Original Research Articles
Human Rights, Social Inclusion and Health Equity in International Donors' Policies
Authors:
Arne Henning Eide ,
SINTEF Technology and Society, Oslo, NO
About Arne Henning
Prof. Arne Eide is Chief Scientist at SINTEF, Norway. He is also Professor in Rehabilitation at Sør-Trøndelag University College, Norway, and Visiting Professor at Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
Prof. Eide’s main research interests lie in the areas of disability and poverty, rehabilitation including CBR, HIV/AIDS and disability, and mental health in developing countries. He has over 20 years of experience in collaborative and emancipatory research and studies on the living conditions of people with disabilities, particularly in Southern Africa.
Mutamad Amin,
Afhad University for Women, SD
About Mutamad
Professor, Director of Research
Malcolm MacLachlan,
Centre for Global Health & School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, IE
About Malcolm
Professor
Hasheem Mannan,
Centre for Global Health & School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, IE
About Hasheem
Senior Research Fellow
Marguerite Schneider
Department of Psychology, Stellenbosch University, ZA
About Marguerite
Research Officer
Abstract
Background: Health policies have the potential to be important instruments in achieving equity in health. A framework – EquiFrame - for assessing the extent to which health policies promote equity was used to perform an equity audit of the health policies of three international aid organizations.
Objective: To assess the extent to which social inclusion and human rights feature in the health policies of DFID (UK), Irish Aid, and NORAD (Norway).
Method: EquiFrame provides a tool for analyzing equity and quality of health policies with regards to social inclusion and human rights. Each health policy was analyzed with regards to the frequency and content of a predefined set of Vulnerable Groups and Core Concepts.
Results: The three policies vary but are all relatively weak with regards to social inclusion and human rights issues as defined in EquiFrame. The needs and rights of vulnerable groups for adequate health services are largely not addressed.
Conclusion: In order to enhance a social inclusion and human rights perspective that will promote equity in health through more equitable health policies, it is suggested that EquiFrame can be used to guide the revision and development of the health policies of international organizations, aid agencies and bilateral donors in the future.
Limitations: Analyses are limited to “policy on the books” and does not measure how effectively vulnerable groups are included in mainstream health policy work.
How to Cite:
Eide, A.H., Amin, M., MacLachlan, M., Mannan, H. and Schneider, M., 2013. Human Rights, Social Inclusion and Health Equity in International Donors' Policies. Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development, 23(4), pp.24–40. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5463/dcid.v23i4.144
Published on
05 Feb 2013.
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