AFRO-NETS> Health Equity Gauges - Call for Letters of Intent

[Antoinette Ntuli <ant@healthlink.org.za>]

Health Equity Gauges - Call for Letters of Intent
-------------------------------------------------

Background

In November 1999 a group of technical experts and practitioners met in 
Chile with the aim of taking forward the research and policy agenda for 
monitoring equity in health. The vision emanating from the Chile meet-
ing is the following:

"By the year 2015 every country should have an integrated system for 
monitoring health inequities that informs, monitors and evaluates 
health and other socio-economic policies. The systems should be respon-
sive to the national or local contexts in terms of priority indicators 
to be monitored and strengthened by access to a common global fund of 
knowledge and technical expertise." 

As a next step, a meeting will be convened with the aim of establishing 
monitoring initiatives (or 'health equity gauges') in a number of coun-
tries. The current South African 'Equity Gauge' in South Africa serves 
as the model for this initiative. The 'Equity Gauge' is a unique part-
nership between legislators, researchers and a non-profit entity who 
work together to monitor equity in health and health care in the new 
post-apartheid democracy (http://hst.org.za). The Health Systems Trust 
(HST), supported by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Kaiser Family 
Foundation, will host this international meeting in South Africa from 
the 17th to 20th August 2000. 

Meeting Objectives

- Exchange ideas and experiences amongst equity monitoring initiatives; 
- Strengthen participants' expertise in monitoring equity; 
- Lay the foundations for country monitoring activities via three work-
  ing groups - technical, advocacy and policy; 
- Identify rationale and logistics for longer-term collaboration be-
  tween the national initiatives.

Call for Letters of intent

This is a call for countries/organisations interested in participating 
in this meeting to submit a letter of intent based upon the following 
criteria:

- a statement of the need for such an initiative; 
- clear demonstration of commitment to redressing inequities; 
- specification of the level of monitoring projects- national, 
  regional or city; 
- articulation of key stakeholders and the nature of their involvement
  (NGOs, policymakers, legislators, researchers, etc); 
- delineation of what is being monitored (health status, health care,
  risk factors, socio-economic determinants of health, etc.); 
- description of how the monitoring will occur (data sources, data col-
  lection, stakeholder involvement, reporting mechanisms, communication
  with policymakers); 
- identification of anticipated support activities that will be re-
  quired by stakeholders to use information effectively to promote eq-
  uity (workshops, site-visits, specifically targeted information) ex-
  pected outcomes (what inequities will be redressed, key policy and
  programmme targets, time frame).

Letters of intent are limited to 2-3 pages and submitted by May 31, 
2000. An international steering committee will review the proposals and 
select those who will participate in the South Africa meeting. However, 
future collaboration amongst all who apply will be encouraged.

For further information please contact:

Antoinette Ntuli
Director, HealthLink
Tel: +27-31-307-2954
Fax: +27-31-304-0775
mailto:ant@healthlink.org.za 
http://hst.org.za

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