International Health
Section Newsletter
Spring 2005

GREETINGS FROM THE CHAIR

These last several months since the APHA Annual Meeting have been very active. Much of the work has been led by the Section membership. It is gratifying to see the deep commitment of the leadership and other members who are engaged in Section activities or have asked to become engaged. I would like to share with you three categories of activities: APHA-wide work; advancing resolutions; and leadership.

This past November, APHA Executive Director Georges Benjamin asked the IH Section to coordinate Association-wide on the topic of health and global trade. In January the Section recommended that APHA launch a project to: (a) begin to educate the association membership about issues concerning trade and health; and (b) engage in dialogue the U.S. government and other stakeholders to increase the priority given to public health in trade policy and agreements.

The IH Section recommended that this agenda be pursued by: (1) devoting one of the 2005 Annual Meeting Special Sessions to the topic; (2) encouraging Sections to organize scientific sessions on trade and health within their programs; (3) asking the American Journal of Public Health to devote at least part of an issue to evidence about trade and health; (4) initiating an ongoing dialogue with the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR); (5) considering the establishment of a task force or some mechanism within the Association to support ongoing education of the APHA membership on trade and health issues; and (6) seeking support to engage an expert for a year or two to help APHA become a significant player in public health and trade issues. The Section, under the coordination of Marty Makinen, will continue to support APHA in this area.

The Section has also begun to develop several resolutions, which is a key APHA function. The Section has also followed up on its strategic plan commitment to develop resolutions that advance our international health agenda. The "health systems task force," formed at the November meeting, drafted two resolutions, reaching out to experts in the field as they did so. The first resolution proposes a simple code of ethics for U.S. health care employers with regard to employing physicians, nurses and other health professionals trained abroad. A second resolution on structural adjustment policies calls for international lenders to recognize the importance of increased expenditures for health in poor countries. Discussion has also begun about a resolution on immigrant occupational health issues that might be developed jointly with the Occupational Health and Safety Section. Section member Amy Hagopian partnered with Eric Friedman of Physicians for Human Rights and had further assistance from Rick Rowden at Action Aid USA. Section members Karen Solheim and Mary Anne Mercer also provided assistance with the resolutions, along with several others who provided very helpful comments and critiques.

With respect to the Section leadership, we once again acknowledge the fine efforts of Betsy Bassan (Chemonics), who chairs the Program Committee. While it is too early to report on content, it appears there are exciting topics that will be included in this year’s IH Section organized events for the APHA Annual Meeting. On another note, the Section leadership has begun to have monthly telephone conference calls. They are normally on the last Wednesday of each month. If you are interested in participating in these telephone calls please contact Donna Barry <djbarry@earthlink.net>, who is managing the conference calls for the Section. By participating in the phone calls you can also be called upon to serve in a Section subcommittee. Please do participate. This is a good way to become engaged.

The Section is in the process of redesigning its Web site. It is doing so not as a stand-alone effort but to better convey the global health orientation that APHA takes. The Section’s Web site is being developed to better serve the needs of students and young professionals. We expect that it will more easily direct them to public health tools, international and nongovernmental organizations, and job opportunities. Finally, the Section is working closely with the Association advocating for a policy of one year free APHA membership for new students. Each of these efforts we hope will make the IH Section a natural home for young professionals.

Our Section members travel a great deal. Yet despite the travel schedules, the membership is active in IH affairs. This is the way it should be. I invite all Section members to become engaged in Section matters and to play an active role in shaping the Section. I look forward to working with you all in the coming year. Should you wish to become more involved in the Section, please contact me. We have a number of committees that need to be filled as yet. For example, the chair of the Resolutions Committee should be appointed within a month. Please let me know if you are interested in becoming active in the Section or in representing the IH Section on APHA committees.

In conclusion, let me remind everyone that we will be holding our mid-year meeting – as usual – to coincide with the Global Health Council meeting. The time (in the evening) and the meeting location will be communicated to you closer to the date. I look forward to seeing you all.

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FROM THE EDITOR

The IH Section Newsletter is a place for all Section members to share our thoughts, creative ideas, and any other information that could be of interest and value to Section members, including significant international work experiences. You are invited and encouraged to submit material for inclusion in the next issues of the Newsletter.

I take this opportunity to thank all members who provided material for this issue of the Newsletter and to Ray Martin and Joe Valadez who kindly provided comments to the first versions of this Newsletter, as well as for their help to secure submissions for this issue of the Newsletter.

The IH Section Newsletter is published twice a year. The deadline for the fall issue is July 15 and for the spring issue is April 15. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and should be presented as Font Times Roman 12.

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REFLECTIONS OF A FORMER IH SECTION CHAIR

I sometimes wonder why over 1,500 people pay good money to become members of APHA and join the International Health Section. What are the motivations? Is $160 annually ($50 for students and $65 for retired workers) a good financial investment? Does APHA-IH membership provide new information and networking relationships that lead to more rapid professional career advancement? Is it satisfying socially to belong to a club of one’s professional peers? Can volunteer participation in a professional association, APHA in our case, be an avenue of service to improve the public’s health?

My personal answer to all the above questions is a resounding “Yes.”

My next question, then, is how does one obtain the most benefit out of membership in APHA-IH? This question relates to the challenge of enticing IH members to participate actively in IH Section activities. With a section budget of under $5,000, it is obvious that money, the usual motivating factor according to economists, is not feasible. Maybe the volunteer aspect of participation in Section activities is the primary explanation of why so few IH members benefit from more than the APHA publications and its Annual Meeting.

Of course, most IH members, except those who are job hunting, are so busy in their regular jobs. If or when they get caught up, they will give some time to volunteering for some IH task that interests them. But they never get caught up. International health jobs can be all-consuming. This dilemma is understandable, and I’ll admit to having been a victim of it myself at times.

But I think slavery to one’s in-box represents an unfortunately narrow and short-sighted understanding of how one can best serve the public’s health, and for that matter, further one’s professional career.

Except perhaps for some laboratory bench jobs, being good in public health requires a broad understanding and experience in a lot of areas. Furthermore, knowing how to access the knowledge and experience and insights of many other professionals is key to being effective and doing your own job well. Enlarging your connections beyond the confines of just those working around you can make the difference between a run-of-the-mill international health professional and an outstanding one. Networking is crucial.

Of course, if you get involved actively in one of the IH Section Working Groups, one of the scores of “to do” items in your in-box may have to take a hit. You have to make judgments. I know, however, looking back over my 40 years in international development, that too often, I was so preoccupied by the pressure of the immediate and the short-term imperatives that I missed out on the larger picture and the greater contribution I could have made by enlarging my horizons.

So if you think that I am calling you to break away from the bondage of your in-box and become more involved in IH Section activities, you guessed right.

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IH SECTION MID-YEAR MEETING

You are warmly invited to attend the mid-year meeting of the International Health Section of APHA, traditionally held at the time of the Global Health Council conference. Feel free to invite non-members interested in IH issues.

Time: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 - dinner at 7:00 p.m., program at 8:00 p.m. If you cannot come to the dinner, come for the program.

Venue: Trattoria Italiana restaurant, 2651 Connecticut Ave., NW, in Washington, a five-minute walk from the Omni Shoreham Hotel, the Global Health Council conference site. Tel. (202) 332-2207. It is across Connecticut Avenue from the Woodley Park-Zoo Metro station on the red line.

We will also be discussing the future of the Section, the Global Trade and Public Health initiative, other working groups, resolutions, student participation, and other topics.

For more information, or to send suggestions for the mid-year meeting, contact Section Chair Joe Valadez at (202) 473-7847 or e-mail <jvaladez@worldbank.org>.

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DOES APHA HAVE YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS?

If you are not sure that APHA has your e-mail address on record, send an e-mail to <membership.mail@APHA.org> identifying yourself and asking to be on the list so we can send you information through APHA’s "broadcast e-mail" function. You will also receive information about the IH Section Newsletter via e-mail.

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IH SECTION LEADERSHIP TELEPHONE CONFERENCE CALLS

Since January 2005 the IH Section leadership, which includes all elected positions and active volunteers, have been having monthly conference calls to discuss time-sensitive issues in the Section. A few key points from each call are listed below. To be added to the conference call list, please contact Donna Barry at <djbarry@earthlink.net>.

APHA LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE CALL (1/26/2005)
Update on meeting with Georges C. Benjamin
Joe Valedez, Marty Makinen and Allen Jones recently met with APHA Executive Director Georges C. Benjamin. Among the issues raised were the following:
--IH Section Position paper: Benjamin commented on a position memo prepared by Marty, Allen, Joe and Ray on global trade and public health, objectively outlining the issues involved from the perspective of various stakeholders and the strengths of the International Health section on taking the leadership role the issue within APHA.
--APHA 2005 Special Session on Health and Global Trade: Benjamin expressed the APHA Executive Board’s interest in dedicating a special session to the topic.
--IH Image in APHA: It was agreed that the IH Section would have another meeting with the Executive to discuss the IH image in APHA, particularly as to how to organize other events or activities in which international health issues could have more exposure.
--Section membership and volunteer management: Bryn briefly mentioned the need to get more members involved in the management of volunteers, suggesting that a training activity for Section leaders in volunteer recruitment and management would be useful. No specific action was decided.
--Student coordinator : There is a need to increase information and communication with students on whom to contact and what projects they can get involved in. New means of communication other than broadcast e-mails are needed. The job of student coordinator is potentially very demanding and may require more than one person. Involving more students in the IH Section and the mentoring project are the two priorities for this year in the IH section. Allen informed on student recruitment effort with other organizations (Global Health Council). APHA is looking at ways of getting more student members through a pilot approach joint membership structure (free in APHA for one year for graduate level). The IH Section would like to use this resource to challenge GHC to do the same, in order to bring together the two organizations in this area.

APHA LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE CALL (2/23/2005)
--Josefa solicited articles for the Newsletter.
--Joe raised the issue of working more closely with members from other North, Central and South American public health colleagues.
--Mary Anne Mercer is planning to contact the HIV/AIDS Section regarding a joint presentation/meeting during the meeting this year.
--Amy Hagopian, with some help from other section membership, took the lead in submitting two resolutions to APHA.

APHA LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE CALL (2/23/2005)
--Samir is participating in Inter-sectional Conference Calls. Please submit issues to him for discussion (<sbanoob@aol.com>).
--We need to plan for our mid-year meeting in June very soon, and it will be a major topic during the next call.
--We need to solicit members to staff the IH Section booths at the GHC and APHA meetings in advance.
--We are still recruiting IH Section members to liase with other sections, caucuses and SPIGS.
--Donna Barry, E-mail <djbarry@earthlink.net>.

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WEB SITE FOR WORLD HEALTH DAY 2005

The Pan American Health Organization has set up a special Web site to highlight and disseminate materials for World Health Day 2005, including posters, brochures, and logos. Please visit the Web Site and share the links with colleagues and any one interested in World Health Day activities.

The Web sites are: <http://www.paho.org/English/DD/PIN/whd05.htm> and
<http://www.paho.org/spanish/dd/pin/whd05.htm>.

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FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR PROGRAM FOR FACULTY AND PROFESSIONALS

The Fulbright Scholar Program for Faculty and Professionals is offering research, lecturing, and lecturing-research awards in public health for academic year 2006-2007. Awards are available in Canada, China, Hungary, India, and Ukraine. Public health is also among the requested specializations for awards in the social sciences or sciences, public administration, and mountain studies in other countries, and in the multi-country regional research programs in Africa and the Middle East/South Asia. These awards offer unique opportunities to assist in the development of curricula and new undergraduate and graduate programs, to provide faculty and in-service training, and to engage in collaborative research. Opportunities exist in a broad range of specializations, including health policy, AIDS, addiction, environmental health, health-care systems, and medical sociology. There are also a number of awards in many countries that allow applicants to propose their own projects. The application deadline is Aug. 1, 2005. For general information about application requirements and staff contacts, visit the CIES Web site at <http://www.cies.org>. Application materials can be downloaded from the Web site or requested via e-mail to <apprequest@cies.iie.org>.

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COALITION LAUNCHES THE SECOND CHILD SURVIVAL REVOLUTION