Health impact assessment (HIA) is a relatively new concept within the Thai policy-making arena. From a human security perspective, the HIA has the potential to be a practical tool to empower local communities in protecting their health. One important element of the HIA is the process of public participation. While the HIA mechanism requires public participation at various stages of the process, the risk remains that the effect of public participation on the final HIA-outcome is limited.
Read MoreThe development and aid sector has undergone a general professionalization, which lately has paved the way for a number of quality and accountability mechanisms. These are intended to provide evidence of impact and to demonstrate that NGOs support their intended beneficiaries in a justifiable manner. One of the recent initiatives is the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP). It is a self-regulatory NGO-initiative which has a primary focus on certifying member organisations against benchmarked standards for humanitarian action and has lately come to be known as the loudest champion of beneficiary voices.
Read MoreIn the context of a militarized State such as Burma this research sheds light on the effects that military rule has had on reproductive health in ethnic areas such as Chin State. In 1997 the Burmese State ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and has specific obligations in terms of health care and family planning. However until the present time, health care policies and delivery mechanisms are highly centralized and controlled by the military, which has affected reproductive health, with infant mortality rates that are substantially higher than regional and international levels.
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