Public Health Program Newsletter
Summer 2009

This issue highlights the work of OSI’s Public Health Program from April to August, with upcoming activities in September. For further information, please contact Paul Silva at psilva@sorosny.org.

---

Table of Contents

---

Advocacy

Rights Not Rescue: Sex Workers' Human Rights in Southern Africa A new report by the Sexual Health and Rights Project documents widespread human rights abuses experienced by female, male, and transgender sex workers in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa.

---

Shining a Light on a Hidden Epidemic: Hepatitis C This report by the Access to Essential Medicines Initiative lays out why and how civil society advocates can support the expansion of hepatitis C treatment in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

---

Roma Advocates Attend European Conference on Health of Young People At the European Commission's "Be Healthy, Be Yourself" conference, the Roma Health Project raised awareness of the alarming health status of Roma communities, and discussed the importance of involving Roma youth in the implementation of health policies.

---

Public Health Watch Builds Momentum for Human Rights in TB Care At the 2009 Stop TB Partners' Forum in Brazil, Public Health Watch led a push to put human rights at the center of TB care. Among its activities, Public Health Watch organized a session on access to care for migrants, drug users, and mineworkers.

---

Doctors and Lawyers Grapple with Issues in Transgender Health At the 2009 conference of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, the Law and Health Initiative and the Sexual Health and Rights Project sponsored two sessions on medical-legal issues affecting transgender people: health care for transgender persons in detention centers, and legal requirements for changing gender identity.

---

Ten Reasons to Oppose the Criminalization of HIV Exposure or Transmission A new booklet co-produced by the Law and Health Initiative presents 10 reasons why policies that criminalize HIV transmission are ineffective and harmful to people living with HIV. It has been endorsed by more than 50 leading human rights and AIDS organizations.

---

OSI Supports Projects to Document Human Rights Abuses Against Sex Workers The Sexual Health and Rights Project and the Law and Health Initiative are supporting projects to document human rights abuses against sex workers in East Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia.

---

Women's Inheritance Now! Network Launched in East and Southern Africa The Public Health Program supported the development and launch of Women's Inheritance Now!, the first-ever regional legal network focused on women's inheritance and property rights in East and Southern Africa.

---

African Civil Society Raises Concerns Over New "Test and Treat" Model for HIV Elimination At an OSI-sponsored meeting, representatives of 30 human rights and AIDS organizations met in Johannesburg to discuss a new HIV prevention model that could potentially lead to coerced testing and human rights violations.

---

SMS Pill Check Survey Finds Medicine Stock-Outs Still Plague Africa As part of the OSI-supported Stop Stock-Outs campaign, research teams used SMS technology to document shortages of 10 essential medicines in Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

---

Kenyan Groups Call for Better Access to Morphine and Essential Medicines Civil society organizations called on the Kenyan government to ensure that morphine and other essential medicines are available in public health facilities throughout the country.

---

Global Fund Adopts Strategy on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity At its May 2009 meeting in Geneva, the board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria adopted a strategy supported by OSI to increase funding for programs that address the needs of sexual minorities, transgender people, and sex workers.

---

Capacity Building

Vietnam Partnership Advocates for Reproductive Rights of People Living with HIV With support from Public Health Watch, the Vietnam Civil Society Partnership Platform on AIDS is training its member organizations to more effectively monitor health services and advocate for the sexual and reproductive rights of people living with HIV.

---

OSI Holds Patient Advocacy Seminar on Palliative Care, Pain, and Cancer The International Palliative Care Initiative and the American Cancer Society held a two-day seminar in Budapest focused on improving palliative care and pain relief policies in Eastern Europe.

---

Salzburg Seminar: Conducting Health and Human Rights Trainings The International Federation of Health and Human Rights Organisations, in cooperation with the Law and Health Initiative, held a five-day seminar for medical professionals on strengthening human rights.

---

University of Bucharest Holds Summer Course on Harm Reduction for Roma With support from the Roma Health Project, the University of Bucharest launched its first summer school on the provision of medical and social services to vulnerable groups, including Roma, sex workers, and people who use drugs.

---

South Africa Universities Hold Human Rights Trainings The universities of KwaZulu-Natal and Pretoria held training workshops focused on intellectual property, access to essential medicines, and human rights. The trainings were supported by the Access to Essential Medicines Initiative and the Law and Health Initiative.

---

Ugandan University Trains Students to Address Legal Challenges Posed by HIV The Law and Health Initiative and the Open Society Initiative for East Africa pioneered a two-week training course for East Africans on the linkages between law, human rights, and HIV/AIDS.

---

Macedonia Groups Begin Advocacy on Access to Immunization for Roma Children With support from OSI, two NGOs in Macedonia—Mesecina and the Association for Emancipation, Solidarity, and Equality of Women—are using innovative budget monitoring and advocacy tools to highlight gaps and obstacles in Roma children's access to immunization. To strengthen their monitoring and advocacy skills, the groups attended a 10-day workshop in July organized by the International Budget Partnership, the Center for Economic Governance and AIDS in Africa, and FUNDAR.

---

News & Announcements

Winner of AIDS and Human Rights Award Discusses Ongoing Challenges for Southern Africa Michaela Clayton, recipient of the 2009 International Award for Action on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights, led a discussion at OSI about victories and ongoing challenges in Southern Africa. Clayton is the director of the AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa.

---

African Commission Adopts Resolution on Access to Health and Needed Medicines The African Commission on Human and People's Rights adopted a resolution stating that access to needed medicines is a fundamental component of the right to health and that countries have an obligation to provide access to these medicines.

---

OSI to Extend Roma Health Scholarship Program OSI's groundbreaking medical scholarship program for Roma students will be available in up to two new countries, in addition to Romania and Bulgaria. The Roma Health Project and the Roma Education Fund Scholarship Program will evaluate medical education systems in Central and Eastern Europe to determine in which countries to introduce the scholarship program.

---

Upcoming Activities

Intellectual Property and Access to Medicines Workshop in Kiev In September 2009, the Access to Essential Medicines Initiative will host a course at Mohlya Academy's Law School in Kiev that will bring together 30 lawyers and activists from Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine to learn about the intersections between access to medicines, intellectual property, and human rights. This one-week course is the first of its kind in the region.

---

Meeting to Address Trade Negotiations and Access to Medicines in Eastern Europe On September 21-22, the Access to Essential Medicines Initiative will co-host a meeting in Kiev with the United Nations Development Programme, bringing together 50 government and NGO representatives from Eastern Europe and Central Asia to discuss accession to the World Trade Organization and how to negotiate trade agreements to ensure continued access to medicines.