PHR Student Program Northeast Regional Hub

PHR members are invited to attend the Boston Initiative to Advance Human Rights’ sex trafficking film forum event at the Brattle Theater in Cambridge, MA, from December 2 through December 5. The festival, which is the first of its kind, will screen 12 films, which will be followed by panel discussions with filmmakers, academics, and activists.

The film forum will explore the power of film in bringing about a movement to combat commercial sexual exploitation and modern-day slavery. PHR recently blogged about this issue.

Additional events include an opening night live performance by Tony award-winning actress and humanitarian Sarah Jones, followed by a cocktail hour with hors d’oeuvres by legendary chef Lydia Shire of Scampo, music performance, and a silent auction. On Saturday there will be a book signing with Siddharth Kara, author of Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery.

Tickets are available for purchase now. Discounted tickets are available for students, seniors, and non-profits.

Learn more, including film titles and times, at BITAHR’s the official website, and at their Facebook page.
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Two years ago, Kamiar Alaei, MD, and Arash Alaei, MD, were arrested in Iran, just as they were preparing to leave for Mexico to present on their innovative harm reduction work at the XVII International AIDS Conference.

On July 18, the world convenes again for the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria — but will be short two shining stars. Arash and Kamiar remain in jail today. The Iranian government accused the brothers of using trips to AIDS and public health conferences around the world to “foment a velvet revolution” and sentenced them to years in prison. We say treating AIDS is not a crime.

Friends and colleagues of the Alaeis will be in Vienna spreading the word about their case and advocating for their release, and PHR will be supporting them all the way.

Will you be in Vienna at the AIDS conference? To volunteer with these efforts, email Clint Trout at clintworldwide [at] yahoo [dot] com.

Want to take action to support the Alaeis? Sign our new petition, calling on the government of Iran to free the Alaeis.

Throughout their careers, the Alaeis have promoted public health diplomacy and supported the quest for shared solutions to the world’s shared disease burden. It is an outrage to call this treason. Medical professionals should not be put in prison for doing their jobs. Take action today and stand in solidarity with the Alaeis.

See the Background page at IranFreeTheDocs.org for more information on their case.

As of today, the global health community has secured seven co-sponsors for the Global HEALTH Act: Reps. John Conyers (MI), Lynn Woolsey (CA), Raul Grijalva (AZ), Keith Ellison (MN), John Garamendi (CA), Fortney Pete Stark (CA) and Diane Watson (CA).

PHR wants to double this number — and double it again. To gain more support for the GHA, PHR is organizing a Global HEALTH Act National Call-in Day on May 12th, International Nurses Day.

So far, more than 15 organizations have pledged to participate. We’d love more. If your organization/school/workplace is interested in taking part, contact us at ghacallinday[at]phrusa[dot]org.

And checkout the Call-in Day toolkit (doc), which contains all the information you’ll need to organize a great call-in day.

GHA National Call-in Day Toolkit (122.5 KiB, 4 hits)

UPDATE, May 11: The Global HEALTH Act has garnered two new co-sponsors: Reps. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL) and Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC).

UPDATE, May 17: Four more co-sponsors have been added: Sam Farr (CA), Maxine Waters (CA), Bobby Rush (IL), and James McGovern (MA).

I just returned from an inspiring ANAC conference (Association of Nurses in AIDS Care). It is always fun, fabulous and totally energizing to be around ANAC members, who are deeply committed to stopping AIDS, supporting people living with AIDS and building an amazing community of caregivers, educators and advocates.

Former PHR Health Action AIDS Campaign Director Pat Daoust was honored with one of ANAC’s most prestigious awards, the Public Serive Award, for her three decades in AIDS care and her amazing advocacy work through Health Action AIDS. Her acceptance speech is below. In it she thanks all of you, the campaign’s supporters, for your deep commitme

nt to stopping AIDS. Read and be inspired!

First of all, thank you very much. I am extremely humbled and honored by this recognition, especially because it comes from this organization — ANAC — my fellow nurses.

When I received word that I would be the recipient of the Public Service Award, the letter noted that this is in large part an acknowledgment of the work accomplished as Director of the Health Action AIDS Campaign while at PHR. While I am extremely proud of the campaigns’ successes, I am the first to emphasize that without our coalition partners and the commitment of our members — particularly the thousands of nurses both here in the US and abroad — we would never been able to reach our goals!

• Wen we called upon you to write or sign on to letters to members of congress calling for the repeal of the HIV travel ban.
• When we asked you to set up in-district meeting with your representatives to help educate them on the importance of women’s rights and the need to integrate FP and reproductive health care with HIV service.
• Whenever we held summits or organized hill meetings to advocate for US investment in health systems and health workers in the developing world.
• Whenever we urged op-eds or LTEs that addressed human rights or the right to health for the most vulnerable including IDUs , MSN or women and children at risk for HIV.

You never let us down. You always rallied above and beyond.

The powerful voice of the nurse truly made a significant impact. The wins for AIDS, human rights and global health could never have happened with out the expertise, the dedication, the passion and the commitment of the largest group of health professional in the world. NURSES!!!

Our size as a profession — comprising close to 80% of all health professionals in the world — gives us power but also holds us responsible, obligates us to be advocates for those who voices are not hear. Our work is not done: appropriations for PEFAR and global health is still an unknown and with 70% of those in need of treatment lacking access and infection rates continuing to grown we have to keep our mission on the front pages and at the top of the USG agenda.

In closing I want to acknowledge and thank Deb von Z for nominating me for this award, the ANAC board for approving the nomination, my mentor Larry Kessler, the founder of the AIDS Action Committee in Mass, who first taught me about advocacy and  the entire HAA team at  PHR  and, last, my biggest supporter,  my husband Paul, who for years has put up with my international travel, my long absences and my obsessive behavior. He has never once complained.

Thank you all once again.

We are now accepting applications for the PHR International Forensic Program’s spring training program in Crime Scene and Evidence Documentation, which will be held from April 26-30, 2010 in Tallahassee, Florida. The course is led each spring by IFP Director Stefan Schmitt, who has been providing forensic expertise to human rights investigations including work in Guatemala, Iraq, Bosnia, Rwanda, Liberia and Afghanistan.

Over five days, students  attend lectures and engage in practical training, including the documentation of mock crime scenes. They  learn the essentials of digital forensic photography, basic sketching techniques and note taking. There is also a section on the photo documentation of evidence of alleged torture and abuse. Those who successfully complete the program will be qualified to document evidence of human rights violations in a manner which will be admissible in court.

There are many small things that make up an effective investigation and I think it’s very easy for the layman to miss out on some of the steps. This course fills in all of those small pieces, which together, makes an effective investigation.
(James Welsh, Amnesty International, UK)

For 22 years, PHR has been at the forefront of using forensic science in the investigation of human rights violations. Many human rights cases hinge on the quality and custody of the first photography, sketches and notes. Each year, the International Forensic Program at PHR offers two courses designed to share knowledge with human rights field workers.

These courses are designed for anyone who might be a first responder to a human rights violation or may need to evaluate the quality of documentation in human rights cases. Past participants have included human rights field investigators, NGO workers, UN officers, ICC investigators, doctors, nurses, journalists and attorneys.

Our fall course, Forensic Laboratory and Medical Examiner Office Operations, will be held in Fort Worth, Texas from October 18-30, 2010. The objective of this course is to develop a working knowledge of available forensic services and reporting, and an understanding of the necessary quality control measures in producing court usable evidence. Alumni of this course will gain an understanding of commonly available forensic laboratory services and the forensic standards required in order to assess the collection, analysis, and reporting of evidence.

More information on the training programs offered by the IFP is available on the courses homepage. In addition to our annual courses, the International Forensic Program can offer customized training programs in forensic services and documentation. Contact Lindsay Welch, Forensic Coordinator, for more information – lwelch [at] phrusa [dot] org.

With an innovative approach and new format to this year’s annual PHR National Conference, you may have a few questions about what to expect and how to attend. Below, we’ve answered some “Frequently Asked Questions” about this year’s conference, Health and Human Rights Education in 2010, being held on February 20 at Boston University School of Medicine (Boston, MA).

Who should attend the conference?
We hope that the majority of our National PHR chapters will attend, with two to three students and a faculty member or dean representing each school. We also welcome applications from medical students who may not have a PHR student chapter but are committed to furthering human rights education in their curriculum. Students are encouraged to apply online. If you are a Dean or faculty member and are interested in attending, email Sarah Kalloch, PHR Director of Outreach, at skalloch[at]phrusa[dot]org.

What will the conference include?
The National Conference will feature world-renowned speakers, panel discussions, strategy plenary sessions, skill development workshops and action planning sessions to address all aspects of integrating health and human rights into the health education field. The jam-packed day will provide information on the critical need to integrate health and human rights into education, strategies for incorporating quality human rights education in curriculum, as well as tangible skills and solutions to help lead your campus on this issue.

How does this conference differ from previous PHR National Student Conferences?
This year’s conference is the first of its kind. It will focus on empowering students and faculty to change the paradigm of medicine to one which embraces human rights through the incorporation of human rights in health professional education. We will bring together a select group of roughly 150 committed students and faculty members who plan to be the frontrunners of the curriculum change movement on their campuses. This select group will gain vital ideas, strategies, skills, and connections to make health and human rights education a reality for their student bodies.

What will I gain from attending?
The conference will provide an excellent opportunity to network and strategize with dedicated students, faculty members and Deans who strive to bring a greater understanding of human rights to their classrooms, and to meet experts in the human rights field who have dedicated their careers to furthering this cause. You will learn from and engage with student leaders around the country who are passionate about health and human rights in their education. You will also gain new insights on the health and human rights approach, tools to create electives at your school, valuable resources and connections, and tangible ideas for getting your campus involved to shape your own education and that of your peers.

How should I prepare to have the best conference experience?
If you are accepted to represent your chapter and/or campus, you will be called on to prepare a preliminary plan for a tangible educational-change project you would like to see on your campus. As the conference approaches, we will also give you a short reading assignment to help you prepare for some of the conference’s key topics.

Whether you are looking to improve a current project or proposing a new initiative for you school, we recommend you draw on our Health and Human Rights Education Toolkit for guidance and resources for your planning process.

Questions? Email us at conference[at]phrusa[dot]org.

Download a printable version of the National Conference FAQs (pdf).

(Cross-posted on the PHR Student Blog.)

Robert S. Lawrence, MD, a founding member of PHR and the Chair of PHR’s Board of Directors, has been awarded the Sedgwick Memorial Medal at the 137th Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association (APHA). The medal, considered the APHA’s most prestigious award, was presented at a ceremony in Philadelphia on November 10, 2009. The Medal recognizes Dr. Lawrence as

an individual who has demonstrated a distinguished record of service to public health while tirelessly working to advance public health knowledge and practice.

Upon learning of the award, PHR’s CEO, Frank Donaghue, said:

Physicians for Human Rights warmly congratulates and applauds our Board Chair, Robert Lawrence, MD, the recipient of one of the highest honors bestowed by the APHA. The 2009 Sedgwick Memorial Medal — a true accolade of the profession — signals colleagues’ recognition of Dr. Lawrence’s exemplary accomplishments in the field of public health. His leadership has helped PHR bring a human rights perspective to vital issues such as fighting global AIDS, strengthening the health workforce, addressing inequities faced by women and children, and promoting accountability and governance in health systems.

The Sedgwick Medal honors Dr. Lawrence’s long and remarkable career in public service. As Professor and Director of the Center for a Livable Future at The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Dr. Lawrence has worked to eliminate racial and income-based disparities in health-care access across the United States. Educated at Harvard College and Harvard Medical School, Dr. Lawrence has taught at top US universities, served as a director of health sciences at the Rockefeller Foundation and has been a principal force for establishment of human rights programs in schools of public health. He is a member of the prestigious Institute of Medicine and is a past recipient of the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Prize.

Dr. Lawrence co-founded PHR, and has participated in human rights investigations with PHR and other organizations in countries including Chile, the former Czechoslovakia, Egypt, El Salvador, Guatemala, Kosovo, the Philippines, and South Korea and South Africa.

For PHR members in Canada, we’d like to extend an invitation to an important meeting in Toronto on the case of three Sri Lankan doctors detained earlier this year:

Human Rights, Politics and the Hippocratic Oath:

Exploring Physicians’ Roles in Conflict Situations

Monday November 2

5:30-9:00 pm

Vivian and David Campbell Conference Facility

Munk Centre for International Studies

University of Toronto’s St. George Campus

1 Devonshire Place, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3K7 Canada

T. Sathiyamoorthy, MD, V. Shanmugarajah, MD and T. Varatharajah, MD were government-employed physicians detained without charge after saving thousands of lives during the war in Sri Lanka in 2009. This panel discussion will focus on the circumstances around their cases, and explore the concepts of medical neutrality and ethical duty to patients during war. Panelists will also touch on the broader themes of press freedom, detention without charge, and human rights violations as they pertain to the doctors’ story.

Speakers Include:

• James Orbinski BSc, MSc, MA, MD
• Sharryn Aiken BA, LLB
• Craig Scott BA, LLM, LLB

Moderators:

• Meera Selvakone BSc, MD, CCFP
• John Argue, Amnesty International Canada

Sponsored by:

• Save the Doctors Campaign
• Amnesty International Canada

Co-sponsored by:

• Centre for South Asian Studies
• Asian Institute

To RSVP, visit http://www.savethedoctors.com/rsvp.html