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Stay informed with periodic news and announcements from the Public Health Program.

Soros Foundations

The Public Health Program works closely with individual Soros foundations to implement policies and support local organizations. Find out more about Soros foundations.

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About the Public Health Program

Public health problems are intensified in societies where stigma leaves citizens socially excluded. The ability of those affected to voice their concerns and to participate in health advocacy and policymaking helps to counter social marginalization and the abuse of authority.

A citizenry that actively monitors the policies, actions, and budgets of governments also helps bring about responsive solutions to public health issues. OSI’s Public Health Program works to ensure that civil society has the information, skills, and capacity to hold governments accountable.

Today, the global nature of health crises requires greater commitment, action, and funding at national and international levels. Innovative responses—such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria—pave the way for solutions that include the participation of civil society. However, as commitments and resources increase, it is necessary to ensure that they reach and benefit the public. Strong and independent citizens’ groups play an instrumental role in ensuring that government, health care institutions, and health programs are held accountable to the communities they are designed to serve.

The Public Health Program works in more than 60 countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, China, and the Middle East. The program collaborates with Soros foundations or other local partners to develop and fund projects that are responsive and appropriate to local needs.

Engagement with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

The Public Health Program supports efforts to increase the involvement of marginalized populations in country-level Global Fund processes and programs, monitor Global Fund grant implementation at the country level, and strengthen the civil society delegations that sit on the Global Fund's Board of Directors.

Seminar Series

Salzburg Medical Seminars

OSI helps to develop public health leadership and expertise to improve the quality of health care worldwide by sponsoring physician training programs, based in Salzburg.

OSI Seminar Series

The OSI Seminar Series enables civil society, policymakers, funders, government, and business leaders to debate and discuss crucial policy issues and to forge partnerships on emerging public health concerns.

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Projects

The OSI Public Health Program includes the following projects:

Access to Essential Medicines Initiative

The Access to Essential Medicines Initiative focuses on three areas: monitoring and ensuring transparency of the pharmaceutical industry, fostering models of drug innovation that protect public health, and supporting fair and efficient mechanisms to ensure availability of medicines.

Health Budget Monitoring and Advocacy Project

The Health Budget Monitoring and Advocacy Project helps civil society organizations engage in budget monitoring to promote transparency of public funding, increase access to key health information, strengthen participation of marginalized populations in health policy debates, and increase the effectiveness, equity and impact of health expenditures.

Health Media Initiative

The Health Media Initiative's goals include facilitating the ability of the media to raise awareness about marginalized populations and stigmatized issues, and improving the capacity of public health NGOs to utilize media and communicate effectively with the public.

International Harm Reduction Development Program

The International Harm Reduction Development Program works to reduce HIV and other harms related to injecting drug use, and to press for policies that reduce stigmatization of illicit drug users and protect their human rights.

International Palliative Care Initiative

The International Palliative Care Initiative aims to increase public awareness about end-of-life care issues, provide palliative care education to health care professionals, make drugs for pain and symptom management easily available, and integrate palliative care into health care policies.

Law and Health Initiative

The Law and Health Initiative aims to foster collaboration among legal, human rights, medical, and public health practitioners to promote the use of legal remedies as a creative tool to advance public health.

Mental Health Initiative

To ensure that people with mental health problems and intellectual disabilities are able to participate in society with full respect for their human rights, the Mental Health Initiative promotes de-institutionalization and the development of sustainable, community-based services as a matter of policy, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

Public Health Watch

Public Health Watch helps ensure that governments live up to the promises embodied in international public health commitments. Currently, Public Health Watch works to promote civil society participation in the development, implementation, and evaluation of TB and HIV/AIDS policies.

Roma Health Project

The Roma Health Project addresses issues including widespread discrimination and human rights abuses against Roma in health care settings, the high burden of TB and HIV/AIDS, and the dual discrimination faced by Roma women.

Sexual Health and Rights Project

The Sexual Health and Rights Project aims to advance the human rights—including access to quality health care—of people who are marginalized because of their sexual practices, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

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2007 Activities

In its efforts to establish stronger civil society advocacy, OSI’s Public Health Program has stepped up its investment in leadership development and capacity building, and increased core support for national and regional organizations such as the Eurasian Harm Reduction Network; the Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and AIDS; and the African Palliative Care Association. It sponsored a conference in Cape Town in 2007 on critical health and human rights issues, including HIV and AIDS, patient care, harm reduction, palliative care, sexual health, and minority health. Rule of law and public health coordinators from more than 25 Soros foundations attended workshops for collaborative advocacy and grantmaking.

Read more about Public Health Program 2007 activities.

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