PHR Student Program Northeast Regional Hub

Category Archive for 'right to health'

Join the PHR National Action and fight for access to essential medicines!

By Hope O'Brien (Thursday, Dec 2, 2010)

A demonstration in Uganda.

This week, students across the US will use the new National Action Toolkit to educate their communities about why patients are denied access to life-sustaining medicines and lead their communities to take action. Join PHR and Chapters across the US in advocating for better access to essential medicines in resource-poor settings through UNITAID’s new Medicine Patent Pool. Our new National Action Toolkit offers analysis, resources to educate your community, and easy advocacy projects. This week of action spans from World AIDS Day (December 1) to International Human Rights Day (December 10). This National Action is dedicated to our friend and colleague, Sujal Parikh, in recognition of his leadership in this area. Let us know about your Chapter’s National Action! Send the National Student Program Coordinator, Hope O’Brien, an update with photos and flyers, and we’ll feature your Chapter on the blog.

(Cross-posted from PHR's Student Blog.)

Posted in: access to meds, advocacy, AIDS, chapters, global health week of action, HIV/AIDS, Official PHR Posts, right to health, Student Blog, Take Action
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Announcing April’s Global Health Week of Action!

By Hope O'Brien (Friday, Mar 5, 2010)

Every year, PHR’s National Student Program works with chapters across the country to organize and lead a Global Health Week of Action (GHWA). The GHWA is an opportunity to educate your campus about global health and encourage your colleagues to act on their new knowledge to make a difference.

Check out the new GHWA Toolkit for more information.

This year we’re encouraging chapters to focus their GHWA on the global health workforce crisis and the 2010 Global HEALTH Act, which will be introduced soon in the House of Representatives. You can raise awareness about the need for more health workers and better health systems in developing countries, and then take steps to address that need.

The first step: set your Global Health Week of Action date. Because April 7, 2010, is World Health Day, April 4-10 is the official week of action date. If you need to move the date because of spring break or campus calendars, go for it – just try to stay within 2-3 weeks of this date.

Please refer to the GHWA Toolkit to find resources for planning a successful week of events! The Toolkit includes an Issue and Action Guide, ideas for great events, suggestions on how to fundraise and publicize, and resources to share with your community.

We hope these resources – along with your creativity, energy, and education and advocacy skills – will help ensure that your GHWA has real impact.

Want more support? That’s what we’re here for. Email Hope O’Brien anytime at hobrien[at]phrusa[dot]org.

(Cross-posted from PHR's Student Blog.)

Posted in: chapters, Events, GHWA, Global HEALTH Act, global health week of action, Health, health and human rights education, hhr ed, Official PHR Posts, right to health, strengthening health systems, Student Blog, toolkit, us congresss, workforce
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Human Resources for Health Index

By (Thursday, Mar 4, 2010)

To promote and protect the Right to Health, a health system must be of good quality, equitable, integrated, responsive, effective, and accessible to all. The capacities of health systems can be measured in many ways. No matter how they are measured, the disparities between countries’ health systems are tremendous, and these differences are a matter of human rights. It’s evident that these disparities have a significant – and at times, astonishing – impact on health outcomes:

Approximate number of Washington, DC residents: 600,000

Population size of Ethiopia: 80.7 million

Ratio of doctors in Washington, DC to doctors in Ethiopia: 2:1

Number of countries the World Health Organization identified as having severe shortages of health workers: 57

Number of times quarterback Jay Cutler spoke the phrase “you know” during a televised interview within five minutes: 57

Vehicles recalled by Toyota in October 2009 for faulty floor mats: 4.3 million

Number of missing health workers in 57 severe shortage nations: 4.3 million

Of the 57 shortage nations, percentage of which are in Africa with severe health worker shortages: 69

Ratio of physicians to total Liberian population (2007): 1:21,000

Ratio of physicians to total U.S. population (2009): 1:386

Percent increase in number of health workers required to address African nation shortages: 140

Temperature in Celsius degrees for the boiling point of aspirin: 140

Additional health workers (doctors, nurses, midwives) required to alleviate severe health workers shortage in South East Asia region: 1.2 million

Minimum number of new health workers the US government has committed to train and help retain in the 2008 PEPFAR legislation: 140,000

Number of applications currently available for Apple’s new iPad: 140,000

Number of health workers in Africa the Japanese government has promised to train by 2013: 100,000

Amount of funding G8 nations have jointly agreed to commit to addressing the health worker shortage: $0

(Cross-posted from PHR's Health Rights Advocate.)

Posted in: africa, DC, doctors, Ethiopia, facts, G8, Global HEALTH Act, Health, Health Rights Advocate, Health Systems, health worker shortage, human resources, index, phrstudents, physicians, right to health, washington, WHO
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National Conference Updates

By Hannah Lauber (Friday, Jan 8, 2010)

Welcome back! We’re excited to confirm several world-renowned speakers who will be presenting at the National Conference on February 20, 2010.

Helen Potts, PhD, Chief Program Officer of Health Programs, Physicians for Human Rights. Dr. Potts will speak about the Right to Health on a panel entitled “Human Rights and Health Education: Dueling Frameworks or Essential Integration?”
Chris Beyrer, MD, MPH, Professor of Epidemiology, International Health and Health, Behavior and Society; Director of Johns Hopkins Fogarty AIDS International Training and Research Program. Dr. Beyrer will co-facilitate a Strategy Session entitled “Human Rights in Graduate Education.”
Vincent Iacopino, MD, PhD, Adjunct Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School; Senior Medical Advisor to Physicians for Human Rights. Dr. Iacopino will co-lead the panel entitled “Human Rights and Health Education: Dueling Frameworks or Essential Integration?” and will speak about the urgency of incorporating a human rights approach in professional medical training.

The deadline to apply to the Conference is January 20, 2010, so start building a team from your chapter, and be sure to reach out to faculty members you would like to invite! Consult our Faculty Guide if you have any questions. We look forward to reading your application!

(Cross-posted from PHR's Student Blog.)

Posted in: 2010 national conference, Chris Beyrer, education, Health, health and human rights education, Helen Potts, hhr ed, HHRE, human rights, national conference, Official PHR Posts, presenters, right to health, Student Blog, vincent iacopino
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