Newsletter April 2024

Decolonising the narrative on queerness(es) in Africa

Discussion: decolonizing the narrative on queerness in Africa

In November 2023, the Make Way programme hosted a panel session at the Shaping Feminist Foreign Policy conference, hosted by the Dutch Ministry of Foreing Affairs. The session, titled 'Make Way for decolonizing the narrative on queerness(es) in Africa', featured a panel of African experts in youth activism, academia, policy and theology who are all part of the LGBTQ+ community. After the conference, the experts came together and discussed the realities, needs and aspirations of LGBTQ+ communities in the Global South. Read more ➔

Assessment of the debate on the Dutch Global Health Strategy

On 4 April, the Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Committee had a debate on the Dutch Global Health Strategy. A day before, the Volkskrant published our opinion article, explaining why it is essential that the Netherlands continues to invest in global health. In the debate, we welcomed the focus on issues such as sexual and reproductive health and rights, and fair access to medical products worldwide. Read our assessment (in Dutch) ➔

Call to next European Parliament: ensure access to medicines

A group of 12 public health organizations from the European Union urges prospective Members of the European Parliament to safeguard access to affordable medicines. Wemos and Health Action International (HAI) jointly took the initiative for this call. They see that access to new medicines is increasingly under pressure in the EU due to sky-high prices. The next European Parliament, elected in June, should promote the necessary measures to ensure fair pricing and access for all. Read more ➔

Commission on the Status of Women: reflections

Our global health advocate, Myria Koutsoumpa, recently attended the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) 68 and NGO CSW68 Forum. It was an action-packed week - filled with joint advocacy work, our own Make Way webinar session about access to healthcare for all (watch it here) and meaningful participation of youth delegates. During the CSW, Make Way called for the need for public financing, global tax justice and intersectionality for health equity. Read Myria's reflections ➔

White paper on how to solve Europe’s health workforce crisis

EU member states should move away from competition for health workers and unite to ensure access to health workers for EU citizens. This is the main message of our white paper, which outlines our recommendations on how the EU can solve its health workforce crisis. Director Mariëlle Bemelmans reiterated our call during the European Public Health Alliance’s launch of their position paper to which we contributed with findings from our projects Pillars of Health and AHEAD. Read our white paper ➔

Lebbink makes medicines for patients, not for profits

For our Dutch campaign for fair medicine prices, we interviewed pharmacist Paul Lebbink. He competes with expensive new medicines from pharmaceutical companies by making his own medicines, which are much cheaper. He explains why the government should intervene in the market to ensure access to affordable medicines for all. Read the interview (in Dutch) ➔

World Health Assembly: health worker recruitment side event

What are obstacles to an effective implementation of the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel? How do the realities of health workers who chose to migrate reflect this? Find out at our 77^th World Health Assembly joint side event on 30 May in Geneva. It is intended for member states and civil society, to discuss how the Code can be improved, to ensure access to health and protection of health workers. Read more ➔

Wemos tips & picks

‘It's a Sin’ is a TV miniseries that follows a group of gay men and their friends during the HIV/AIDS crisis in the UK. The series explores the stigmas and challenges faced by those with HIV/AIDS, particularly within the LGBTQIA+ community, and the difficulties in accessing sexual and reproductive health resources. Its popularity led to its use in public campaigns for HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and promotion of health services such as free testing.