Browsing by Author "Amin, Mutamad"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Core concepts of human rights and inclusion of vulnerable groups in the disability and rehabilitation policies of Malawi, Namibia, Sudan, and South Africa
    (2012) Mannan, Hasheem; McVeigh, Joanne; Amin, Mutamad; MacLachlam, Malcolm; Swartz, Leslie; Munthali, Alister; Van Rooy, Gert
    In recent decades, there has been a push to incorporate the World Health Organization “Health for All” principles in national, regional, and local health policy documents. However, there is still no methodology guiding the appraisal of such policies with regard to the extent that they address social inclusion. In this article, the authors report on the development of EquiFrame, a novel policy analysis framework that was used to evaluate the disability and rehabilitation policies of Malawi, Namibia, Sudan, and South Africa. The policies were assessed in terms of their commitment to 21 predefined core concepts of human rights and inclusion of 12 vulnerable groups. Substantial variability was identified in the degree to which the core concepts and vulnerable groups were featured in these policy documents. The overall summary rankings for the disability policies of the countries studied were as follows: Namibia–High, Malawi–Low, and Sudan–Low. The rehabilitation policy of South Africa was ranked as Low. The results support the idea that adequate disability and rehabilitation policies remain mostly undefined.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Core concepts of human rights and inclusion of vulnerable groups in the mental health policies of Malawi, Namibia, and Sudan
    (2013) Mannan, Hasheem; ElTayeb, Shahla; MacLachlan, Malcolm; Amin, Mutamad; McVeigh, Joanne; Munthali, Alister; Van Rooy, Gert
    BACKGROUND: One of the most crucial steps towards delivering judicious and comprehensive mental health care is the formulation of a policy and plan that will navigate mental health systems. For policy-makers, the challenges of a high-quality mental health system are considerable: the provision of mental health services to all who need them, in an equitable way, in a mode that promotes human rights and health outcomes. METHOD: EquiFrame, a novel policy analysis framework, was used to evaluate the mental health policies of Malawi, Namibia, and Sudan. The health policies were assessed in terms of their coverage of 21 predefined Core Concepts of human rights (Core Concept Coverage), their stated quality of commitment to said Core Concepts (Core Concept Quality), and their inclusion of 12 Vulnerable Groups (Vulnerable Group Coverage). In relation to these summary indices, each policy was also assigned an Overall Summary Ranking, in terms of it being of High, Moderate, or Low quality. RESULTS: Substantial variability was identified across EquiFrame’s summary indices for the mental health policies of Malawi, Namibia, and Sudan. However, all three mental health policies scored high on Core Concept Coverage. Particularly noteworthy was the Sudanese policy, which scored 86% on Core Concept Coverage, and 92% on Vulnerable Group Coverage. Particular deficits were evident in the Malawian mental health policy, which scored 33% on Vulnerable Group Coverage and 47% on Core Concept Quality, and was assigned an Overall Summary Ranking of Low accordingly. The Overall Summary Ranking for the Namibian Mental Health Policy was High; for the Sudanese Mental Health Policy was Moderate; and for the Malawian Mental Health Policy was Low. CONCLUSIONS: If human rights and equity underpin policy formation, it is more likely that they will be inculcated in health service delivery. EquiFrame may provide a novel and valuable tool for mental health policy analysis in relation to core concepts of human rights and inclusion of vulnerable groups, a key practical step in the successful realization of the Millennium Development Goals.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Core concepts of human rights and inclusion of vulnerable groups in the Namibian policy on Orthopaedic technical services
    (2012) Van Rooy, Gert; Amadhila, Elina; Mannan, Hasheem; McVeigh, Joanne; MacLachlan, Malcolm; Amin, Mutamad
    Purpose: Despite a highly progressive legislation and clear governmental commitment, living conditions among persons with disabilities in Namibia are systematically lower than among persons without disabilities. This implies that persons with disabilities are denied equal opportunities to participate and contribute to society, and consequently are denied their human rights. Methods: EquiFrame, an innovative policy analysis framework, was used to analyse Namibian Policy on Orthopaedic Technical Services. EquiFrame evaluates the degree of stated commitment of an existing health policy to 21 Core Concepts of human rights and to 12 Vulnerable Groups, guided by the ethos of universal, equitable and accessible health services. Results: A number of Core Concepts of human rights and Vulnerable Groups were found to be absent in the Namibian Policy on Orthopaedic Technical Services, and its Overall Summary Ranking was assessed as Moderate. Conclusion and Implications: The Namibian health sector faces significant challenges in addressing inequities with respect to its policy on Orthopaedic Technical Services. If policy content, or policy ‘on the books’, is not inclusive of vulnerable groups and observant of core concepts of human rights, then health practices are also unlikely to do so. This paper illustrates that EquiFrame can provide the strategic guidance for the reform of Namibian Orthopaedic Technical Services policy, leading to universal and equitable access to healthcare.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    EquiFrame: A framework for analysis of the inclusion of human rights and vulnerable groups in health policies
    (2011) Amin, Mutamad; MacLachlan, Malcolm; El Tayeb, Shahla; El Khatim, Amani; Swartz, Leslie; Munthali, Alister; Van Rooy, Gert; McVeigh, Joanne; Eide, Arne H.; Schneider, Marguerite
    Ensuring that health policies uphold core concepts of human rights and are inclusive of vulnerable groups are imperative aspects of providing equity in health care, and of realizing the United Nations’ call for Health for All. We outline the process of extensive consultation undertaken across countries and stakeholders culminating in the development of EquiFrame, in conjunction with its associated definitions of core concepts of human rights and vulnerability. EquiFrame is a systematic policy analysis framework that assesses the degree to which 21 core concepts of human rights and 12 vulnerable groups are mentioned and endorsed in health policy documents. We illustrate the scope of the framework by reporting the results of its application to two health policy documents from (Northern) Sudan: the rather generalist Health Policy of (Northern) Sudan, and the more specific National Drug Policy of (Northern) Sudan. We outline some limitations of the framework and highlight issues for consideration in its interpretation. EquiFrame offers a systematic approach to analyzing and facilitating the inclusion of core concepts of human rights and vulnerability in existing or developing health policies and ultimately to promoting greater equity in health care.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Equity and core concepts of human rights in Namibian health policies
    (2013) Amadhila, Elina; Van Rooy, Gert; McVeigh, Joanne; Mannan, Hasheem; MacLachlan, Malcolm; Amin, Mutamad
    Delivering health services to vulnerable populations is a significant challenge in many countries. Groups vulnerable to social, economic, and environmental challenges may not be considered or may be impacted adversely by the health policies that guide such services.We report on the application of EquiFrame, a novel policy analysis framework, to ten Namibian health policies, representing the top ten health conditions in Namibia identified by the World Health Organization. Health policies were assessed with respect to their commitment to 21 Core Concepts of human rights and their inclusion of 12 Vulnerable Groups. Substantial variation was identified in the extent to which Core Concepts of human rights and Vulnerable Groups are explicitly mentioned and addressed in these health policies. Four health policies received an Overall Summary Ranking of High quality; three policies were scored as having Moderate quality; while three were assessed to be of Low quality. Health service provision that is equitable, universal, and accessible is instigated by policy content of the same. EquiFrame may provide a novel and valuable tool for health policy appraisal, revision, and development.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Inclusion and human rights in health policies: Comparative and bench-marking analysis of 51 policies from Malawi, Sudan, South Africa and Namibia
    (2012) MacLachlan, Malcolm; Amin, Mutamad; Mannan, Hasheem; ElTayeb, Shahla; Bedri, Nafisa; Swartz, Leslie; Munthali, Alister; Van Rooy, Gert; McVeigh, Joanne
    While many health services strive to be equitable, accessible and inclusive, peoples’ right to health often goes unrealized, particularly among vulnerable groups. The extent to which health policies explicitly seek to achieve such goals sets the policy context in which services are delivered and evaluated. An analytical framework was developed – EquiFrame – to evaluate 1) the extent to which 21 Core Concepts of human rights were addressed in policy documents, and 2) coverage of 12 Vulnerable Groups who might benefit from such policies. Using this framework, analysis of 51 policies across Malawi, Namibia, South Africa and Sudan, confirmed the relevance of all Core Concepts and Vulnerable Groups. Further, our analysis highlighted some very strong policies, serious shortcomings in others as well as country-specific patterns. If social inclusion and human rights do not underpin policy formation, it is unlikely they will be inculcated in service delivery. EquiFrame facilitates policy analysis and benchmarking, and provides a means for evaluating policy revision and development.