PHR Student Program South Regional Hub

In Malawi, it’s no surprise that the families of rural farmers and residents of Lilongwe’s slums have such limited access to health care. The country has only one doctor for every 50,000 people. For a range of economic, political, social and historical reasons — including AIDS and brain drain to NGOs, the private sector and wealthier countries — Malawi has only 260 doctors to care for a population of 13 million.

However, Malawi is making progress. In 1992, it opened the College of Medicine at the University of Malawi in Blantyre, and 168 doctors graduated in the first ten years. There was a 137% increase in doctors between 2004 and 2009. Malawi is also training more nurses than ever before.

Despite this success, Malawi still faces significant challenges. It must retain these doctors and nurses while persuading them to work in isolated, underfunded and overcrowded clinics and paying them less than they would make in other English-speaking countries. According to the WHO, 57 countries have critical shortages of doctors, nurses and midwives. How can you help? Support the Global HEALTH Act.

The Global HEALTH Act will guide and fund the development of a stronger workforce in countries like Malawi. Countries will develop plans for their health systems to build up their human resources for health. A stronger workforce means greater access to care, which is essential to realizing health as a human right. You may not have chosen the Global HEALTH Act for your Global Health Week of Action, but you can still sign the petition to ask your Representative to cosponsor the bill.

Want to take it a step further? Ask your Dean to join other prominent health professionals in signing the letter that PHR will send to your Representative — Members of Congress are busy people, but they respond to experts. Present the sign-on letter (pdf) to your Dean or interested faculty member, either directly or via email. You can use this email template (doc) and include this fact sheet (pdf) if you’d like. IMPORTANT: email me at hobrien[at]phrusa[dot]org to let me know when your Dean grants permission to use her or his name.

Your efforts on this important Act can have a big impact both in Congress and to the people of Malawi.

The Global Health Act (House Resolution 4933) has been introduced in Congress by Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA). Now is the best time to garner support from our Representatives. Why not start by scheduling an in-district meeting for your Global Health Week of Action?

Meeting with government officials is easier than you think!

Contacting government officials lets you take an active role in influencing public policy. Meetings with constituents give policymakers the opportunity to learn about issues and make informed policy decisions. As a health professional student, you have a powerful voice to promote and protect human rights.

Things to Consider When Scheduling a Meeting

• Timing: Start calling the office a few weeks ahead of time, because it may take several calls or faxes to schedule an appointment. Ask for the scheduler’s name and the name of the appropriate aide. Find the contact information for your Representatives, then fax or email the meeting request. You can use our sample Meeting Request letter (.doc) as a starting point. It’s likely that you’ll meet with an aide, rather than the congressperson; your meeting will still have an impact on the policymaker.
• Participation: Two to four people is ideal. Include people who are from the legislator’s district or state who have some level of expertise on the issue, and people who are articulate, respectful, and confident.
• Preparation: Know your facts. Read the bill before you meet with your representative! Be able to explain, succinctly, why this issue is important to you. Practice and know who will say what. If you don’t know the answer to a question that arises, don’t worry: tell the staffer you will get back to then—a great way to ensure follow up and continued conversation after the meeting. Use the Global HEALTH Act fact sheet (pdf) to develop your talking points. Know as much as possible about the member’s background in general (especially which committees she or he sits on) and on your issue.

Tips for the Meeting – Remember the 4 Cs!

• Connection: Recognize past support of this issue or others. Chat about personal connections or relevant news. Be polite, respectful, and formal when addressing the member of Congress.
• Context: Give background info on the issue, why it’s so important, your connection to it (perhaps most important), and the Representative’s connection to it.
• Commitment: Do not be afraid to ask for what you want: “Can we count on your support for the 2010 Global Health Act?” If you don’t ask, you don’t know for sure their position.
• Catapult: End on a friendly note. Thank the member or aide. Get the card of the appropriate aide. Discuss the next steps for follow-up.

After you have met with your congressperson please complete the Meeting Report form (.doc) so PHR can follow up and leverage your work. These meetings can make a big difference. Email us at bcastro[at]phrusa[dot]org and set up an appointment today!

We’re about 3 weeks away from the 2010 Global Health Week of Action (GHWA). To help you plan a great week, PHR has posted some resources about the health workforce crisis, including a video spotlight of four Kenyan health workers and details about the Global HEALTH Act, which would provide $2 billion dollars for developing countries in Africa to build their health workforce capacity..

Still not sure what to do for your chapter’s Week of Action? Consider setting up an in-district meeting with your Congressperson’s local office to advocate for the Global HEALTH Act or any other key health and human rights issue your chapter is passionate about. That is what I am doing. In April, I will meet with staff from Congressman Michael Capuano’s office in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to talk about the health workforce crisis in Africa, and to encourage him to co-sponsor the Global HEALTH Act. If you are in Boston, join me for the meeting! Email me at hobrien[at]phrusa[dot]org and we can go together.

No matter where you live, holding a meeting with your Represenative’s office is easy, fun, empowering, and effective. PHR can help. Email Barbara at bcastro[at]phrusa[dot]org and she will help you set up a meeting and provide talking points so you will feel confident going in and have the tools to come away from the meeting with a new Global HEALTH Act co-sponsor.

Want to do something different during GHWA? Check out the GHWA Toolkit for more ideas and resources to help you plan.

We are thrilled to announce that Representative James McGovern (D-MA) will lead the closing National Conference Town-Hall Meeting on February 20^th, 2010.

Representative McGovern is the co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in Congress, as well as the Vice Chairman of the House Rules Committee and co-chair of the House Hunger Caucus.

Drawing on extensive policy experience defending human rights, Representative McGovern will bring his unique insight to the Conference. In Congress, Representative McGovern has championed education initiatives, fought to provide adequate health care for Americans, and has led congressional investigations into human rights abuses.

This conversation will be an opportunity for Conference participants to discuss how to advance a health and human rights agenda through legislative action. We anticipate that this will be an informative and inspiring conclusion to the day.

Don’t miss the opportunity to meet Representative McGovern and other leaders in the health and human rights field. Coordinate with other students at your school to submit an application to attend the National Conference today! The final deadline to apply is January 20^th, but with rolling admissions, there are limited spaces left!

This summer, the House of Representatives took a historic step by removing the ban on federal funding for needle and syringe exchange programs (SEPs).  Now, the Senate must act, but they are not making this policy a priority.

With the delay in voting, we have more time to advocate for an end to the federal ban! President Obama is in a unique position to urge the Senate to make needle exchange a priority as the vote approaches. During his campaign, President Obama promised to end the ban on federal funding for syringe exchange programs. Senators need to hear from President Obama that his Administration supports syringe exchange.

Now is the time to urge President Obama to fulfill his campaign promise to end the ban and urge the Senate to act. Want to help? Organize a Call-in drive on your campus over the next two weeks to ensure Obama hears from the public to take action.

All it takes is:

1. Booked space in a public area on your campus
2. Call-in instructions and script
3. Needle exchange fact sheet

It could make the all the difference in how the Senate votes.

Why support stronger Syringe Exchange Programs? SEPs promote health and human rights. More than a dozen scientific reviews of SEPs have shown that when implemented as part of a comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention strategy, SEPs help reduce HIV transmissions without increasing drug use. Indeed, SEPs do more than provide clean syringes and properly dispose of used ones; they link people into the health care system and drug treatment programs that save lives.

President Obama’s leadership is key to moving this issue forward in the Senate. His support could help save the lives of thousands of people. 20 years is too long—help us end the ban today! Contact me if you want to get your campus involved.