Global health: Read and reflect

Promising practices in the health domain (Dan Banik)

Related readings:

If you are interested in learning more about success in the health domain, Prof. Banik recommends the following sources:

• Chatterjee (2014) "How India managed to defeat polio", BBC.
• Bhutta, Z. et al. (2008) "What works? Interventions for maternal and child undernutrition and survival", The Lancet 371.
• Green, E. et al. (2006) "Uganda’s HIV Prevention Success: The Role of Sexual Behavior Change and the National Response", AIDS and Behavior 10(4).

Reflection:

Continue the conversation on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. Please use the hashtag #WhatWorksUiO if you wish to respond to or reflect on any of the issues raised in the lectures.

• Health has wide-reaching consequences across a variety of domains. Reflect on Prof. Banik’s talk and consider your own area of expertise — the domain of development with which you are most familiar.

  • How do public health issues affect your domain of development?

  • Conversely, would interventions in your domain have an impact on public health? If so, how?

Global health successes (Gro Harlem Brundtland)

Related readings:

To learn more about some of the successes mentioned by Dr. Brundtland, please find additional resources below:

• Henderson, D. (2012) "A history of eradication - successes, failures, and controversies", The Lancet 379.
• Banik, D. (2019) "Africa is (soon) polio-free", Oslo SDG Initiative blog.
• Roalkvam, S. and McNeill, D. (2016) "What counts as progress? The contradictions of global health initiatives", Forum for Development Studies 43(1).
• Global Preparedness Monitor Team (2019) "A World at Risk: Annual report on global preparedness for health emergencies", WHO

Reflection:

Continue the conversation on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. Please use the hashtag #WhatWorksUiO if you wish to respond to or reflect on any of the issues raised in the lectures.

• Dr. Brundtland discussed several ways in which international cooperation has been crucial in tackling public health issues. Please share your thoughts. Is there anything she spoke about that struck you most? How do you think your country contributes to an atmosphere of international cooperation for the common good? Do you feel more or less hopeful after hearing Dr. Brundtland’s talk?

What works in immunization (Sidsel Roalkvam)

Related readings:

You can learn more about success in immunization in the resources below:

• Reid, M. and Fleck, F. (2014) "The immunization programme that saved millions of lives", World Health Organization Bulletin.
• Hodal, K. (2018) "Wider use of rotavirus vaccine urged after 'potent' success of Malawi trial", The Guardian.
• Roalkvam, S. et al. (eds.) (2013) Protecting the world's children: Immunisation policies and practices, Oxford Scholarship Online (Access requires log-in).

Reflection:

Continue the conversation on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. Please use the hashtag #WhatWorksUiO if you wish to respond to or reflect on any of the issues raised in the lectures.

• Reflect on the lessons that success in immunization offers for other areas of global health. 

Global governance for health (Ole Petter Ottersen)

Related readings:

Prof. Ottersen's lecture is based on a report jointly produced by The Lancet and the University of Oslo. Please find the report and related commentaries below:

• Ottersen, O. et al. (2014) "The political origins of health inequity: Prospects for change", The Lancet 383.
• Horton, R. and Lo, S. (2014) "Protecting health: The global challenge for capitalism", The Lancet 383 (Open access, but requires registration).

• Gopinathan, U. et al. (2014) "The political origins of health inequity: the perspective of the Youth Commission on Global Governance for Health", The Lancet 383 (Open access, but requires registration).

Reflection:

Continue the conversation on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. Please use the hashtag #WhatWorksUiO if you wish to respond to or reflect on any of the issues raised in the lectures.

• Reflect on the role of international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) in addressing global health challenges. Some argue that the WHO is not powerful enough to get countries to follow its advice. Do you agree?

What works in the fight against Ebola and other dangerous diseases (Antoine de Bengy Puyvallée)

For more information related to this lecture, we recommend the following resources:

Related readings:

• Branswell, H. (2020) "'Against all odds': The inside story of how scientists across three continents produced an Ebola vaccine", Statnews.com. 
• de Bengy Puyvallée, A. (2020) "The many faces of the Covid-19 response", The Oslo SDG Initiative Blog.
• Parker, M. et al. (2019) "Ebola and public authority: Saving loved ones in Sierra Leone", Medical Anthropology: Cross-Cultural Studies in Health and Illness,
  38(5). 
• Gillespie, A. et al. (2016) "Social mobilization and community engagement central to the Ebola response in West Africa: Lessons for future public health emergencies", Global health: Science and practice 4(4).
• "Nigeria's seven lessons from polio and Ebola response", World Bank blog (2016).
• Fink, S. and Belluck, B. (2015) "One year later, Ebola outbreak offers lessons for next epidemic", New York Times (Access is free, but requires registration).

Reflection:

Continue the conversation on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. Please use the hashtag #WhatWorksUiO if you wish to respond to or reflect on any of the issues raised in the lectures.

• What are the lessons from the Ebola experience that we can apply to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic? 
• How can we be better prepared for the next global pandemic?

Women's health and human rights (Jashodhara Dasgupta)

Related readings:

If you are interested in learning more about the initiatives mentioned in this lecture, please consult the resources below:

• Dasgupta, J. et al. (2015) "Using technology to claim rights to free maternal health care: Lessons about impacts from the 'My health, my voice' pilot project in India", Health and Human Rights Journal 17(2).
• Schaaf, M. and Dasgupta, J. (2019) "'Our fear is finished', but nothing changes: efforts of marginalized women to foment state accountability for maternal health in a context of low state capacity", BMC Public Health 19. 
• Dasgupta, J. (2011) "Ten years of negotiating rights around maternal health in Uttar Pradesh, India", BMC International Health and Human Rights 11(3).

Global mental health in sustainable development (Ragnhild Dybdahl) 

For readings related to this lecture, Prof. Dybdahl recommends the following resources: 

• Esponda, G. M., Hartman, S., Qureshi, O., Sadler, E., Cohen, A., & Kakuma, R. (2020). "Barriers and facilitators of mental health programmes in primary care in low-income and middle-income countries". The Lancet Psychiatry 7(1), 78-92.

• Marquez, Patricio V.. 2018.Global Mental Health: Some Perspectives on Challenges and Options for Scaling Up Response (English). WBG Global Mental Health Initiative, Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group. 

• Marquez, Patricio V.; Dutta, Sheila; Balafoutis, John; Davey, Brian J.; Malek, Gabby; Shakow, Aaron David Abraham. 2018. Moving the needle : mental health stories from around the world (English). WBG Global Mental Health Initiative. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group. 

• Patel, V., Saxena, S., Lund, C., Thornicroft, G., Baingana, F., Bolton, P., ... & Herrman, H. (2018). The Lancet Commission on global mental health and sustainable development. The Lancet, 392(10157), 1553-1598. 

• Tol, W. A., Augustinavicius, J., Carswell, K., Brown, F. L., Adaku, A., Leku, M. R., ... & Van Ommeren, M. (2018). "Translation, adaptation, and pilot of a guided self-help intervention to reduce psychological distress in South Sudanese refugees in Uganda". Global Mental Health, 5.

• World Health Organization. (2017). Scalable psychological interventions for people in communities affected by adversity: a new area of mental health and psychosocial work at WHO. No. WHO/MSD/MER/17.1.

You can also check out more videos on mental health from the WHO here, and the World Bank here. For a comprehensive summary of mental health programs and research projects around the world, please see the Mental Health Innovation Network's (MHIN) resource page here 

Reflection:

Continue the conversation on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. Please use the hashtag #WhatWorksUiO if you wish to respond to or reflect on any of the issues raised in the lectures.

• In what ways is health, including mental health and wellbeing, linked to other SDGs, for example poverty eradication, nutrition, education, peace, environment, work, and partnerships?

• Using the definition of mental health from the presentation, can you think of ways to promote mental health and wellbeing in the community where you live?

• What is done for children in your country or community to prevent mental health problems?