Call for work and skills development in health policy analysis
--------------------------------------------------------------
Southern African Regional Network on Equity in Health (EQUINET) in
co-operation with Centre for Health Policy, University of Witwaters-
rand, South Africa
Call for expressions of interest for work and skills development in
health policy analysis November 2002
Introduction
Equinet is a network of research and advocacy organizations that have
a specific concern for equity in health issues based within the SADC
region. See http://www.equinetafrica.org
or
mailto:admin@equinetafrica.org
Equinet is in 2003 supporting the development of capacity in health
policy analysis within the region, including undertaking small-scale
studies on policy issues focused around concern for equity in health
and health care.
We are therefore inviting expressions of interest of work from indi-
viduals or organizations based within the region who wish to become
involved in this programme. They should be able to demonstrate previ-
ous experience of health sector analysis or policy analysis and an
enthusiasm for better understanding the forces shaping policy re-
sponses to equity concerns in the health sector.
Objectives of programme
* To promote investigation of health equity-related topics using pol-
icy analysis frameworks;
* To better understand the forces constraining decision-making on eq-
uity issues and shaping the achievement of equity goals in the health
sector;
* To identify levers for equity-oriented advocacy and policy change
within the health sector at national/regional/international levels;
* To build capacity in conducting health policy analyses;
* To strengthen the networks between those involved in this area of
work.
Field of work
Equinet will support analysis of the forces shaping responses to key
health and health system equity problems. These may be micro-level:
e.g. the extent to which different groups have access to anti-
retroviral treatment; or meso-level: e.g. the extent to which anti-
retroviral drugs are available in health clinics outside the capital
city, or the pattern of participation in the application process to
the Global Fund. Of specific interest is analysis of the responses of
groups such as regional bodies, government officials, politicians,
civil society organizations, trade unions, professional bodies, con-
sumer groups, and citizens.
At the same time, we are particularly interested in understanding is-
sues such as:
* the factors shaping the equity impacts of particular policy changes
or explaining the level of achievement of health equity goals within
a country;
* decision-making at various levels (e.g. international to national;
national to sub-national; or national and sub-national separately);
* the levers for equity-oriented change that exist within countries
and the region, and that could provide a basis for advocacy.
Activities
Successful applicants for involvement in this programme of work will
be required to:
* Attend an initial training workshop (in February 2003 in South Af-
rica);
* Develop a protocol for a small-scale study on a topic of the choice
for submission to an Equinet peer review of these protocols (by end
March 2003);
* If successful in the peer review process, implement the study (by
February 2004);
* Present a draft analysis of their study at an Equinet workshop
(March/April 2004);
* Finalise the report of their study (by June 2004).
The total funding level available to each successful study will be
clarified before applicants prepare and submit their proposals.
Submission procedures for expressions of interest
Interested applicants should submit a 1-2 page 'expression of inter-
est' concept note, a personal CV, and a sample document written by
the applicant on any relevant theme.
The concept note should include information on:
* A potential topic of focus;
* The applicant's interest in the topic and in the broad field of
health policy analysis;
* The applicant's key experiences and skills that have relevance to
this work.
Applicants should submit this information by 8th January 2003 to
Ermin Erasmus
mailto:ermine@mail.saimr.wits.ac.za
or at
11-89-9900 (address attention Ermin Erasmus).
Applicants will be informed by 17th January 2003 if they have been
successful. Successful applicants will be invited to attend a train-
ing workshop to be held in Johannesburg between 10th and 19th Febru-
ary 2003 (with full funding from Equinet). Applicants must, there-
fore, be available to attend this workshop. Participants of existing
Equinet programmes are also welcome to apply.
Co-ordination and queries
The programmne of work will be co-ordinated on behalf of Equinet by
Lucy Gilson of the Centre for Health Policy, University of Witwaters-
rand. For any queries about the programme please contact her via Er-
min Erasmus at <ermine@mail.saimr.wits.ac.za>. For general queries on
Equinet please email the co-ordinator at <admin@equinetafrica.org> or
visit the Equinet website:
http://www.equinetafrica.org
--
Firoze Manji
mailto:firoze@fahamu.org
--
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