4 ZADHR News Monitoring the Right to Health Report on the Monitoring the Right to Health Training Series The Monitoring the Right to Health Program is a new initiative of the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights aimed at increasing accountability for health by monitoring the progressive realisation of the right to health in Zimbabwe. The health rights monitoring program will endeavour to generate evidence-based information that the government can use to determine priority areas to focus on and to provide information to rights holders that will enable them to identify areas in which they can play a role in realising these tights and to hold the government to account. The objectives of this training series were to bring health professionals together to: • develop an understanding of the relationship between health and human rights;  • share experiences in realisation of the right to health in Zimbabwe; and   • discuss their roles in realising the right to health and monitoring its implementation  Health professionals, as frontline witnesses of progress in realisation of the right to health are strategically placed to serve as monitors of the right to health. In recognition of this, the program commenced with a series of training workshops for health professionals on Monitoring the Right to Health in March and April 2009 hosted by ZADHR in Harare, Bulawayo and Mutare. Priority areas for monitoring the right to health were identified in the three cities in which training was conducted and various health professionals made a written commitment to be involved in the monitoring process as part of regional monitoring clusters. Three one and a half day workshops were conducted in Harare at the Holiday Inn between 27 and 28 March (18 participants); in Bulawayo at the Rainbow Hotel between 3 and 4 April (50 participants) and in Mutare at Mutare Holiday Inn between 8 and 9 April 2009 (20 participants). A similar program covering introductions to the right to health and monitoring the right to health, engaging in research and documentation and frameworks and tools for monitoring was used for all three workshops. Speakers were pooled from the ZADHR secretariat, board and members as well as partner organizations including a guest speaker Winnie Ngabiirwe, Program Coordinator of the Action Group on Health, Human Rights, HIV and AIDS (AGHA), Uganda that has been engaged in monitoring the right to health in Uganda. identify priorities for monitoring right to health in Zimbabwe begin to design a monitoring framework Table 1: Priority Areas for Monitoring the Right to Health Harare Bulawayo Mutare Health Financ- Cost of Health Care ing for Users Health Financing Infrastructure Infrastructure Infrastructure TB Program Roll out Equipment, medicines and & Access to HIV drugs supplies Essential drugs and supplies Human Resources Remuneration for health workers Health workforce Health Training – closure of medical school & opportunities career advancement Addressing Social Determinants of health Institutional Management ZADHR is now in the process of developing monitoring tools for the health rights monitoring program in consultation with the regional clusters in Harare, Bulawayo and Mutare and is developing a monitoring and advocacy plan around the priority areas identified by these clusters in Table 1. A training series for areas not covered in March and April is planned for July and August 2009 and it is anticipated that monitoring clusters will subsequently be established in other regions of the country. Information on venues and dates for this training series will be published in the June 2009 issue of ZADHR News. Winnie Ngabiirwe (AGUA, Uganda) making a presentation during the Monitoring the Right to Health Training at Rainbow Hotel in Bulawayo For more information on the Monitoring the Right to Health Program or to get involved please contact Rutendo Bonde at ZADHR on 0913254-295 or (04) 703430 or email zadhr@mweb.co.zw