SHARING REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH KNOWLEDGE
The role of health care information in promoting reproductive health
You are invited to a joint videoconference meeting of the HEALTH
INFORMATION FORUM (HIF, UK) and the HEALTH INFORMATION AND PUBLICATIONS
NETWORK (HIPNET, USA)
Where? Royal College of Physicians, London, UK (and simultaneously
in the USA - see below*)
When? Tuesday 5th October 2004, registration and refreshments
at 2.15pm, meeting starts at 3pm, ends 5pm (UK time)
All are welcome. To reserve your place, please send your name and
organization to: health@inasp.info Places will be allocated on a
first-come, first-served basis.
BACKGROUND
- Worldwide, more than 50 million women suffer from poor reproductive
health and serious pregnancy-related illness and disability. And
every year more than 500,000 women die from complications of pregnancy
and childbirth. Women in Sub-Saharan Africa have a 1-in-16 lifetime
risk of dying from maternal causes, compared with women in Europe,
who have a 1-in-2,000 risk, and in North America, who have a 1-in-3,500
risk of dying.
- 10 million children die each year, of whom more than 20% die
in the perinatal period
- More than 40 million adults and 5 million children are living
with HIV/AIDS. 3 million die each year. [Source 1-3: http://www.developmentgoals.org]
Midwives, nurses, primary health workers, traditional birth attendants,
health promoters and others involved in reproductive health care
are central to reduce mortality and morbidity worldwide. Their efforts
are constrained by many complex factors: lack of drugs and equipment,
transport and health systems infrastructure. But there is one often
neglected factor that disables healthcare providers in low-resource
settings: lack of access to relevant healthcare information and
knowledge. There is little if any evidence that the majority of
healthcare providers, especially those working in primary healthcare,
are any better informed today than they were 10 years ago.
OBJECTIVES
This meeting will provide a forum for discussion of the issues
around access to relevant healthcare information. It will be the
first joint meeting of HIF and HIPNET and will explore ways in which
we might work together to improve access to reproductive health
information. The meeting will also contribute to the Global Review
on Access to Health Information in Developing Countries (see below**)
FORMAT
- one keynote speaker (10 minutes) who will briefly outline the
challenges
- expert panellists
- opportunities for input from participants
PANELLISTS AND SPEAKERS (to be confirmed):
- Dr Roland Mhlanga, Head of Community Obstetrics, Nelson R Mandela
School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South
Africa
- Dr Nono Simelela, Director of Programmes, IPPF, UK
- Beth Robinson, Family Health International, USA
- Peggy D'Adamo, INFO Project, USA
- Metin Gulmezoglu, Reproductive Health Library, WHO, Geneva
See also HIF meeting September 2003 (and HIF-net discussion) on
access to information for nurses and midwives: http://www.inasp.info/health/forum/hif3.html
for a summary and report.
Attendance at this meeting is free of charge thanks to sponsorship
from the BMJ and Exchange (http://www.healthcomms.org),
and the Royal College of Physicians, which has generously provided
facilities. We regret that we cannot provide assistance with travel
and accommodation.
Dr Neil Pakenham-Walsh
Senior Programme Manager,
INASP-Health International Network for the Availability of Scientific
Publications
PO Box 516, Oxford OX1 1WG, UK (Suite B, 58 St Aldates, Oxford OX1
1ST)
Tel: +44 (0)1865 248124
Fax: +44 (0)1865 25106
Email: health@inasp.info
About HIF: http://www.inasp.info/health/forum.html
The Health Information Forum (HIF) is a series of thematic workshops
on key issues relating to access to health information in developing
countries. HIF was originally launched in 1998 to enhance cooperation
and sharing of experience among UK-based organizations. The workshops
are organized by INASP with help from a voluntary HIF Organizing
Group. In 2000, HIF-net at WHO was launched as a joint initiative
with WHO, to provide an e-forum for global discussion and debate
on issues relating to health information, and as a means to keep
informed of new publications and services, and identify new contacts
and potential partners. HIF-net at WHO now engages more than 1500
people from over 130 countries worldwide, working together to improve
access to health information.
About HIPNET: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/ccp/
Health Information and Publications Network (HIPNET) is a mission-driven
partnership that addresses a key public health need for access to
technical health information and innovative information technologies
that strengthen the performance and sustainability of health care
programs, organizations, and services around the world.
*The USA side of this meeting will take place at Advance Africa,
Arlington VA, USA at 10am-12pm local time. If you are in the USA
on 5th October and would like to participate, contact Peggy D'Adamo,
HIPNET: mdadamo@jhuccp.org
**The Global Review on Access to Health Information in Developing
Countries was launched on 12 July 2004 with the technical and in-kind
support of 20 organizations working in health information and knowledge
exchange. Further progress is dependent on funding to cover the
costs of developing-country inputs and overall coordination. For
further details, see http://www.inasp.info/health/globalreview/index.html
'HIF-net at WHO': working together to improve access to reliable
information for healthcare providers in developing and transitional
countries. Send list messages to hif-net@who.int. To join the
list, send an email to health@inasp.info with name, organization,
country, and brief description of professional interests.
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