[afro-nets] Case studies and human-interest stories on Urbanisation

["Bridget Lloyd" <bridget@hst.org.za>]

Case studies and human-interest stories on Urbanisation
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Dear friends

The Global Health Watch provides an alternative assessment of the gross inequalities in health worldwide, "watches" the institutions of global health and development governance, and makes recommendations for new approaches to some of the most intractable health problems in the world today. 

We would like to ensure that people's health issues and indigenous health issues are reflected within the second edition of Global Health Watch, and would like your assistance and input in writing and sourcing human interest stories written in a simple narrative style. Where it is not possible to integrate stories submitted within chapters, we will put them on the web site. We would like both positive and negative stories, successes and failures, etc.

Please forward this request on to others and encourage people to write up their experiences. The Urbanisation chapter framework is below and more chapter frameworks are to follow.

More information on GHW can be found on http://www.ghwatch.org. The full edition of GHW and a shorter advocacy document Global Health Action can be downloaded from the GHW website.

Please submit case studies to ghw@hst.org.za. 

Best wishes

Bridget
mailto:

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Framework for the chapter on Urbanisation and Health

1. Definition, extent and trends in urbanisation:

-          What constitutes 'urban' and what are key-characteristics of the urban setting (with implications for health and health equity) 
-          Current extent of urbanisation, viz percentage of global
population living in urban settings  Trajectory of urbanisation, viz rate of growth of urban population in different regions

2. Nature and context of urbanisation

-          Nature of urbanisation in past 50, and especially past 20 years. Proportion of 'newly-arrived' urban population that is poor 
-          Factors driving urbanisation, e.g. natural increase and migration (viz 'push' and 'pull' factors e.g. landlessness, rural  pauperization, opportunities for employment, better availability of services, conflict, etc) 
-          Similarities and differences between urbanisation in late 20th/21st Century compared to earlier urbanisation during economic expansion of 19th/early 20th Centuries, viz industrialization and expansion of employment vs. de-industrialization and shrinking of formal sector workforce in many LIC's and MIC's

3. Health Aspects of Urbanisation / the urban setting

-          Health Impact (Disease pattern) of squalid urbanisation - combination of 'pre-transitional' causes (nutritional deficiencies and infections), plus 'new' urban infections eg Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever, co-existing with growing epidemic of non-communicable diseases (hypertension, obesity, diabetes) and escalating rates of violent trauma. In SSA HIV/AIDS. Epidemiological polarisation vs transition
-          Environmental and social aspects of above disease pattern, including poor housing and homelessness; poor diets with high content of processed foods; inadequate/inaccessible sanitation, Water, refuse removal, recreational facilities; alcohol and substance abuse; violence and trauma etc.
-          Apart of urban (population) health, also examine "health of the urban setting" e.g. the existence of increasing inequalities within a territorial area has implications for overall (whole city) health (see Wilkinson). Participation in decision-making / exclusion
-          Water is used as an example to illustrate this. E.g. the case of Cochabamba

4. A critical view of approaches to addressing urban health problems

-          'Healthy Cities' Movement - diversity, successes and failures, and reasons for failure 
-          Slum upgrading and current focus of Habitat 
-          Urban PHC and use of CHW's 
-          Policy initiatives e.g. public works programmes 
-          Comprehensive public health plans (Water: an example)

5. Critical analysis of "New and innovative" approaches

-          Examples of participatory urban governance and health action; 
-          Examples of 'partnerships' between government and private sector

6. Concluding comments; moving beyond local approaches (the need to move beyond approaches that are limited to the "urban setting")

--
Bridget Lloyd
mailto:bridget@hst.org.za