PHR Student Blog

It’s official: the Global Health Week of Action is here!  The GHWA is a chance to move from education to advocacy on your campus.

The Chapters we’ve talked to so far are doing a range of activities – from direct advocacy with their Representatives, to speaker’s panels, a health fair, fundraisers, film screenings, and a blood drive! World Health Day is April 7, so April 4-10 is the official week of action – but your school might choose a different week in April to accommodate your campus calendars.

This year we’re encouraging chapters to focus their GHWA on the global health workforce crisis and the 2010 Global HEALTH Act (HR 4933).  Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) has introduced the bill in the House!  For the Global HEALTH Act to be successful, the more co-sponsors, the better.

How can you tell your Representatives that you want them to co-sponsor?

• Take 10 minutes to read the bill (pdf) or 3 minutes to read our summary.
• Promote peer pressure! Encourage prominent health professionals – like your Deans and faculty – to add their names to the sign-on. Present this sample letter to your Dean or an interested faculty member, along with the fact sheet about the bill. To present this letter to your Dean, either approach them directly, or email them this text. Let us know when your Dean grants permission to use her or his name.
• Circulate the petition, then mail it to me at Hope O’Brien, Physicians for Human Rights, 2 Arrow St., Ste. 301, Cambridge MA 02138. Consider hosting a table in a high-traffic area to gather signatures – either on the petition, or (even easier) bring a laptop where people can sign the petition directly online. Attract people with info sheets, candy, music, signs… or an eye-catching costume!
• If you’re interested in a district meeting to persuade your Representative to co-sponsor the bill, read our blog post about how set one up.

These letters, petitions, phone calls and district meetings send a clear message to your Representative: We want you to support the Global HEALTH Act. You can also forward some friends the link to the petition, post it on FB, and tweet it!

PHR has put together a GHWA Toolkit that includes an Issue and Action Guide, ideas for great events, suggestions on how to fundraise and publicize, and resources to share with your community. If you’d like to brainstorm together or discuss what resources PHR has for you, just email or call me! This GHWA is a chance to energize your Chapter, build interest in health and human rights education (HHRE) – and make a real difference at the same time.

  PetitionTemplate-GHA-4-10.pdf (110.0 KiB, 100 hits)

  Global_HEALTH_Act_health_professional_sign_on_letter.pdf (17.6 KiB, 126 hits)

  Global_HEALTH_Act_Sign_on_Letter_Request_Email.doc (23.0 KiB, 108 hits)

  GHA2010_fact-sheet.pdf (599.4 KiB, 121 hits)

The Global Health Act (House Resolution 4933) has been introduced in Congress by Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA). Now is the best time to garner support from our Representatives. Why not start by scheduling an in-district meeting for your Global Health Week of Action?

Meeting with government officials is easier than you think!

Contacting government officials lets you take an active role in influencing public policy. Meetings with constituents give policymakers the opportunity to learn about issues and make informed policy decisions. As a health professional student, you have a powerful voice to promote and protect human rights.

Things to Consider When Scheduling a Meeting

• Timing: Start calling the office a few weeks ahead of time, because it may take several calls or faxes to schedule an appointment. Ask for the scheduler’s name and the name of the appropriate aide. Find the contact information for your Representatives, then fax or email the meeting request. You can use our sample Meeting Request letter (.doc) as a starting point. It’s likely that you’ll meet with an aide, rather than the congressperson; your meeting will still have an impact on the policymaker.
• Participation: Two to four people is ideal. Include people who are from the legislator’s district or state who have some level of expertise on the issue, and people who are articulate, respectful, and confident.
• Preparation: Know your facts. Read the bill before you meet with your representative! Be able to explain, succinctly, why this issue is important to you. Practice and know who will say what. If you don’t know the answer to a question that arises, don’t worry: tell the staffer you will get back to then—a great way to ensure follow up and continued conversation after the meeting. Use the Global HEALTH Act fact sheet (pdf) to develop your talking points. Know as much as possible about the member’s background in general (especially which committees she or he sits on) and on your issue.

Tips for the Meeting – Remember the 4 Cs!

• Connection: Recognize past support of this issue or others. Chat about personal connections or relevant news. Be polite, respectful, and formal when addressing the member of Congress.
• Context: Give background info on the issue, why it’s so important, your connection to it (perhaps most important), and the Representative’s connection to it.
• Commitment: Do not be afraid to ask for what you want: “Can we count on your support for the 2010 Global Health Act?” If you don’t ask, you don’t know for sure their position.
• Catapult: End on a friendly note. Thank the member or aide. Get the card of the appropriate aide. Discuss the next steps for follow-up.

After you have met with your congressperson please complete the Meeting Report form (.doc) so PHR can follow up and leverage your work. These meetings can make a big difference. Email us at bcastro[at]phrusa[dot]org and set up an appointment today!

  Meeting Request Letter (292.5 KiB, 67 hits)

  Meeting Report Form (40.0 KiB, 62 hits)

  Global HEALTH Act Fact Sheet (599.4 KiB, 74 hits)

Every year, PHR’s National Student Program works with chapters across the country to organize and lead a Global Health Week of Action (GHWA). The GHWA is an opportunity to educate your campus about global health and encourage your colleagues to act on their new knowledge to make a difference.

Check out the new GHWA Toolkit for more information.

This year we’re encouraging chapters to focus their GHWA on the global health workforce crisis and the 2010 Global HEALTH Act, which will be introduced soon in the House of Representatives. You can raise awareness about the need for more health workers and better health systems in developing countries, and then take steps to address that need.

The first step: set your Global Health Week of Action date. Because April 7, 2010, is World Health Day, April 4-10 is the official week of action date. If you need to move the date because of spring break or campus calendars, go for it – just try to stay within 2-3 weeks of this date.

Please refer to the GHWA Toolkit to find resources for planning a successful week of events! The Toolkit includes an Issue and Action Guide, ideas for great events, suggestions on how to fundraise and publicize, and resources to share with your community.

We hope these resources – along with your creativity, energy, and education and advocacy skills – will help ensure that your GHWA has real impact.

Want more support? That’s what we’re here for. Email Hope O’Brien anytime at hobrien[at]phrusa[dot]org.

Check out the latest news from Physicians for Human Rights:

• US Should Not Deprive Poor Countries of Doctors and Nurses say Global Health Advocates
• In My Inbox: US State Department and Burma
• Sri Lankan Government Coaching Burmese Junta
• Urge the US and UK to Take Action for Human Rights in Burma
• Rights Group Applauds Appointment of Prosecutor in CIA Torture Cases: Health Professionals Must Also be Investigated, Says PHR
• Physicians for Human Rights statement on health care reform
• How to Not Wrongfully Deport the Indigent Mentally Ill
• Support PHR While You Shop Online

Also, you can set up a Kaiser Health News personal RSS account to regularly receive major health care news stories.

PHR is currently seeking student volunteers able to translate French to English to assist in PHR’s involvement with the Health Workforce Advocacy Initiative (HWAI). HWAI, whose secretariat is hosted at PHR, is a civil society-led network affiliated with the Global Health Workforce Alliance.

HWAI has recently initiated a 61-country survey to help address the global health worker shortage. This survey was developed to help PHR and its partners determine how they can most effectively work with the Global Fund to facilitate Health Workforce and Health Systems Strengthening (HSS) related efforts. PHR’s aim is to increase the number and overall quality of successful Global Fund proposals.

Since we don’t know how many responses we will receive from French respondents, we can’t predict how much translating will be required. As such, we are seeking a small team of bi-lingual French and English speakers who can be called upon on as needed.

If you’re interested in being a part of this team, please contact Eric Williams at ewilliams[at]phrusa[dot]org.

Note: We are strictly looking for those who speak and read French and English at an advanced-level.

Every 9.5 minutes there is one new HIV infection in the US and forty-five new infections worldwide. This is unacceptable.

Earlier today, I joined a group of medical students, health professionals and other concerned citizens to rally for increased funding for HIV/AIDS programs in the US and around the world.

1-2-3-4, AIDS funding, we want more

we chanted while marching toward the Massachusetts State Capitol Building.

5-6-7-8, AIDS funding cannot wait.

And that’s when the torrential rain began. The group clustered together, juggling signs and umbrellas while continuing to chant. We only paused the chanting to take out our cell phones for a group call to Congressional leaders.

This week, Congressional appropriators are in the process of setting funding levels for global and domestic HIV/AIDS programs. Levels under consideration are drastically short of what is needed to fulfill US commitments to fight AIDS at home and abroad. We are already hearing about cutbacks from our partners in Uganda and we must act now to ensure that critical programs are fully funded. The Senate Appropriations Committee is schedule to consider global AIDS funding levels tomorrow, Wednesday, July 8.

President Obama’s new global health initiative calls for $63 billion over six years for all global health programs. Physicians for Human Rights estimates that the HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria programs supported by PEPFAR alone need at least $60 billion over six years. PHR also estimates that a total of at least $95 billion over six years is needed for all of the global health initiatives outlined in President Obama’s plan and to meet all US global health commitments. We have the resources and the responsibility. We don’t have to choose between HIV/AIDS programs and other global health initiatives.

The rally is part of a coordinated effort of dozens of HIV/AIDS advocacy organizations across the country calling on leaders in Congress to strengthen US commitments to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs. From June 30-July 7, activists have called upon Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to increase funding levels. The event today in Boston was co-sponsored by Physicians for Human Rights, the American Medical Student Association, Our Bodies, Ourselves and Health Care for All.

The rally ended with one last round of chanting and a rousing group cheer. As our group began to disperse, the rain stopped and the sun came out.

You can join our efforts today by calling on Congress to fully fund HIV/AIDS programs. Pick up your phone and call Senator Reid, Speaker of the House Pelosi, and members of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

(Cross-posted on Health Rights Advocate)

The East African Student Health and Human Rights Leadership Institute was kicked off with a keynote by Uganda’s Minister of Health, the Honorable Stephen Malinga. He expressed his passion for medicine, which he called a priesthood. Dr. Malinga spoke of incorporating a health and human rights framework in Uganda in order protect marginalized populations. This remains particularly important because Uganda had many human rights violations under Idi Amin.

Dr. Malinga highlighted many of the problems in Uganda’s health sector, describing the health worker shortage and explaining how better pay and conditions entice health professionals to other nations in Africa or across the globe. He emphasized that health professionals need to be paid a good salary. The average salary for a Ugandan doctor is about 500,000 shillings a month (about $250), and this amount is not enough for physicians to make ends meet. He said doctors should be paid 1-2 million shillings a month. Dr. Malinga also described a need for better infrastructure and hospitals to improve working conditions and patient care.

The Health Minister also spoke of an underfunded health budget consisting of 9.6% of national budget, when 13.2% is the recommended minimum. He lamented a too-great reliance on foreign funds. Though Dr. Malinga did not mention this, there is a history of corrupt leaders and organizations mismanaging health funds intended for the sick and poor. In 2005, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria withdrew its grants because of misappropriation of billions of shillings. An ex-Ugandan health minister, Jim Muhwezi, is currently being investigated over embezzlement allegations linked to mismanagement of Global Fund monies.

Dr. Malinga mentioned that Uganda also needs more money for medicines.

The situation is very serious. There have been out-of-stocks of essential medicines documented as early as October last year. Only last month did the media pick up on this situation. The Action Group for Health, Human Rights, and HIV/AIDS, which worked with PHR and student leaders to organize the leadership institute, played a pivotal role in the Stop Stock-Outs Campaign that brought the issue to the forefront. As Dr. Malinga briefly mentioned needing more money for medicines, we passed around one of the national newspapers that had published Justin List’s press statement that day.

In the afternoon, each nation’s delegation presented on health and human rights challenges facing their country. The drug shortage, lack of affordable or available vaccinations for health professionals and gender inequality were some of the major issues the students currently face in their health sectors. We spent time sharing challenges and opportunities for health rights advocacy.

A theme Dr. Malinga hinted about was carried on throughout the entire conference. That is, that health care is a noble profession, a calling. Of all people, health professionals should be dedicated to a health and human rights framework of thinking and acting, so they may use their power to protect the underprivileged. If we incorporate such a framework into our local action, we’ll also be best equipped to support each other globally.

Is healthcare a right? What is a human right? Why is this important in Africa? Wednesday was spent meeting people who offered different perspectives on these questions and elucidated new ideas for progress in Uganda.

This is a country rife with the denial of basic rights. From a lack of educational opportunities for  youth to food insecurity in the rural areas to widespread abductions of children by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in the north?—?denial of rights is widespread.

In America, we rarely think about human rights, and most of us don’t really even know what they are. But here, in Uganda, people are acutely aware of them. The lack of rights is so severe that it affects daily life. Access to food may be a human right, but if the soil is too poor to grow anything, then how can that right be assured? If water sources are running dry due to climate change, then how can the right to water be fulfilled? These are basic life necessities that are lacking in parts of Uganda, and the rights-based approach can empower the people to demand that they have access to these things. It is up to the governing powers, however, to build sustainable systems for delivery of basic rights.

As enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, healthcare is one of those basic human rights. In Uganda, there are so few doctors being trained, and even fewer choose to stay on here after their schooling is over. Brain drain to industrialized nations has crippled this country’s ability to effectively respond to the healthcare needs of this country, from basic primary care and obstetrics to a burgeoning HIV/AIDS epidemic. It really falls on the government here to encourage doctors to stay; one way they could do so is by paying them more adequately.

Throwing money at the problem is not the most effective solution in a country that has serious problems with corruption, accountability and rule of law. Uganda has developed a bad reputation for mismanaging aid money, as evidenced by the recent withdrawal of Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria. This has led to increased hesitancy by international donors to give money. As a consequence, there are no drugs left here to treat TB, and this country has the 15 highest disease burden in the world.

Before money can simply be channeled into the system, it must be ensured that an accountable and transparent government exists and is kept in check by the people. Civil society involvement is essential, and that is why all of these human rights groups who we visited on Wednesday exist. People need to know what their rights are and that they must exercise them by voting and holding the government accountable if they want anything to change.

(Cross-posted on Health Rights Advocate)

What an amazing day Wednesday was!

We began by visiting Sandra Kiapi at the office of Action Group for Health, Human Rights, and HIV/AIDS (AGHA). AGHA is a NGO that was founded in 2003. They have several advocacy campaigns and community-based research projects that tackle human rights issues as they relate to health, with a specific focus on HIV/AIDS. One of these is the Stop Stock-Outs Campaign. AGHA also continues to promote accountability and transparency in the spending of PEPFAR and Global Fund monies, which has been difficult since the local culture has been to keep budget information away from the public eye.

Sandra had a lot to say about the HIV/AIDS Bill, which currently is in Parliament. She described loop holes, and she said the bill really needed more compelling language to ensure that states provide drugs. The public already pays 30% taxes, and most of them have no other disposable income to afford private healthcare. 30% of Ugandans receive healthcare through religious NGOs. 2-10% of Ugandans receive private healthcare. The other 60% need state assistance—yet the current bill has no provisions for their health services.

I was really excited to talk to Rose, Patricia and Ruth at the Uganda Human Rights Commission, a quasi-governmental body which was established under the Ugandan constitution in 1995. At the beginning, their biggest focus was bringing justice to victims of torture and upholding the rule of law. UHRC also tries to promote the Right to Health by educating both government officials through seminars and the general public through public radio. AGHA and UHRC have worked together on AGHA’s Stigma and Discrimination Campaign, for which AGHA trains health professionals and health professional students on health and human rights. Some of the students we’ll be meeting in the next few days, leaders in the Students for Equity in Health Care (SEHC), have been active in helping with this work. UHRC and AGHA both work on advocating for health workforce rights on many levels. Currently, there is only 1 health care worker per 22,000 Ugandan people.

UHRC also works on transitional justice and reconciliation, as well as reintegration of LRA child soldiers—all issues that have been incredibly trying for both the Commission and nation in general. I highly recommend watching Uganda Rising and Invisible Children on these issues.

We also met on Wednesday with Julia Spiegel from the ENOUGH Project, a program of the Center for American Progress with a mission to build a permanent constituency to prevent genocide and crimes against humanity. She’s been working directly with victims, military and officials in Northern Uganda and the Congo and has been using insight from her research to advocate for high level policy and holistic action to end the LRA’s crimes against women, children and the region in general. Check out the ENOUGH Project’s Raise Hope for the Congo campaign. For all you Law and Order fans, the Project also helped write a new episode that tells survivors’ stories to educate the public and humanize the issue.

We ended by meeting a physician-advocate who does not wait but acts, even when funds or resources are unavailable. He is one of the world’s most inspirational pioneers in providing HIV/AIDS treatment for all, Peter Mugyenyi, MD. He was the first person to bring ARV treatment to Africa, and he was involved in the initial planning of PEPFAR. He is the director of the Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC), one of the largest PEPFAR funded programs in all of Africa.

The JCRC provides HIV care and treatment to over 60,000 patients in both urban and rural Uganda. About twenty percent of these patients are enrolled in the clinical research at the center. JCRC is the smoothest-running, most high-tech clinical, epidemiological and treatment-based research center we had ever seen. It was the first center to test an HIV vaccine in 1998, and the lab continues to study HIV and opportunistic infections in novel ways. Dr. Mugyenyi has about 1,000 patients under his personal care, and he also is Principal Investigator to seven research projects at the institution. He continues to maintain and enroll patients that need care, despite a Uganda PEPFAR mandate to halt the treatment of new patients.

Meeting with activists from these organizations gave me a lot to think about and process. These organizations deal with tremendous obstacles in creating sustainable change and fighting for the rights of people that are often poor and powerless. Yet, they trudge on, knowing that, though change does not come over night, progress does. These are not people that will wait for better conditions to begin fighting for human rights. They just do it.

(Cross-posted on Health Rights Advocate)