By Nate Osit Nov.8,2011
For one to be a revolutionary doctor or to be a revolutionary at all, there must first be a revolution. Isolated individual endeavour, for all its purity of ideals, is of no use, and the desire to sacrifice an entire lifetime to the noblest of ideals serves no purpose if one works alone, solitarily, in some corner of America, fighting against adverse governments and social conditions which prevent progress.
When we talk about fixing healthcare, it is common to focus on the healthcare system in America. Whether it’s because it is natural to try to solve the problems that are right in front of us, or because the inequalities of the American healthcare system are so great, we tend to think our problems are isolated from the issues facing the rest of the world.
They’re not. To fix the American healthcare system, we have to work together to create a healthcare system that works for all of us. We can’t talk about creating a healthcare system that works for everyone while wars are raging often impacting hospitals, the IMF prevents public health funding, and our drug companies profit from selling expensive drugs while contributing little to prevention efforts. These aren’t characteristics of a country that is ready for a better healthcare system, particularly if it comes at the cost of less wealthy nations.

When we’re ready to take on the problem of creating a better healthcare system for all of us, we face a daunting task. It’s not simply a matter of everyone having access to the necessary medical care and drugs. It is vital that we take into account the social determinants of health, which take include the social aspects of health which are not controlled by an individual. At the recent WHO conference on Social Determinants of Health, a group of public health advocates rejected the proposed statement in favor of a more comprehensive one which addresses the root causes of health inequality. From their response: “Protecting the Right to Health through action on the Social Determinants of Health: A Declaration by Public Interest Civil Society Organisations and Social Movements” (PDF attached):

Finally, it has begun to move. For the last six months, a number of us at IMAXI have been writing blogs and comments about the need for people living with HIV and their allies to be more active in the coming High Level Meeting (HLM) on NCDs (non-communicable diseases) at the UN. In the last ten days, HIV activists have begun to respond to the "Disaster on the Horizon for PLHIV". Better late than never. Concerns about access to essential medicines for cancer for PLHIV and access to palliative care services for PLHIV have now been raised on the HIV list-serves by a number of leading activists. But there are more reasons to be concerned, and the overriding one is the exclusion of patients and the absolute lack of accountability of this UN process. Without patients and their communities involved 'meaningfully', issues such as universal access, human rights, targets, conflicts of interest and national engagements will be avoided by the governments running the show in NY on September 19-20. (...click Read More below)

- The World Health Organization estimates that 8 million people die prematurely in LMICS from NCDs every year
- The World Economic Forum has identified NCDs as the second most severe threat to the global economy in terms of likelihood and potential economic loss
- A recent survey by the Centre for Global Development showed that less than 1% of the US$22 billion spent on health by international aid agencies in LMICs is spent on NCDs.
- The Millennium Development Goals state that health is critical to the economic, political and social development of all countries, yet they contain no goals or targets for NCDs, the largest burden of disease in LMCs
read more:

#hcsm, or Healthcare Communications & Social Media, is a weekly chat on Twitter held every Sunday night at 01h00 UTC/GMT Time. It was established in January 2009 as a way to bring individuals together to discuss health care and communications and social media – including doctors, patients, lawyers, communicators, for-profits, non-profits, hospitals, health systems, insurers, and many, many more.
http://healthsocmed.com/about/

Reading about mHealth on MobileActive.org is healthy for the brain. How can community based organisations start their own project? How can patients develop community health projects from the waiting room up? The case studies on mobileactive has made me think about how patient-driven projects could tack-on, piggy-back on these and other existing projects to advance different initiatives on patient empowerment, peer support, accountability or electing representatives for example. Piggy-backing can get things going. Below is one maybe ready for piggy:
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MOTECH in Ghana has developed two interrelated mobile health services: “Mobile Midwife” application and "Nurses’ Application".

If all men are born free, how is it that all women are born slaves? Mary Astell
Between 1980 and 2010, they estimate, four to 12 million girls were aborted because of their sex.
Millions of girls lost to selective abortion in India: researchers http://bit.ly/lAeNvv

India's 1st Online 'Open' Press Conference
11h30-12h00 IST, 16th May  (08h00 CET -Geneva)
The Million Message March to UN: On the March from India for the #Right2Health

The Institute of Palliative Medicine in Calicut invites you to a 'global' press conference to mark the launch of the Million Message March to the UN, and the 2nd World OPEN Health Assembly (WOHA) being held in tandem with the 64th World Health Assembly in Geneva. Social mobilisation via social media, from the bottom-up, to the top.

To get minds focused on what can be done this year: "Among other, interventions that build the capacity of key sectors and actors to become more proactive on human rights (HR) and on the human right to health (RTH) are: legal audits and law reform; the provision of legal services; ‘know your rights’ campaigns; stigma and discrimination reduction activities; training and sensitization of law enforcement agents, lawyers and judges; and training of health care providers on HIV-related human rights issues. Activities must also, importantly, empower those most marginalized and vulnerable to know and claim their rights, and to demand the social and legal set-ups that enable them to achieve and reach the MDGs and go beyond." (UNDP)
Also, checkout a good (short) pdf on the Human Rights Based Approach to Health from WHO at http://www.who.int/hhr/en Best wishes, Eva
Health and Human Rights: Think, Share & Act in 2011
Submitted by Eva P. on Sat, 08/01/2011 - 08:49

One of our New Year's Resolutions is to pump up advocacy on Palliative Care in 2011, following our first steps at some WHO / OSI meetings in November and at UNAIDS Coordinating Board Meeting in December. This new drive requires us to learn more and share the knowledge with our many comrades in different communities. In most of these places, a good number of our peers and friends suffer great pain, without having access to any palliative care. Towards beginning to address this, below is a brief overview from the WHO that we can all understand, and begin to activate on. The Stop Pain Campaign. Let's do it! Interested? Contact us here or at the World Care Council /Submitted by celina: Sun 09/01/2011

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Palliative Care: What is it?
Palliative care is an approach which improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing life-threatening illness, through the prevention, assessment and treatment of pain and other physical, psychosocial and spiritual problems.
Palliative care:

After over five years of collaboration with the WHO, the World Care Council is pleased to announce its nomination of Dr. Mario Raviglione, Director of Stop TB Department at WHO for the prestigious Patient-Friendly Doctor of the Year Award. Time and again, he has shown a heartfelt commitment to improving care and advancing the rights of people with TB and their communities. The World Care Council, by this nomination, recognizes that Dr. Raviglione is not only well placed at the top of the UN's WHO vertical public health system (unfortunately) to help the 'evolution' of the mindsets of some officials, but he is also one of the top open minds working to open health to all. "Keep going Mario, and lets go farther, faster" is the message from the bottom to the top.
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PS: This is not a real nomination - it would be a conflict of interest for the organizers of the Award to nominate anyone. However, for some real information on the Patient-Friendly Doctor Award 2010 and the process of nomination, please visit http://www.worldcarecouncil.org.