The Struggle for Health

a short on line training course for young health activists

From 28 June to 13 October 2013

Announcements

Final webinar program now posted. URLs for recorded webinars will be posted here. 

Study Guide here (please ignore previously distributed URLs and access the Study Guide from here)

Evaluation form for participants' feed back here

Evaluation form for facilitators' feed back here

Objectives

The IPHU short courses are to enable younger health activists to make new connections, share experiences and study together. They aim at strengthening the growing activism of the People’s Health Movement (PHM).

Who is the course planned for?

• Young health activists and practitioners working on the issues of health, gender and human rights and particularly including those involved or wish to be involved in the People’s Health Movement (PHM).
• This course will be conducted in English.
• Participants will be allocated into small groups (around 6 participants for each group) based on time zones. Each group will be accompanied by two facilitators. 
• The enrolment and allocation policy aims to achieve, within each group:
  • geographical mix 
  • gender balance
  • diversity of involvements: community based organizations, health care agencies, NGOs, universities, government officials, etc; and
  • diversity of skills, records of activism, interests, experience, and educational backgrounds.

Curriculum (Study Guide here)

The curriculum includes eight topics:

1. Activism and the struggle for health

2. Social determinants, physical environments and health

3. Health services and health systems

4. Political economy of health

5. Working across difference

6. Global health governance

7. The Right to Health

8. About PHM

Approach to learning

• Start with the struggle for health
• Teach and learn in partnership
• Knowledge is imbued with purpose
• New ideas must be used
• Activism is an ethical commitment
• Learn new ways of being (as well as new facts and theories)
• Refresh, enquire, research
• Nurture leadership: judgment which inspires confidence; integrity which creates trust and the courage to take risks
• Learn to listen to learn; learn to teach; teach to learn
• Steer our own learning; grow the skills and habits of life long learning
• Build our community of activists
• Stay with the struggle for health

 Teaching methods

Each topic is to be taught over two weeks and the teaching methods for each topic would include: 

• web-accessed readings (could be despatched by email if you have limited connectivity); 
• one interactive webinar (in which a resource person would introduce the topic; will be available afterwards as video on YT); more detail on webinar program here; 
• one assignment (individual submissions from participants to be shared with other members of the group); 
• e-mail discussion within each small group lead by facilitators; and
• one Skype conference (for each group of participants led by the group's facilitator/s).

Faculty

Faculty members will be a mix between high-profile academic personnel and health activists of a sound experience; in addition to a number of PHM resource persons, from the region as well as PHM-Global.

LanguageThe course will be taught in English.

Contacts

• For inquiries please contact the IPOL Organizing Team at: iphu@phmovement.org    

Follow up and further learning opportunities

• The PHM’s IPHU organizes periodic face-to-face short courses; including general courses on same topics as this IPOL and also advanced specialized courses on the political economy of health, health systems, social determinants of health and health governance.
• Successful completion of the IPOL is one of the major criteria for the enrolment in these courses. Participants’ engagement during the IPOL is one of the qualifying factors for scholarships to participate in face-to-face courses.
• See the list of scheduled courses; if you are planning on applying for one of these courses please be aware that participating in the IPOL program would provide a good foundation for your participation in that course.

The People’s Health Movement (PHM) is global movement, which has its roots deep in the grassroots people's movements and owes its genesis to many health networks and activists who have been concerned by the growing inequities in health over the last 25 years. The PHM calls for a revitalisation of the principles of the Alma-Ata Declaration, which promised Health for All by the year 2000 and complete revision of international and domestic policy that has shown to impact negatively on health status and systems. The People's Health Movement is coordinated by a global secretariat and is supported by a steering council.

Contact: globalsecretariat@phmovement.org Web: www.phmovement.org 

The International People’s Health University (IPHU) is one of the major programs of the People’s Health Movement (PHM). IPHU is a global university providing short courses and other resources for health activists. Courses are of a high academic standard and can be appropriately documented to apply for academic credit from established universities. IPHU short courses enable younger health activists to make new connections, share experiences and study together.  IPHU short courses strengthen the global network of people’s health activists.