Community health insurance amidst abolition of user fees in Uganda: the view from policy makers and health service managers

BACKGROUND: This paper investigates knowledge of Community Health Insurance (CHI) and the perception of its relevance by key policy makers and health service managers in Uganda. Community Health Insurance schemes currently operate in the private-not-for-profit sector, in settings where church-based facilities function. They operate in a wider policy environment where user fees in the public sector have been abolished. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted during the second half of 2007 with District Health Officers (DHOs) and senior staff of the Ministry of Health (MOH). The qualitative data collected were analyzed using the framework method, facilitated by EZ-Text software. RESULTS: There is poor knowledge and understanding of CHI activities by staff of the MOH headquarters and DHOs. However, a comparison of responses reveals a relatively high level of awareness of CHI principles among DHOs compared to that of MOH staff. All the DHOs in the districts with schemes had a good understanding of CHI principles compared to DHOs in districts without schemes. Out-of-pocket expenditure remains an important feature of health care financing in Uganda despite blanket abolition of user fees in government facilities. CONCLUSION: CHI is perceived as a relevant policy option and potential source of funds for health care. It is also considered a means of raising the quality of health care in both public and private health units. To assess whether it is also feasible to introduce CHI in the public sector, there is an urgent need to investigate the willingness and readiness of stakeholders, in particular high level political authorities, to follow this new path. The current ambiguity and contradictions in the health financing policy of the Uganda MOH need to be addressed and clarified

Toward conservational anthropology: addressing anthropocentric bias in anthropology

Anthropological literature addressing conservation and development often blames 'conservationists' as being neo-imperialist in their attempts to institute limits to commercial activities by imposing their post-materialist eco-ideology. The author argues that this view of conservationists is ironic in light of the fact that the very notion of 'development' is arguably an imposition of the (Western) elites. The anthropocentric bias in anthropology also permeates constructivist ethnographies of human-animal 'interactions,' which tend to emphasize the socio-cultural complexity and interconnectivity rather than the unequal and often extractive nature of this 'interaction.' Anthropocentrism is argued to be counteractive to reconciling conservationists' efforts at environmental protection with the traditional ontologies of the interdependency of human-nature relationship

An exploration into some of the attitudes in the community surrounding the adoptive family.

This is an exploratory study of certain community attitudes as they impinge on adoption. The selected attitudes are, as follows: a) Infertility; b) Authoritarian attitudes; c) Nationality, Race, and Colour; d) Lineage; e) Illegitimacy. A total of 119 respondents, selected from the English and French communities of Montreal have been interviewed. These respondents are selected at random from the upper, middle, am working classes. Questions found suitable in this study will be used later in a similar study which will include samples from other parts of Canada. The findings showed that attitudes of invidiousness towards infertility are related to invidious attitudes towards adoption and that authoritarian attitudes relate to attitudes of invidiousness

Pregó de les festes : Mercè 11

Puyal, Joaquim M. (pregó)Un fragment del pregó és en rusJoaquim M. Puyal fent el pregó de les festes de la Mercè 2011 al Saló de Cent de l'Ajuntament de Barcelona. - Plans: (PG) Entrada dels convidats a l'acte. (PG) Saló de Cent amb els convidats. (PM) L'alcalde Xavier Trias presentant al pregoner d'aquest any. (PM) Joaquim M. Puyal iniciant el pregó. (PM) Representant de Sant Petersburg convidat a l'acte. (PM) Joaquim M. Puyal baixant de la tarima. (PM) L'alcalde Trias agraïnt a Joaquim M. Puyal la seva participació. (PG) Convidats abandonant el Saló de Cen