On December 18, tobacco control was the theme of the 2009 Kunming Health and Development Conference, co-convened by the Yunnan Health and Development Research Association, Pioneers for Health, and ThinkTank Research Center for Health Development. “Pioneers for Health” is a health policy non-governmental organization (NGO) founded in China a year ago with help from AHPP faculty affiliate Matthew Kohrman, Associate Professor of Anthropology. Pioneers for Health also received the good news that Tobacco-Free Kids/Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use has renewed it for another two-year grant to cover all operational and health advocacy costs.

Article in Translation (Source:  The Economic Daily 经济日报):

More than sixty specialists and academicians from the fields of medicine, economy and sociology convened in Kunming (YunnanProvince) on December 18 for the 2009 Kunming Health and Development Conference, jointly hosted by the Yunnan Health and Development Research Association, Pioneers for Health, and ThinkTank Research Center for Health Development. The theme of the conference was "Tobacco Control for the Creation of a Healthy Lifestyle".  The conference was divided into three parts. For the first part a short film was shown. Titled "Tobacco: From Global Epidemic to Global Control", the film detailed the history of the global tobacco epidemic and its development up to the current day. It looked at the background and significance of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The specialists and academicians present all agreed that a global consensus has been reached regarding the need for tobacco control. As a signatory of the FCTC and as a large nation, China is now responsible for carrying out a huge task. Tobacco control in Yunnan Province will be especially arduous. The second part -- Tobacco Control in Yunnan; Taking the First Step -- focused on the tobacco control effort in Yunnan Province. Topics for discussion included an analysis of ideas and methods to prevent youth from smoking. In the third part -- The Challenges and Opportunities for Tobacco Control in Yunnan Province; a Multi-disciplinary Perspective -- economists, sociologists and health experts engaged in a discussion of issues regarding tobacco control. During the discussion the participants stressed that tobacco control concerns not only public health, but also community development, the domestic economy, the people's livelihood, and the government's image. The most popular topics in this segment were "Tobacco and the Economy", "Tobacco and Health", and "The Influence of Popular Culture on the Behavior of Smoking". A multi-disciplinary approach was used when delving into the issues surrounding tobacco control.

In December 2009, the Asia Health Policy Program celebrates the first anniversary of the launch of the AHPP working paper series on health and demographic change in the Asia-Pacific. The series showcases research by AHPP’s own affiliated faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and visiting scholars, as well as selected works by other scholars from the region.

To date AHPP has released eleven research papers in the series, by authors from China, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Pakistan, and the US, with more on the way from Japan and Vietnam. Topics range from “The Effect of Informal Caregiving on Labor Market Outcomes in South Korea” and “Comparing Public and Private Hospitals in China,” to “Pandemic Influenza and the Globalization of Public Health.”  The working papers are available at the Asia Health Policy website.

AHPP considers quality research papers from leading research universities and think tanks across the Asia-Pacific region for inclusion in the working paper series. If interested, please contact Karen Eggleston.

Global health disparities were the topic of a special event November 11th co-sponsored by the Asia Health Policy Program of the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center and the Center for Health Policy / Primary Care and Outcomes Research.

Sir Michael Marmot, internationally renowned Principal Investigator of the Whitehall Studies of British civil servants (investigating explanations for the striking inverse social gradient in morbidity and mortality), spoke about research on the social determinants of health and taking action to promote policy change. Pointing out the extreme disparities in life expectancy for peoples in different parts of the world – including the “haves” and “have-nots” within the high-income world – he presented an overview of “Closing the gap in a generation: Health equity through action on the social determinants of health” (http://www.who.int/social_determinants/en/). That report was commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) and released last year; Sir Marmot served as the Chair of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health.

Criticizing those who justify initiatives in global health solely on economic grounds, Sir Marmot argued that addressing the social determinants of health is a matter of social justice.

He presented data and discussed the report’s three primary recommendations: 1. Improve daily living conditions; 2. Tackle the inequitable distribution of power, money, and resources; and 3. Measure and understand the problem and assess the impact of action.
Stating that the World Health Assembly resolution on the social determinants of health was only meaningful as a first “baby step,” Marmot urged the audience to consider how research and policy advocacy can address the social determinants of health so that all individuals can lead flourishing lives.

Examples from Asia include

• the high risk of maternal mortality (1 in 8) in Afghanistan;
• the steep gradient in under-5 mortality in India (with the rate almost three times higher for the poorest quintile than for the wealthiest quintile);
• less than half of women in Bangladesh have a say in decision-making about their own health care;
• a large share of the world’s population living on less than US$2 a day reside in Asia;
• social protection systems like pensions are possible in lower and middle-income countries, with Thailand as an example;
• more can be done to address the millions impoverished by catastrophic health expenditures, such as in southeast Asia; and
• conflict-ridden areas and internally displaced people, such as in Pakistan and Myanmar, are among the most vulnerable.

He also responded to questions about the role of freedom and liberty in social development – contrasting India and China – and commented on the peculiar contours of the US health reform debate.

Professor Marmot closed by noting that, in exhorting everyone to strive for social justice and close the gaps in health inequalities all too apparent in our 21st century world, he hoped he was not too much like Don Quixote, going around “doing good deeds but with people all laughing at him.” 
Professor Sir Michael Marmot MBBS, MPH, PhD, FRCP, FFPHM, FMedSci, is Director of the International Institute for Society and Health and MRC Research Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College, London. In 2000 he was knighted by Her Majesty The Queen for services to Epidemiology and understanding health inequalities.

How do countries in the vast and diverse Asia-Pacific region differ in “prescribing cultures”? How do health systems in the region balance access to pharmaceuticals with incentives for innovation? How do the forces of globalization shape, and in turn are shaped by, cultural legacies about health and health care? These are the key questions addressed by the new Asia Health Policy Program book, Prescribing Cultures and Pharmaceutical Policy in the Asia Pacific.

AHPP held a book launch event September 23rd with three authors of the book detailing how pharmaceutical policies are interlinked globally and at the same time deeply rooted in local culture.