Fundamentals of Equity in Health Course

Equity and equality are often used
interchangeably; however, these concepts differ significantly. While
equality implies giving everyone the same things, equity calls on
individuals receiving the resources needed to achieve their best
health. In order for health interventions to be effective and to
avoid duplication of resources, there is a need for healthcare and
public health practitioners and researchers to understand the concept
of equity. This would pave the way for contextualized interventions
that consider the complex web of factors influencing the health of a
community. Consequently, foundational knowledge in equity is needed
to guide implementation and evaluation of equity-based interventions
within communities that have otherwise been disadvantaged and
marginalized.

Introductory note from the CEO

Hello all and welcome to the training and capacity building
portal of the MERQ!

MERQ is a scientific inquiries and capacity building
organization in Africa, which aspires to enhance the practice of knowledge
driven decision making and program implementation in the continent where we
have been operational for 10 years now. Through a rigorous iterative and review
process we have fine-tuned some topics and we believe we are now able to start
sharing the knowledge. The best way we have identified to build capacity is
training using digital platforms.

All our trainings are driven by passion, competence, and
contemporary knowledge. This training entitled “fundamentals of equity in
health” is an online course brought to you by MERQ Consultancy. It is informed
by the lessons we drew from evaluation we did to assess the effectiveness of
programs targeting equity. The main lesson we learnt was the fact that there
are gaps in the conceptualization and practice of equity.

This course therefore presents opportunities for public and
global health practitioners like yourselves to develop knowledge, skills, and
competencies to evaluate and implement equity-centered programs and
interventions.

 This course is presented in 5 sessions and at
the end of the course, you will be able to:

?     
Understand health equity and social determinants of health

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Use data and literature to analyze health disparities 

?     
Recognize programs, interventions, and policies that address
inequities

?     
Describe frameworks to evaluate equity

?      Take equity into consideration when
designing health programs and interventions

The courses will be presented by people who have hands on
experience and knowledge on the concept of equity and its application on
health.

We hope this course expands your knowledge on health equity
concepts and improves your skill to address complex health challenges in the
communities you work with.

Thank you
for choosing to learn and grow with MERQ!

Alula M. Teklu, MD, MPH
CEO, MERQ Consultancy