Activities October-December 1998
Executive Summary
The Center continues to successfully impact international policies and actions through the leverage it is able to apply through its multiple connections within the United Nation system and other international organizations. In this period, examples of the Center's outreach to
international organizations include several collaborative projects underway and planned, jointly with UNAIDS, WHO and several of the UN human rights bodies. Also significant during this period, Daniel Tarantola continued to serve part-time as a Senior Adviser to Dr Gro Brundtland, the Director-General of the World Health Organization. On leave of absence from HSPH as of January 1999, Daniel Tarantola will begin then to act full time in this capacity, although retaining his links to the Center. Sofia Gruskin will act then as interim Director of the Center.
The celebration of the 50th anniversary of the UDHR, with the release of a special issue of the Health and Human Rights journal and the holding of a commemorative event at the HSPH, marked this quarter. The first activity resulted in wide dissemination of this special issue which was very well received by a large number of individuals and institutions. The second gave rise to presentations and debates on the theme of health and human rights within HSPH, and concluded with an award of recognition to Justice Michael Kirby, a distinguished figure in the field of human rights and an unfailing supporter of the Center's work over the years.
During this quarter, several important activities took place which mark the Center's sustained commitment through 1999 to projects it has helped generate. These include a focused effort on the Enhancing Care Initiative in Brazil (jointly implemented with the Harvard AIDS Institute), the Operationalizing Cairo and Beijing global training initiative and the formulation of a mutually agreed-upon workplan between FXBC and UNAIDS. These activities signal a challenging program of work for the Center in 1999!
Following are the activities that marked the fourth quarter of 1998.
Core Activities
Education and Training
Academic Courses
The HSPH Women, Gender and Health course, taught by Sofia Gruskin and Nancy Krieger, began during this period.
Global Initiatives
Conference on HIV/AIDS and Orphans
Daniel Tarantola and Sofia Gruskin attended a meeting on "Developing International Collaborative Ties among Researchers and Practitioners Working with Children and Families Affected by HIV/AIDS," sponsored by The Orphan Project: Families and Children in the HIV Epidemic, held on October 1-4 in Yulee, Florida. The meeting aimed to promote new working relationships among participants; to identify commonalities and differences in the situations of children affected by HIV/AIDS worldwide; to identify gaps in current knowledge and set priorities for research and service; to identify best practices in current programs; and to explore how to promote more effective advocacy for children and families. Center staff presented a well-received method of analyzing the convergence of children's health and rights in the context of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The meeting concluded with agreement as to priority areas for future research in order to facilitate the design of appropriate policies and intervention strategies on behalf of HIV/AIDS affected children.
Committee on the Rights of the Child Theme Day
This discussion day, held at the UN on October 5, focused on the topic "Children Living in a World with HIV/AIDS." Over 100 NGO, IGO, and government delegates came to the meeting. Center staff prepared official background materials and the structure of this theme day in consultation with UNAIDS and members of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. Sofia Gruskin was asked to present the framework for the day and to facilitate the working group on HIV/AIDS prevention and the rights of the child. Specific areas discussed included:
- Identifying and understanding the rights of children living in a world with HIV/AIDS and evaluating their status at a national level;
- Promoting the general principles of the Convention in the context of HIV/AIDS, including nondiscrimination and participation;
- Identifying best practices in the implementation of rights related to the prevention of HIV/AIDS infection and the care for and protection of children infected or affected by the epidemic;
- Contributing to the formulation and promotion of child-oriented policies, strategies, and programs to prevent and combat HIV/AIDS; and
- Promoting the adoption at the national level of approaches inspired by the International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights, jointly issued by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.
The outcome was a set of conclusions and recommendations which will now determine government accountability for HIV/AIDS in the context of the rights of the child.
Operationalizing Cairo and Beijing: A Training Initiative in Gender and Reproductive Health.
The Regional Adaptation Workshop (RAW) was held October 25–November 6 in Geneva. Three to four representatives from each of the training centers of excellence (Kenya, Australia, Argentina, China, and Egypt) attended this workshop. Participants were exposed to all aspects of the three-week course, and preparations were made for adaptation of each of the modules to the needs of each region. Each site will run its course in 1999, and the participants will all come together again in 2000 for an evaluation.
Monitoring the AIDS Pandemic (MAP) Network
The report from the MAP meeting on Eastern Europe, as well as the 1998 global report The Status and Trends of the HIV/AIDS Epidemics in the World, approached finalization during this period. Both reports are expected to be ready in January 1999. Arrangements were made for Karen Stanecki, of the U.S. Bureau of the Census, to take over the interim chair for the first six months of 1999. Daniel Tarantola and Peter Lamptey (FHI) will remain members of the steering committee, and Sofia Gruskin a member of MAP. The secretariat of MAP will remain at the FXB Center until such time as it can be transferred to Heidelberg University, probably around March 1999, in the spirit of rotating secretariat functions.
Cairo + 5 Meeting in Mexico
Sofia Gruskin was invited to attend a global meeting of academics, activists, and government, foundation, and intergovernmental agency representatives called "Confounding the Critics: Cairo, Five Years On." The meeting was organized by HERA and held from November 15 to November 18 in Cocoyoc, Morelos, Mexico. The participants assessed worldwide progress in the area of women’s rights and health since the 1993 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo and produced recommendations for further action.
Dissemination of Information
50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
On December 14, the FXB Center and the Dean’s Office at the HSPH hosted a successful event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the UDHR, featuring panel discussions, a dinner, and the dedication of the conference room to Jonathan Mann. The panel discussion focused on "A Human Rights Perspective on HIV/AIDS and Drug Policies." Speakers included Helene Gayle, Director of the National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention; Stephen Marks, Director of UN Studies at Columbia University; and Thomas Zeltner, Director of the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health. Justice Michael Kirby of Australia, the former UN Special Representative for Human Rights for Cambodia, was the keynote speaker. His talk, entitled "The Right to Health Fifty Years On--Still Skeptical?" will be published in the next issue of Health and Human Rights. Special thanks go to the HSPH Dean’s Office for their assistance and generosity in making the event happen.
Health and Human Rights
The international journal Health and Human Rights published its special issue commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Contributors included: Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the UN; 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. The contribution of Dr. Brundtland to the journal served as the basis for her first presentation on WHO, health, and human rights, which she delivered at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the UDHR in Paris on December 14, 1999.
The journal’s publication schedule has recently been revamped so that each volume will contain one general mixed-contents issue and one special theme issue with solicited contributions. For volume 4, the special issue will be on reproductive rights; for volume 5, it will focus on children’s rights.
Health and Human Rights Reader
Final page proofs for The Health and Human Rights Reader, edited by Jonathan Mann, Sofia Gruskin, George Annas, and Michael Grodin, were reviewed in this period. The book is now expected to appear in February 1999.
AIDS, Health and Human Rights: An Action Kit
This handbook, to be published jointly by the FXB Center and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, is a companion volume to AIDS, Health and Human Rights: An Explanatory Manual. It is designed to complement the Manual by providing practical information and guidance about how to respond to specific situations involving human rights and AIDS, and how to apply methods and strategies explained in the manual. The expected publication date is November 1999.
AIDS in the World II
The Japanese translation of AIDS in the World II, subsidized by the Japanese government, has now been published. Three thousand copies have already been sold.
Monitoring and Evaluating HIV/AIDS Care Programs
With coauthor Eric Van Praag, Daniel Tarantola finalized a chapter on Monitoring and Evaluating HIV/AIDS Care Programs for publication in a textbook produced by Family Health International.
Other Presentations/Guest Lectures
On October 15, Sofia Gruskin gave a guest lecture on reproductive health and reproductive rights for the Harvard Medical School’s course Medicine, Human Rights and the Physician. On October 20, she spoke on health and human rights with a focus on both women and children for the Boston University School of Public Health’s Health and Human Rights class.
Daniel Tarantola gave a plenary talk on November 18 on AIDS at the Millennium at the annual conference "The Converging Worlds of AIDS," organized by the Massachusetts Medical Society and held at the Kennedy Library in Boston. About 500 participants from medical and social science and services disciplines attended. On December 1, he gave a plenary talk on the concept of population and individual vulnerability to HIV/AIDS in Brazil at the celebration of the 15th anniversary of the State of Sao Paulo's AIDS Program. This was followed by a presentation by Prof. Jose Ricardo Ayres on how the concept applies to the Brazilian setting.
Research
Enhancing HIV/AIDS Care Initiative
This project is jointly carried out by the Harvard AIDS Institute, the FXB Center, other entities within Harvard, and counterpart institutions in selected developing countries. It is financed by the Merck Foundation.
In this quarter, terms of reference were developed and membership for the ECI Technical Support Group was built. This panel of experts from around the world will be invited to advise on substantive issues of the project. Daniel Tarantola, who because of his relocation to WHO will temporarily suspend his work as the co-Principal Investigator of the project, will act as the Chair of the Group.
Daniel Tarantola, Sofia Gruskin, and ECI staff from the FXB Center met with Brazilian team members in Sao Paulo from November 30 to December 7. The collaborative workshop, which clarified research goals and protocols for the Brazilian team, was designed to promote collaboration among members of the Brazilian team across diverse professional backgrounds and institutions. In addition, FXB staff participated in the World AIDS Day Conference and the celebration of the 15th anniversary of the Sao Paulo State HIV/AIDS Program and installed the software program KAIRE, trained members in its use, and assessed the technical infrastructure available to the Brazilian team.
WHO Research Agenda in the Area of Reproductive Rights as They Relate to Reproductive Health
This research project, a joint effort of the FXB Center and the Human Reproductive Program at WHO, continues. Its goal is to define a research agenda in the area of reproductive rights and laws as they relate to reproductive health, aiming particularly at measuring the impact of governmental commitments concerning such factors as education and employment and their impact on the status of women’s reproductive health.
Linkages and Partnership
Rockefeller Foundation
Daniel Tarantola participated in a "Think Tank" organized by the Rockefeller Foundation in Bellagio on November 10–13. The discussion revolved around the need for an initiative creating a global watch system linking health and human rights with the aim of increasing governmental and inter-governmental (UN) agency accountability. The urgency of developing such a system is dictated by the global economic recession affecting the capacity of developing countries to sustain and expand their work on health. The meeting strongly endorsed the idea of creating such a scheme and made concrete recommendations on its objectives, processes and expected outcome.
Amnesty International
The FXB Center continues to engage in a number of activities with Amnesty International. Sofia Gruskin continues her involvement as a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors.
Human Rights Day Program
As part of a coalition of groups including Amnesty International and Physicians for Human Rights, the Center helped organize a city-wide event in Boston celebrating Human Rights Day. This year’s program, focusing on economic, social, and cultural rights, was held on December 5 at the Boston Public Library and was well received.
Multimedia
FXB Center Seminar Series
The Seminar Series presented four speakers during this period. On October 5, Paul Farmer, M.D., Ph.D. gave a talk entitled "On Suffering and Structural Violence: New Agendas for Health and Human Rights." On October 8, Felton Earls, M.D. spoke on "Adolescents as Collaborators: In Search of Well-Being." On October 21, Jennifer Leaning, M.D., SMH presented her work on "Disparities and Transgressions: The Domain of Health and Human Rights." Finally, on November 30, Patrick Aeberhard, M.D. gave a talk entitled "From Biafra to the Bronx: Harmonizing Health and Human Rights."
Administration
New Outreach Coordinator
Laura Horton joined the Center as Outreach Coordinator in November. She will serve as Assistant Editor for Health and Human Rights and help to disseminate information about the Center’s activities.
The Library of the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center
In this period, the library moved temporarily from the 6th to the 7th floor of the FXB building.
Office Space Loaned
The Center has temporarily loaned out part of its office space, as well as the old library space, to accommodate renovations elsewhere at the HSPH.