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Activities April-June 1998 Executive Summary The two features which mark this period in particular were the completion of the 1997-1998 academic year and the activities surrounding the 12th World AIDS Conference. Much attention in this quarter was focused on preparations for the 12th World AIDS Conference in Geneva and related workshops, meetings and satellite sessions. This included document preparation, logistical complexities, the preparation of presentations and the production of both a newsletter reflecting current Center work with an emphasis on AIDS, and production of both of the special HIV/AIDS issues of the Health and Human Rights Journal. Several different initiatives to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were also begun in this period. This includes production of a special issue of the Journal which is being coedited with our partners in the Health and Human Rights Consortium, letters to medical schools and schools of public health across the country to encourage them to give attention to the Universal Declaration, the creation of an initiative with other members of the Harvard Consortium on Human Rights Studies to encourage student groups from around the University to give attention to the UDHR ,an event at the Boston Public Library cosponsored with many local groups, and initial plans (with the strong support of the DeanÕs office) for a special event to be held at HSPH.
Other activities undertaken by the Center in collaboration with UNAIDS, WHO and other intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations have helped to enhance the capacity of the Center to reach out to new partners around the world while further increasing its international visibility and credibility. The conceptualization of several new projects in conjunction with these organizations have begun in this period. Following are the activities which mark the second quarter of 1998. Core
Activities Academic Courses Courses offered during this period at the Harvard School of Public Health were Child Rights/Child Health (PIH 216d) and How Vulnerable Are We to HIV/AIDS? (PIH 217d). Both courses were given in the form of seminars allowing for in-depth discussions and presentations by students. The vulnerability seminar PIH 217d lead to production of the first draft of training modules designed for use within and outside academic settings. These modules will be used to increase knowledge and skills among people concerned with an expanded response to HIV/AIDS in a health and human rights context. The development of
a syllabus and compilation of course materials for Women, Gender and
Health, a core course for the Interdepartmental Program on Women and
Health, was begun in this period. This new course will be taught as an
interdepartmental program in the "b" period 1998-99. This course
will train students to incorporate a gender and human rights dimension
in public health research, policy and service delivery. Dissemination of Information Health and Human Rights The international journal Health and Human Rights published Part II (Uprooting Vulnerability) of a two-part set with a focus on HIV/AIDS and human rights. Part I (The Roots of Vulnerability) had been published in March 1998. The special two-issue set was made available at the 12th International Conference on HIV/AIDS in Geneva through the display booths of the Association FXB and the Harvard AIDS Institute. The next issue of the journal, which will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, began production in this period. It will feature a compendium of articles highlighting the importance of the UDHR and the rights contained therein as they relate to health. This issue is being co-edited with the other members of the Consortium for Health and Human Rights. Authors who have agreed to contribute to this issue include: Mary Robinson, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ingar Brueggemann, Secretary-General of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, and Gro Brundtland, Director-General of WHO. This issue will be published in time for Human Rights Day on December 10, 1998. Book Chapters/Articles Center staff are contributing chapters to several books in preparation, including: The Right to Privacy: some implications for confidentiality in the context of HIV/AIDS in: "The Jurisprudence of Human Rights Law: A Comparative Interpretive Approach" (Syracuse University Press); Women, Gender and United Nations in: "Fifty Years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights" (Amnesty International and United Nations); Monitoring and Evaluating HIV/AIDS Care in: A Textbook on HIV/AIDS Program Monitoring and Evaluation (Family Health International); and HIV and AIDS in Asia and The Pacific Region: an Epidemiological Overview in: "AIDS in Asia and the Pacific" (Lippincott-Raven Press). An article entitled "HIV 1998: The Global Picture" was prepared during this period to appear in the July 1998 issue of Scientific American. Center staff prepared two articles for the special HIV/AIDS issue of the Health and Human Rights journal. The first, "The Highest Priority: Making Use of UN Conference Documents to Remind Governments of Their Commitments to HIV/AIDS" looks at UN documents in the light of commitments made by governments in regard to HIV/AIDS. The second captures the conceptual development of work occurring at the Center over the last year and is entitled "Children Confronting HIV/AIDS: Charting the Confluence of Rights and Health." Presentations/Guest Lectures In addition to the
presentations already mentioned, Center staff presented their work in
a number of settings within and outside of Harvard. These included several
talks on reproductive rights (Human Rights and Reproductive
Rights, The Fight for Abortion Rights and Reproductive Freedom, 12th
Annual Conference, Hampshire College, Amherst, MA; Reproductive Rights
and Sexual Rights, Sixth Women’s Global Leadership Institute 1998,
Center for Women’s Global Leadership, Rutgers University, New Brunswick,
NJ; Reproductive Rights and Health, The 1998 Harvard International
Women’s Health Conference, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA); HIV/AIDS
(AIDS, Health and Human Rights, HIV, AIDS and Law: Taking Stock,
Moving Forward, Harvard Law School, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA;
Ethical and Human Rights Implications of HIV Surveillance: An International
Perspective, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA; The Global
Aspects of the Response to HIV/AIDS, Princeton University, Princeton,
NJ; Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, The 1998 Harvard International Women’s
Health Conference, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA; and Consultative
Meeting on Research in Social and Behavioral Determinants of HIV/AIDS,
UNAIDS, Montreal, Quebec, Canada). Research Enhancing HIV/AIDS Care Initiative This multicenter 5-year study in 5 countries (Brazil, Senegal, Thailand, and, tentatively, South Africa and Botswana) in partnership with the Harvard AIDS Institute is supported by a grant from the Merck Corporate Foundation. The initiative was officially launched at the 12th International Conference on HIV/AIDS in Geneva with a special session held on the opening day. Over 150 participants attended the session, much of the discussion was focused on the growing gap between the North and the South in their capacity to respond to HIV/AIDS care needs among adults and children. An informal workshop was held in April in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to discuss the goals of the initiative, and in May, investigators received a first proposal from a Brazilian team, with a request for additional consultations from an external committee of experts. Finally, in June, the Brazilian proposal was selected and preparations were begun to assemble the team in the state of Sao Paulo. A similar proposal was awaited from Senegal. In Dakar, Senegal, dialogue with clinicians, researchers, and governmental officials was begun in May. In June, investigators met with key individuals and institutions working on HIV/AIDS clinical care issues during an in-depth fact finding trip. Meanwhile, contacts were made with health authorities, clinicians and researchers in Thailand in order to explore avenues for similar collaboration. Assessing National and International Financing of AIDS Programs This comprehensive report on funds allocation for AIDS prevention and care/treatment campaigns in 73 countries was submitted to the Program Committee Board of UNAIDS in May. This concluded the first phase of the assessment of financial resources allocated to HIV/AIDS in developing countries. The second phase will include the collection of data for fiscal year 1997 and the design of a sustainable monitoring system. Linkages and Partnerships UNAIDS The FXB Center became a UNAIDS Collaborating Center in this period. The scope of the Center’s collaboration with UNAIDS will, through this mechanism, encompass HIV/AIDS-related policies and programs. World AIDS Campaign/UNAIDS The FXB Center was invited to act as the special advisor for the 1998 World AIDS Campaign which focuses on youth. FXB staff reviewed and commented on relevant campaign documents and met with representatives of the global youth corps attending the 12 International Conference on HIV/AIDS. WHO The FXB Center continues
to consult with several programs at the World Health Organization on reproductive
health, indicators, gender and development, and HIV/AIDS care.
Multimedia FXB Center Seminar Series Three seminars were
offered for students, staff and faculty at HSPH in this period. Dr. Felton
Earls spoke about "Child Rights and the Chicago Project," and
Dr. Howard Hu explored "The Nexus of Health, Human Rights, and Research:
The Example of Lead Toxicity." Dr. Paul Wise concluded the academic
year with a talk entitled "Do Child Rights Undermine Child Health?"
Global
Initiatives The Health and Human Rights Consortium, of which the FXB Center is a founding member, continues to meet monthly. In addition to a number of activities connected with the 50th anniversary of the UDHR, the Consortium has created a web site, and produced and printed a statement on the 50th anniversary of the UDHR which was sent to schools of medicine and public health in the U.S. Responses and interest from schools and groups have been very positive and are leading to a number of independent events celebrating the 50th Anniversary widely across the country. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) will be publishing an expanded version of the statement entitled "Health and Human Rights - A Call to Action on the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights" in its August 5th issue. Operationalizing Cairo and Beijing: A Training Initiative in Gender and Reproductive Health This multifaceted project, to be completed by the year 2000, was created in partnership with the World Health Organization and the Women’s Health Project, Witwatersrand University, South Africa. A one-week Coordinating Meeting with WHO was held in Geneva in June towards preparation of a regional adaptation workshop to be held in November, the second pilot course in South Africa, and the preparation of materials and training modules for global expansion of the initiative. Monitoring the AIDS Pandemic (MAP) Network Data collection and analysis continued for the regional report on the Status and Trends of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Eastern Europe and in the rest of the world during this period. Two meetings/symposia were held at the Merieux Foundation near Annecy, France, just prior to the opening of the 12th International Conference on HIV/AIDS to produce reports on these findings. The report on the Status and Trends in HIV/AIDS Epidemics in the World was released on the eve of the opening of the Conference. Over 4,000 copies were distributed to conference participants and the report was also made available on-line. The report on the determinants of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Eastern Europe is in press. 12th International Conference on HIV/AIDS, Geneva, Switzerland
In addition, Center
staff gave several live interviews and took part in a worldwide live TV
show on AIDS in the world, produced by the Swiss television. The Library of the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center During this period the library was officially open to students and faculty for research and use of materials. The library is staffed at regular hours by students who are able to assist with searches, cataloguing and stacking. The Library will closed for the summer and re-open in September. FXB Essay Award The 1998 Award was presented to Carolynne Shinn, SM2 in the department of Health and Social Behavior, for her paper entitled "The Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health: Public Health’s Opportunity to Reframe a Human Rights Debate in the U.S." This paper had been offered as a final paper in the health and human rights class and is now being considered for publication by several journals. |