrictions is valid. In fact, the evidence points to the opposite in a country like Brazil, where there is universal access to treatment and there are no travel restrictions. There has been no flood of HIV positive travellers (short or long-term) streaming across the borders to claim treatment, placing a burden on Brazilian society. Long-term travel restrictions that single out HIV, as opposed to comparable conditions, are also discriminatory. Any restriction based on fear of costs must be based on an individual determination that such costs will actually be incurred. Any human rights or humanitarian concerns, such as need for asylum, should always trump economic considerations. The commitment of organizations
and governments to the GIPA principle (Greater Involvement of People Living with HIV or AIDS) is regularly undermined by HIV-related travel restrictions, when HIV positive speakers, resource people and leaders, cannot enter countries to take part in meetings, programs or planning.

UNAIDS and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria are working together against such restrictions and have created an International Task Team on HIV-related Travel Restrictions, which comprises representatives of governments, UN agencies and civil society, including people living with HIV. They will be issuing their report and recommendations later this year, as well as providing tools to support governments in taking the steps to remove their restrictions. The Global Fund decided that it would not hold Board Meetings in countries that restrict short-term entry of people living with HIV or require prospective HIV-positive visitors to
declare their HIV status on entry.

What you can do We ask you to rescind HIV-specific travel restrictions and instead, take steps to ensure access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support for mobile populations, both nationals and non-nationals. We are asking you to use the upcoming 2008 UN high-level meeting on AIDS as a moment to announce the elimination of these restrictions by your government. We are asking you to take up the issue of travel restrictions with other governments where they are applied to your citizens seeking to travel or migrate. We are asking you to meet with people living with HIV, who will be in New York at the high-level meeting to hear first-hand their experience of discrimination and stigmatization caused by travel restrictions. We implore you to not hold international conferences that are relevant to the response to HIV and AIDS in countries with HIV-related travel restrictions. Future UN high-level meetings or Reviews on AIDS should not be held in countries with such restrictions.

Yours respectfully,

[list of organizations]

This letter can also be downloaded at:
http://www.e-alliance.ch/media/media-7297.doc
For more information, please visit:
EATG website: http://www.eatg.org/hivtravel www.eatg.org/hivtravel

Deutsche AIDS Hilfe website: www.aidshilfe.de

Keep the Promise Campaign Bulletin of the EAA: The EAA website:
http://www.e-alliance.ch/media/media-7264.pdf#page=1&view=Fit

Ua2010.org:
http://www.ua2010.org/en/UA2010/Universal-Access/Travel-Restrictions

*********************************************************************************************************************

For past Action Alerts and Bulletins from the HIV and AIDS Campaign,

see http://www.e-alliance.ch/newsletters.jsp

The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance is a broad international network of
churches and
Christian organizations cooperating in advocacy on global trade and HIV
and AIDS. The
Alliance is based in Geneva, Switzerland. For more information, see
http://www.e-alliance.ch/

*********************************************************************************************************************

[1] This information is taken from the web site of the European AIDS
Treatment Group,
and based on a survey which was originally done by the German AIDS
Federation in 1999
and has been continually updated. The information has not been independently
verified. See http://www.eatg.org/hivtravel/

[2] This information is taken from the web site of the European AIDS
Treatment Group,
and based on a survey which was originally done by the German AIDS
Federation in 1999
and has been continually updated. The information has not been independently
verified. See http://www.eatg.org/hivtravel/

[3] Report of the consultation on international travel and HIV infection.
Geneva,
World Health Organization, April 1987; WHO/SPA/GLO/787.1.
http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/1987/WHO_SPA_GLO_87.1.pdf; Statement on
screening of
international travellers for infection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus,
WHO,
WHO/GPA/INF/88.3 (1988).; WHA Resolution 41.24 Avoidance of discrimination
in relation
to HIV-infected people and people with AIDS (1988)

International Conference on Gender-based Violence and Sexual and Reproductive Health, February 15 - 18, 2009, Mumbai INDIA

National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health (Indian
Council of Medical Research); UNDP/UNFPA/WHO/Word Bank Special
Programme of Research, Development and Research Training
in Human Reproduction; and Indian Society for the Study of
Reproduction and Fertility

CHIEF PATRON
Dr Anbumani Ramadoss, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare,
Government of India

PATRONS
Shri Naresh Dayal, I.A.S., Secretary, Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare, Government of India
Dr Sujit K. Bhattacharya, Additional Director General, Indian
Council of Medical Research

CONVENORS
Dr Chander P. Puri, President, Indian Society for the Study of
Reproduction and Fertility and
Dr Vrinda V. Khole, Officer-in-Charge, National Institute for
Research in Reproductive Health



Dear Colleagues

The National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health (Indian
Council of Medical Research), UNDP/UNFPA/WHO/World Bank Special
Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human
Reproduction, World Health Organization and the Indian Society for
the Study of Reproduction and Fertility will be organizing an
International Conference on Gender-based Violence and Sexual and
Reproductive Health. A number of national and international
organizations are collaborating in organizing this Conference.
Gender-based violence (GBV) is both a human rights as well as a
public health concern. The United Nations General Assembly in 1993
defined violence against women as "any act of gender based violence
that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or
psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such
acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether
occurring in public or in private life". GBV is pervasive and is
observed throughout the world, in both developing and developed
country settings. It can be emotional, physical or sexual and is
typically perpetrated by someone who is familiar to or acquainted
with the victim. Victims are overwhelmingly women. The World Health
Report estimates that at least one of every three women around the
world has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused. The
experience of violence is associated with serious consequences for
women's physical and mental health.
Violence against women impoverishes individuals, families and
communities, reducing the economic development of each nation.
Reproductive health consequences for abused women are both direct
and indirect. For example, violence during pregnancy has been
associated with maternal mortality, pregnancy loss and pregnant
related complications, sexual violence with heightened risk of
acquiring STIs. At the same time, violence against women is
associated with women's inability to negotiate safe sex practices,
lack of control over contraception leading to unwanted/unintended
pregnancies, abortion, unwanted births, premature birth, low infant
birth-weight, and infant morbidity and death of both infant as well
as women.

This conference aims to expand what is known about the magnitude of
gender-based violence and its impact on the health of the
individual and the society, to fill gaps in our understanding of
factors underlying the experience of violence and consequences of
violence for women's, families' and nations' well-being and
programmatic responses intended to eliminate sexual violence. More
specifically the objectives of organizing this conference are to:
(i) review the magnitude and determinants of GBV; (ii) explore the
sexual and reproductive health (SRH) consequences of GBV; (iii)
share experiences of programmes and interventions for the
prevention of GBV, their impact on SRH and gaps and challenges that
remain; (iv) review relevant policies, programmes and their
implementation; and (v) suggest recommendations on programme
strategies and policies to address GBV and SRH.

Mounting evidence of widespread prevalence of GBV and its
consequences for women's SRH calls for urgent and multi-pronged
public health responses that aim to both prevent perpetration of
gender-based violence and assist the survivors of this social
plague. This conference will offer an international forum for
researchers, programme managers, policy-makers, women's groups,
health activists, health care providers, human rights groups and
others who are concerned about gender-based violence to come
together to share experiences and evidence intended to shed light
on and work towards reducing the prevalence of GBV.

On behalf of the organizers of the meeting, it is our privilege to
invite you to participate in the Conference. We hope you will
honour this timely and important International Conference with your
presence.

Dr Iqbal Shah

Scientist, Team Co-ordinator
UNDP/UNFPA/WHO/World Bank
Special Programme of Research,
Development and Research
Training in Human Reproduction
Geneva, Switzerland
Email: shahi@who.int

Dr Balaiah Donta
Deputy Director (Sr. Grade)
National Institute for Research
in Reproductive Health
Jehangir Merwanji Street
Parel, Mumbai, India
E-mail: bdonta2007@yahoo.co.in


The scientific programme will include a keynote address, plenary
lectures and symposia sessions, panel discussions, and poster
presentations. The programme will be broad based and will address
the key areas outlined below. Sessions will be multi-disciplinary,
including findings derived from operational, psycho-social and
behavioural research and programmes related to gender-based
violence and sexual and reproductive health.

Provisional TOPICS
. Various forms and determinants of GBV
. Linkages between GBV and SRH
. Gender power imbalances, violence and SRH
. GBV, sexuality and SRH
. GBV and reproductive health (Unwanted pregnancy, RTI/STI,
HIV, higher fertility, shorter birth spacing, contraception)
. Men as perpetrators and victims of GBV
. Men as partners in prevention of GBV and promoting SRH
care
. SRH implications of GBV in conflict situations
. Vulnerability to GBV (trafficked women, female sex
workers, intravenous drug users, pregnant women, migrants, HIV
positive individuals, ethnic minorities, physically and mentally
challenged)
. Youth and gender based violence
. Women survivors of violence and their SRH needs and
rights
. Socio-psychological dimension of GBV in SRH Care
. Managing SRH consequences of GBV
. Challenges of addressing GBV within SRH programmes
. Best practices in addressing GBV within SRH clinic
settings
. Community based programmes in addressing GBV
. Role of health systems and health workers in addressing
GBV
. Counseling approaches
. Evaluating GBV and SRH programmes
. Law enforcement and GBV
. Laws, policies on GBV in different sectors
. Ethical issues in research and programmes on GBV and SRH
. Estimating economic costs of GBV
. Methodological issues in research on GBV and SRH

Submission of Abstracts
The abstract (about 300 words) typed on plain paper, using
Microsoft Word (12 pt. Times New Roman) should be sent by
e-mail to the organizing secretary (gbv2009@yahoo.co.in,
bdonta2007@yahoo.co.in). The abstracts should include: title of
the paper, author(s), name of the institute, objectives of the
study, methods, results, conclusions and recommendations. The
final date to receive abstracts is 15 October 2008.

Language
The language of the Conference will be English. Simultaneous
translation will not be available.

Inauguration
The Conference will be inaugurated at 7.00 p.m. on 15 February
2009. All registered delegates will be invited to attend the
inaugural function.

Exhibition
An international exhibition of scientific equipment, supplies and
services will be organized at the venue of the meeting.

Weather
Mumbai is usually pleasant in February, with an average temperature
of 270C and humidity 55%. The conference hall and all major hotels
are air-conditioned.

VISA Requirements
All foreign delegates are requested to check with their local
Indian Embassy or Consulate.

Payment Procedure
The registration fee is payable through a Bank Draft to Conference
on Sexual and Reproductive Health, Mumbai. Accommodation charges
are to be paid directly to the hotel.

Venue
The conference will be held at the InterContinental The Grand
Mumbai, Sahar Airport Road, Andheri East, Mumbai 400059.
Phone: (+91 22) 66683240; Fax: (+91 22) 6668 3278.
www.intercontinental.com; Contact person: Ms Radhika De

Accommodation
Accommodation can be arranged in various categories of hotels of
international standards and at other places to suit your budget.
In the event you need any assistance for booking accommodation,
please let us know. Special conference rates have been negotiated
with various hotels including "InterContinental The Grand Mumbai".

Slide Presentations
LCD Projectors will be available. If any other special equipment is
required, please specify at the time of submitting the abstract.

Poster Presentations
Poster stands to accommodate a poster of 4' (height) x 3' (width)
will be made available at the venue.
Registration Fee

StatusBefore
01 December 2008After
01 December 2008
Delegates from outside India US $ 350US $ 400
Indian delegatesRs 5,000Rs 6,000
ISSRF members Rs 4,000Rs 5,000
Students (Indian)Rs 3,000Rs 4,000
Students (Outside India)US $ 200US $ 250
One-day registration for Indian delegatesRs 2,500Rs 3,000


INternational Scientific Programme Committee
Chairperson - Iqbal Shah
Members - Halida Akhtar, Dinesh Agarwal, Catherine d'Arcangues,
Michal Avni, Lester Coutinho, Balaiah Donta, Nata Duvuury, Claudia
Garcia Moreno, Shiva Halli, Shireen Jejeebhoy, Ardi Kaptiningsih,
Sunita Kishor, Viswanath Koliwad, Lakshmi Lingam, Susan Newcomer,
Diana Prieto, Mahesh Puri, Faujdar Ram, Yasmeen Sabeeh Qazi,
Chander Shekhar, Jay Silverman, Anita Raj and Ravi Verma

Local Organizing Committee
Chairperson - Smita Mahale, National Institute for Research in
Reproductive Health
Members - Atmaram Bandivdekar, Srikant Betrabet, Sanjay Chauhan,
Shanta Chitlange, Rahul Gajabhiye, Shanti Ganeshan, Anuja Gulathi,
Beena Joshi, Ragini Kulkarni, Anurupa Maitra, Saritha Nair,
Geetanjali Sachdeva, Niranjan Saggurti, Lalita Savardekar and Geeta
Vanage

Further information and correspondence
Dr Balaiah Donta
National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health
E-mail: gbv2009@yahoo.co.in; bdonta2007@yahoo.co.in;
biostatirr@hotmail.com

Petition to Cancel HAITI'S Debt

Urgent Action: Please Sign the Petition to Cancel Haiti's Debt

in Time for Next Week's G8 Summit in Japan

Right now the Haitian people are suffering, struggling to pay for basic foodstuffs during the current global food crisis – as are hundreds of millions of people across Africa. The crisis is massive and has roots in the structural adjustment policies that led Haiti and many other countries to become dependent on imports for their food supply. Recently, the lack of affordable food caused riots in Port au Prince, Haiti's capital, where UN peacekeepers used rubber bullets and tear gas against protesters when demonstrations turned violent. Days later the Prime Minister was removed and has yet to be replaced.

At the same time, the Haitian government must continue to pay more than $1 million a week in debt service to wealthy creditors when it could be financing a return to local food production, subsidizing basic foodstuffs and investing in health care. The vast majority of this debt is odious, accrued during the era of the Duvalier dictatorships. The money was stolen and used to repress the Haitian people – yet the U.S. government and the multilateral development banks continue to compel the current generation of Haitians to repay these loans.

Next week is the G8 summit in Japan. US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and other G8 Finance Ministers will discuss how to address the worldwide crisis and suffering due to increasing food prices. One simple decision would be to immediately cancel the debt owed by Haiti. Many organizations have come together to create a petition to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson urging him to immediately cancel Haiti's debt - please join us in signing it. Jubilee USA representatives will deliver the petition directly to the Treasury department before Secretary Paulson departs for the summit.

Click Here to Sign the Petition to Cancel Haiti's Debt

Haiti has now qualified for debt relief through the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative. However, it still must implement a vast set of conditions, including many of the economic policy reforms that have exacerbated the current food crisis, before it can complete the HIPC process and access urgently needed debt cancellation.

Haiti is just one country facing a double crisis as food prices soar and debt payments take precedence over tackling poverty. The poverty that forces many Haitians to risk their lives to migrate to the United States will only accelerate until the welfare of Haitians comes before the needs of the banks. Debt cancellation has benefitted many African countries' ability to invest in the health and education of Africans. In light of the devastating food crisis, the need for Haiti to hold on to its own resources to meet the needs of its people is more urgent than ever. The American Friends Service Committee supports Jubilee USA's call for immediate debt cancellation for Haiti and for an interim moratorium on debt service for all low-income countries affected by the food crisis. For more information on Haiti, the food crisis and its debt, please click HERE.

Click Here to Sign the Petition to Cancel Haiti's Debt

With gratitude,

The Life Over Debt Team

American Friends Service Committee

Click here for more information on the AFSC Life Over Debt campaign.

After you've signed the petition, please forward it to friends and family!

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This list provides a weekly web digest with Africa specific information, inspirational quotes, and examples of grassroots African debt related successes. The National Africa Network list will repost materials from expert sources and related organizations and networks. We will also, on a monthly basis, provide subscribers with a digital copy of the AFSC’s Africa Program newsletter, Amandla, and debt focused action items.

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OXFAM Volunteer Opportunities in Vancouver & Area

There are a wide range of opportunities to volunteer with Oxfam in the Vancouver area, or as a virtual volunteer, depending on your interests, skills, and availability. In order to become involved, I will strongly suggest that you register yourself as member, you can do this via this link: https://www.oxfam.ca/what-you-can-do/become-a-member/membership-registration; (There is no membership fee). As a member you are enabled to participate in governing bodies, elections for representatives to Oxfam's Board of Directors, and participate in a variety of Oxfam program activities, regional and national consultations and conferences.

If you would like to receive updates on Oxfam campaigns, programme news and local events, volunteer opportunities and activities you can subscribe to Oxfam email lists at: http://www.oxnet.org/lists/?p=subscribe&id=2. Another way of keeping yourself updated on events, news, opportunities and campaigns is to sign up for Oxfam’s e-alerts and e-newsletter http://act.oxfam.ca/act/sub/.

As you know, Oxfam works on a number of education and advocacy campaigns on issues of social, economic and democratic rights that seek to raise awareness and connect popular action in Canada to improving conditions in developing countries. You can find current information on Oxfam Canada's program work, various campaign materials, as well as information about Oxfam partner organizations (in Southern Africa, the Horn of Africa, and the Americas) on our website.


Every year, in order to engage youth in Oxfam’s work, and to help provide youth with all the support and tools they need to take action to secure basic human rights for all, Oxfam Canada plans Oxfam Global Youth Symposium.

This two-day symposium provides high school and college-aged youth from all over Greater Vancouver with the opportunity to come together, learn about global issues and get the skills and the inspiration to take action in a fun, non-formal environment. This yearly event takes place both in Victoria and Vancouver. Volunteers can get involved in several aspects of the planning of the symposium. This includes taking on roles as a facilitator, doing media work, outreach, research and during the actual day of the symposium as participants.

For more information, contact Deborah Schaeffer at deborahs@volunteer.oxfam.ca


Current Oxfam campaigns:

‘For All’ Public Services Campaign: Open for all – Public services fight poverty

Over a billion people live without access to clean, safe water and 2.6 billion people have no access to decent sanitation - this leads to the inevitable spread of water-related diseases. Every day around the world 4,000 children are killed by diarrhea, 1,400 women die needlessly in pregnancy or childbirth and 100 million school-age children, most of them girls, will not go to school. Yet, for the first time in history, within a generation, these problems could be solved.

Oxfam Canada and CUPE are working together in a national mobilization campaign to collect signature to lobby the Federal Government to increase our aid budget to 0.7% of GNP. Volunteers can help out during Summer Festivals, in the fall in their school, universities and communities collecting signatures, making presentation and display materials at trade union conventions, and shops, district labour councils, university campuses, schools and other venues to maximize public outreach. Postcards, petitions and e-alerts will target key politicians to make policy changes.

If you want to be part of this campaign contact: miriamp@oxfam.ca

You can read Oxfam International report “In the Public Interest” at: http://www.oxfam.ca/news-and-publications/publications-and-reports/in-the-public-interest-health-education-and-water-and-sanitation-for-all/file.


“We Can” campaign to end violence against women

We Can End All Violence Against Women Campaign is a multi-year, international initiative, which seeks to challenge and change the societal attitudes, beliefs and practices that support and maintain violence against women. ‘We Can’ believes that every individual has the power to change her or his own life as well as the lives of those around them. A key element of this program is to educate and mobilize individuals to take a public stand and public action against violence against women by becoming ‘Change Makers’. A Change Maker is an individual who pledges not to commit or tolerate any violence against women and who works to re-evaluate and re-examine his/her attitudes.

Our campaign involves volunteers delivering workshops in high schools, professional groups and community centres. Through the We Can campaign we organize activities around the 16 Days of activism Against Gender Based Violence which takes place every year from November 25th to December 10th.

To learn more visit the We Can website at www.wecanbc.ca. For volunteer opportunities email Anastasia Gaisenok at anastasiag@oxfam.ca.


Oxfam’s Youth Committee:

With the mail goal of engaging youth as global citizen and to support the international work of Oxfam, a youth committee has been formed. The main goals of this committee are:

- Serving as a link between campus clubs as well as to the office
- Maintain a group of trained facilitators who can facilitate workshops year round
- Work on public engagement of Oxfam’s issues and campaigns
- Maintain a team of dedicated Oxfam youth volunteers
- Serve as a link and follow up to the national CHANGE Initiative
- Provide an opportunity for youth symposium participants to become involved with Oxfam.

If you would like to join this committee contact Joanna Chiu: teenacity@gmail.com


Music 4 Change

Music4Change is a fundraising and educational event designed to blend hedonism with humanitarianism against the backdrop of music.
This event is model after the successful Music4Life events created by Oxfam Great Britain. The main goal of the M4C committee is to promote Oxfam’s work within local youth in B.C, establishing a strong and long-lasting relationship between Oxfam and the local, national and international independent music scene. This committee meets from May to October when the M4C event takes place on Oct 17th on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

To be involved, contact Fleur Cooper M4C project coordinator at: cannonballcoops@hotmail.com


Make Poverty History

At the start of the 21st century, 1.2 billion people live in abject poverty, most of them women. More than 800 million people go to bed hungry and 50,000 people die every day from poverty-related causes. Poverty is a violation of human rights on a massive scale, but it doesn't have to be this way. If we choose - if we have the will to act - we can make poverty history.
The campaign Make Poverty History launched by Oxfam Canada is calling for more and better aid, fair trade rules, the cancellation of 100% of the debt owed by the poorest countries, and an end to child poverty in Canada.

We need your voice to add to our worldwide chorus. Find out how you can support our global campaign at www.makepovertyhistory.ca.
Together, we can make poverty History.


Fair Trade: Make Trade Fair

Oxfam International campaign on Fair Trade, highlights the plight of billions of people being made hungry and poor because of the crisis in world agricultural trade - especially the dumping of cheap commodities by rich countries. There are many actions you can take as an individual in your community to campaign on this issue with Oxfam.

To get involved with this campaign and for a copy of the Make Trade Fair Report, visit our website: http://www.maketradefair.com/en/index.htm


Hungry for Change Campaign

Through this campaign we aim at raising awareness about issues of global food and resource distribution, and raising funds for our partners overseas. The Campaign gives the participants the opportunity to demonstrate their solidarity with vulnerable people. The students go on a fast for a day, usually in conjunction with a sleepover at the school and an evening packed with fun/education filled activities. The students raise pledges from their family, friends, and community. In past years, students in the Lower Mainland raised nearly $20,000 for our work overseas. Oxfam needs help organizing Hungry for Change fasts in schools across the Lower Mainland.

For more information about World Food Day activities in your community and to get involved, contact us at: hungryforchange@oxfam.ca


World Food Day

On October 16 each year, the World Food Day is observed. It marks the anniversary of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization founded in 1945. More importantly, it is an internationally recognized day to focus attention on food and hunger issues. Oxfam Canada plays a leading role in the commemoration of this day, facilitating a number of events in schools and communities across the Lower Mainland. Oxfam’s World Food day Kit serves as a great resource from which World Food day events are initiated. Each year, a group of Oxfam volunteers come together to put on a large World Food day event, which you are certainly encouraged to get involved with.

To be part of the WFD committee, contact miriamp@oxfam.ca.


Stamp Program

Help Oxfam stamp out poverty. This is a unique and fun fundraising activity that involves collecting used postal stamps and envelopes, which are then sorted and sold to collectors. Since it began in 1980, the Stamp Program has raised over $150,000 for Oxfam’s projects in developing countries. If you want to get involved, you’re encouraged to save incoming mail and send the used stamps/interesting envelopes to the Oxfam office, or donate your old stamp collections. You can also help by promoting the stamp program at offices, schools and community centers, or you can start your own collection network with friends and co-workers. Oxfam also needs individuals or groups to help us sort the donated stamps.

For more information, contact Bill Woodley – the Stamp Program Leader- at stamps@ott.oxfam.ca or tel: 613.237.1698 ext 240.


Campus Clubs and Local Committees

Currently, Oxfam Clubs are active at the University of British Columbia, at Simon Fraser University, and at the University of Victoria. If you would like to get in touch with one of these groups, call the office and we will provide contact information for you. If you would like to start a club in your school or community, we can provide materials and perhaps some contacts in your area who might like to get involved.

Oxfam’s Student Clubs contacts:

UBC – Duarte Rosario - azaquiel@gmail.com
SFU – Peter Driftmier - Oxfamsfu@gmail.com or pad1@sfu.ca
UVic – Brodie Metcalfe brodie_metcalfe@hotmail.com


Another way to support our work is by donating to Oxfam. We hope you'll consider joining our http://www.oxfam.ca/what-you-can-do/make-a-donation/monthly-giving-1, Share plan, since it is most convenient for you and it also helps reduce our administrative costs.
Or, if you prefer to give a single amount, you can easily made a donation online: http://www.oxfam.ca/what-you-can-do/make-a-donation, at any time on our secure server. Once we’ve received your contribution, we'll send you your tax receipt and a welcome package


I hope this gives you an idea of some of the options available for you to support Oxfam's work. Please let us know if you have any questions. We will also be in touch with you if there are specific volunteer opportunities that arise that you may be interested in and especially suited for. In the meantime, please let us know if you would like us to add your E-mail to our volunteer list.

Look forward to hearing from you again soon!



Sincerely,

Deborah Schaeffer


Oxfam Intern
Oxfam Canada
#210- 49 Dunlevy Ave.
Vancouver, B.C.
V6A 3A3
Tel: 604-7367678
Fax: 604-736-9646
E-mail: deborahs@volunteer.oxfam.ca