Publications

Dans plusieurs pays d’Afrique de l’Ouest, les gouvernements ont pris l’engagement politique de lancer ou d’approfondir le processus de décentralisation afin, notamment, d’accroître la démocratie locale, de rapprocher les services publics des populations et de promouvoir le développement local. La décentralisation est un processus complexe et de longue haleine qui va bien au-delà d’un réaménagement du territoire. L’Etat doit assurer un transfert effectif des compétences et des ressources financières et soutenir le renforcement des capacités locales de gouvernance et de gestion. La réussite de la décentralisation dépend d’une part de la volonté politique de redéfinir les relations entre l’Etat central et les collectivités territoriales, d’autre part de l’adhésion de la population. Bien que légales, les nouvelles collectivités, surtout les communes, doivent encore acquérir une légitimité auprès de la population

“There has never been such an overwhelming move to increase access to medicines in such a short period”. In one sentence, a conference speaker had given participants a view of the magnitude of the debate that conference organizers, KIT, Share-Net and Aids Fonds, ignited when they asked: “3 by 5: what are the implications?” The HIV/AIDS pandemic had been put in the right dramatic context without using dramatic effects. But by referring to the history of public health care, the speaker went beyond the limitations of the conference question, suggesting that traditional approaches will be far from sufficient to address the problem of HIV/AIDS.

Tuberculosis is still one of the major public health problems in the world. Countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region have been working hard for several years to promote directly observed treatment, short course (DOTS) and reach the regional target of DOTS ALL OVER. As a result, 18 out of 22 countries in the Region have already achieved DOTS ALL OVER. Somalia and Yemen are in the final stage of achieving this target, whilst Pakistan and Afghanistan, currently at 45% and 35% DOTS coverage respectively, are making progress towards achieving DOTS ALL OVER.

For many years, official development assistance (ODA) to low and middle income countries seemed incompatible with private sector initiatives. ODA had its roots in charity while the private sector was looking for profits. ODA interests were on the side of recipients; the private sector’s interests were on the side of shareholders.

Sustainable chain management maps out the economic, ecological and social effects that occur during the life cycle of a product and focuses on measures that improve the sustainability.

Recognising inter-cultural differences in the way people experience and express emotional problems and the difficulties that consequently may arise in properly diagnosing mental health problems, this study seeks to develop and validate a tool for screening psychiatric disorders in Ethiopian populations. The study was carried out in Ethiopia as well as among Ethiopian Jews in Israel, among groups at different levels of exposure to western medicine. It was a collaborative effort between researchers from Israel, Ethiopia and the Netherlands.

This study encompasses the results of a comprehensive survey among different groups of Zambian adolescents concerning sexual behaviour and attitudes which affect the risk of HIV infection and AIDS. It deals with the factors that influence the youngsters’ knowledge about AIDS, their perceptions with regard to prevention and their engagement in risky sexual activities. The study was carried out by a team of Israeli and Zambian researchers between 1997 and 2002.

This manual is an action-oriented document which will facilitate improved coverage and quality of SRH services. Its main target audience are those individuals, alone or as part of the district health management team (DHMT), who have responsibility for the planning and management of sexual and reproductive health/ primary health care services in the district.

This study was designed to investigate whether leprosy patients diagnosed with mild sensory impairment have a better prognosis when treated with steroids than similarly impaired patients treated with placebo.

Many Ministries of Health are trying to improve the functioning of their health care system by introducing changes in resource allocation, better management and changes in the role of the government, such as more responsibility at lower levels through decentralisation. A prerequisite of a well-functioning system is a well-motivated workforce. The Ministry of Health in Viet Nam gives great importance to the development of a public health network, in order to provide good quality health care services. As most people live in rural areas, an extensive public health network is required in rural areas so as to provide appropriate care close to the people. This implies the need to keep sufficient qualified and motivated human resources in the rural areas.

A ‘disability classification’ for use in leprosy has been advocated by who since 1960. Two revisions of this grading system were subsequently published, a 4-point scale in 1970 and a 3-point scale in 1988.

Over the past several years the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa has been recognized as being more than simply a health issue. HIV/AIDS impacts every sector, including education. In the high HIV-prevalence countries of southern and eastern Africa, the education sector is currently being hit by massive teacher shortages due to death, absenteeism, and attrition as teachers fall ill, care for sick family members, or fill vacancies in other fields. At the same time, the needs of learners are changing as young people must learn at an earlier age how to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS and care for affected family members and friends.

Reactions in leprosy patients causing acute nerve function impairment (NFI) can often be treated successfully with corticosteriods. Treatment with corticosteriods in leprosy control programmes is increasingly being provided under field conditions, often by paramedical workers.

Mainstreaming a gender perspective in development was the overall strategy adopted at the Fourth UN Conference for Women, held in Beijing in 1995, to support the goal of gender equality. The rationale for this strategy is that it is important to bring the goal of gender equality to the centre of the development process. After three decades of gender and development activism, most in development institutions continue to need constant reminders of the need for gender analysis in their work. Why is it that policy makers still have to be lobbied to include the g word, and colleagues need to be convinced that integrating a gender analysis in their work makes a qualitative difference?