POST 00958E : THINKING THE UNTHINKABLE

POST 00958E : THINKING THE UNTHINKABLE Follow-up on Posts 00917E, 00923E, 00931E, 00937E, 00942E, 00947E and 00951E 29 July 2006 _____________________________________ Peter Poore (mailto:[email protected]) from the United Kingdom comments on Robert Steinglass' contribution and also informs us of a new organization devoted to evaluation and analysis. _____________________________________ Robert Steinglass's call for a more inclusive debate on the use of limited resources for immunisation is as important today as it ever was. It is not enough to base decision making on the evidence from donors, politicians and scientists. Others, including health practitioners and users of health services also have a wealth of knowledge which must be taken account of. Unless all of the evidence is considered, it is likely that flawed decisions have been, and will continue to be made and this can only limit the effectiveness of any intervention. We are addressing the need for a wider evidence base through a new organisation called Evidence for Development (www.evidencefordevelopment.com) This focusses on household economies and considers the importance of understanding how people survive and make decisions about their lives in poor environments. It may be of interest to Technet readers as I believe it has relevance for the provision of health care, including vaccines. Progress towards a fairer distribution of the world's resources is slow and with global climate change threatening to negate many of the successes in disease prevention in the poorer parts of the world, the need for more realistic and sensitive approaches to controlling and preventing common health problems is vital. Peter Poore, Independent Health Advisor formerly Senior Health Advisor, Save the Children UK ______________________________________________________________________________ Visit the TECHNET21 Website at http://www.technet21.org You will find instructions to subscribe, a direct access to archives, links to reference documents and other features. ______________________________________________________________________________ To UNSUBSCRIBE, send a message to : mailto:[email protected] Leave the subject area BLANK In the message body, write unsubscribe TECHNET21E ______________________________________________________________________________ The World Health Organization and UNICEF support TechNet21. The TechNet21 e-Forum is a communication/information tool for generation of ideas on how to improve immunization services. It is moderated by Claude Letarte and is hosted in cooperation with the Centre de coopération internationale en santé et développement, Québec, Canada (http://www.ccisd.org) ______________________________________________________________________________