Conference: Africa�s development through Public Health Education
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Pretoria, South Africa
13 � 15 June 2007
Conference invitation and Call for Abstracts
Imagine visiting a clinic somewhere in Africa and not receiving the treatment or medication that you need, because you�re a woman. Imagine being a doctor and not being able to provide treatment or medication to those in need, because the government cannot provide sufficient funding or support. Either way the people on grassroots level are suffering.
Apart from the two mentioned incidents, public health in Africa is more complex than this. Everyone working in some or other kind of public health setting, whether on the governing side or maybe in education or ultimately in service-delivery, all know the challenges of Africa. However, there is no hope for a country to develop if the basic need for health care is not addressed, especially in Africa where tropical diseases and HIV/Aids threatens to cripple communities.
To address some of these issues, a project called Afrihealth, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation (USA), came into being in 2003. The secretariat is the School of Health Systems and Public Health at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Basically the project came into being to map the capacity in Africa. The project has the following objectives:
i) develop a continental approach to improving public health in line with new socio-political realities,
ii) strengthen public health capacity by networking institutions, programmes and individuals, and
iii) promote technology-supported learning and communication.
Ultimately, there should be a body that could make decisions about public health in Africa for Africa. More so, it should lead into concrete actions in health service delivery and expertise. Only Africa has the passion to improve the lives of its people.
The conference, scheduled to take place next year, will track the progress of the Afrihealth project and should aim to determine the next step forward. The conference that will take place from 13 to 15 June 2007 in Centurion, Pretoria, has the following objectives:
- how did we progress in the establishment of a decision-making body for a collective approach to deal with public health issues
- are our networks in place
- do we understand gender equality and its impact on grassroots level
- how should we educate health care workers
- how will we implement technology to assist us in the fight against poor health services
- who should be influenced to change governments� views and regulations
Many individuals have done groundbreaking work on this subject! Knowledge-sharing is important if we want to make a difference. Do you think you can make a contribution? Visit the web site at www.afrihealth2007.co.za to register for this conference. Abstracts can be submitted on-line or can be faxed to 0866 705 441. For any enquiries, please contact us at info@afrihealth2007.co.za. Join now and become part of this debate to address public health in Africa!
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Arina Olivier
Member of the LOC responsible for marketing
Armadillo Communications
Tel +27 -12 - 734 5733
Fax +27 866 705 441
mailto:arina@armadillocomm.co.za
http://www.armadillocomm.co.za