Day: January 25, 2011

On the eve of the Global Forum on Human Resources for Health, Save the Children has launched a new report, No Child Born to Die, highlighting critical gaps in children’s access to health, and the need to address the huge global shortage of health workers.

The report notes the critical gap of over 3.5 million health workers in the poorest countries, without whom millions of children will face illness and early death. Doctors, midwives, nurses and community health workers are the backbone of health services. Without them, life-saving measures cannot be put in place. In addition, millions of existing health workers also lack the training and support they need- Save the Children.

The Global Forum on Human Resources for Health should commit to close the health worker gap, encourage the equitable distribution of health workers, deliver on commitments, recommit to the principles and structures of the Kampala Declaration and Agenda for Global Action; Publicly commit to a global Human Resources for Health and supported financial target that includes the training, retaining, and equitably distributing of at least 3.5 million additional health workers by 2015, with time-bound benching marks leading up to the 2015 MDG deadline.

More than 1000 leaders and experts – including Ministers of Health, public health experts and health workers –will meet in Bangkok, Thailand this week to highlight progress and challenges and agree future urgent action to strengthen the health workforce measures.

Issues include the ethical recruitment of international health workers, increasing the number of workers trained by developed countries and the use of incentives –including better pay, working conditions and career development – to encourage health workers to remain in their own countries and communities.

Is migration I high on agenda, and there is what is called ethical recruitment of international health workers. Do you think the recruitment of health workers can be more ethical when all countries are in need and in the developing countries there’s little investment in retention and good working environment for these workers?

 

 

 

From Isis-WICCE:

 

For centuries, Nepalese women have been discriminated. The inherent patriarchal and feudal structures have been operating through norms, values, and social practices, aimed at controlling and exploiting women’s bodies. In today’s Nepal, Women continue to be marginalized, abused, exploited and subjugated – they are denied dignity and access to basic human rights.

On 21st November 2006, Nepal signed the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) and thus entered the peace process, ending more than a decade long political conflict. All the parties involved committed themselves to uphold the human rights situation in the country. Subsequently, progressive steps have been taken by the government[1]. However, there are worrying indicators that these steps aimed at ending Violence Against Women (VAW) are not sufficient and scanty attention has been given to their enforcement.

Whereas many women joined the movement as female combatants to create spaces where women could operate freely as agents of change, there are indicators that female combatants equally faced various forms of violence and have been denied access to justice by their political party. On the contrary, female ex combatants have been confronted with a big dilemma, and denied the opportunity to join the Nepali army as part of the re-integration process. They have instead been relegated and forced to go back to the confines of the traditional roles of a woman.

 

The increased impunity in the transitional phase in Nepal, has hiked the level of statelessness, politicization of crimes, and amnesty for the perpetrators granted by the political parties. This presents a major challenge to peace, democracy and stability. Women and marginalized groups pay the highest price. Violence Against Women is under reported or unreported due to fear of reprisals, lack of witness protection and victim protection, and lack of reliance in the judiciary system. Despite the present redress mechanisms, crimes against women such as sexual violence are still resolved through mediation or alternative dispute resolution.

 

From the national research conducted by WOREC Nepal and Isis-WICCE (2010) with support of other women’s rights organizations on “Access to Justice for survivors of sexual violence in Nepal, from 2007 – 2010”, sexual violence cuts across all age groups (62.8% minors and 37.2% adults), ethnic groups and professions. From the media sources 241 cases were reported on an annual basis compared to 443 registered cases at the police. It also indicates that whereas, there have been efforts to report this atrocity, majority of survivors are unwilling to speak out due to the strong socio-cultural barriers, fear of retaliation, stigmatization and isolation, poverty and the hostile enforcement mechanisms and legal system. The continued impunity is further exemplified by the fact that even high profile women (e.g. a member of the Constituent Assembly) have fallen victim of sexual violence by security forces and the legal system remains adamant.