PHA-Exchange> PHM marches on: From Dhaka to Geneva to Porto Alegre !

[aviva]

From: "UNNIKRISHNAN  P V (Dr)" <unnikru at yahoo.com>
Subject: The People's Health Movement marches on : From Dhaka to Geneva 
         to Porto Alegre ! (PHM Press Release May 17th) 
URGENT - People's Health Assembly, PHA Secretariat, Gonoshasthaya 
Kendra, Nayarhat, Dhaka - 1344, Bangladesh
Email: gksavar at citechco.net     website: www.phamovement.org

Geneva, 17th May, 2002: . 

The People's Health Movement (PHM) will carry out a series of actions
in the coming year to force national governments and international
bodies to put 'Health for All' at the center of their policies. 

Delegates from around the world attending a PHM caucus here warned that
failure by the World Health Organization to change its current
corporate-friendly health strategies will be met with serious
resistance by grassroots health movements all over the world. The PHM
caucus discussed plans to mobilize large numbers of activists to gather
in Geneva by May 2003 to hold a People's Health Assembly parallel to
the WHO's official World Health Assembly.

Significantly, the PHM has also decided to participate in a big way at
the third World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil in February, 2003.
Such participation will enable the PHM to spread the message of the
People's Charter for Health (adopted at the People's Health Assembly,
Dhaka 2000) to other social forces around the world demanding global
justice and protesting the ill effects of neo-liberal economic
policies.  

It was also decided to intensify the PHM activities at the national
level with work ranging from awareness building to political action
across different sectors of society. National, regional and
international circles of the PHM have initiated social action research
and documentation to clearly expose the bankruptcy of the WHO's current
approach to healthcare.

The PHM demands the inclusion of people's organizations in the WHO's
policy making process. PHM believes that this alone will help to make
their policies more realistic and effective.  

The delegates of the People's Health Movement (PHM) from Asia, Africa,
Americas, Australia  and Europe who are attending a PHM caucus at
Geneva (to coincide with the World Health Assembly -13th -17th May
2002) strongly condemn the state-sponsored massacres of civilians in
the occupied territories of Palestine.

The PHM condemns the violence perpetuated against civilians,
particularly children and women. This should be considered a crime
against humanity. The health community has been targeted systematically
for attack and their humanitarian work obstructed. This constitutes a
grave violation of fundamental humanitarian principles and conventions.
The PHM also condemns the random suicide attacks carried out against
Israeli civilians and other acts of violence. 

In Palestine, health services and the basic infrastructure have been
destroyed and will take years to rebuild. The PHM calls upon the health
community in particular, and the people of the world in general to
speak out against such aggression against civilians and to assist in
initiatives to rebuild the shattered lives of the victims. 

The PHM demands the release of the Palestinian and Israeli peace
activists who are under detention. It extends its solidarity to the
ongoing peace efforts by peace activists in Palestine and Israel.

The delegates of the People's Health Movement also strongly condemn the
state-sponsored massacres of civilians in the western Indian state of
Gujarat. The PHM expresses their concern over the fragile and inhumane
conditions in which the victims of the violence are staying and demands
immediate humanitarian assistance and comprehensive rehabilitation.

Dr. Qasem Choudhury                                      Dr. Ravi
Narayan

Co-ordinator, People's Health Assembly          Convenor, PHA- WHA
circle

For details, call PHA media team : Dr. Unnikrishnan PV / Satya
Sivaraman :                                                       
Mobile: +41 78 876 5437 Geneva Mobile: +91 98450 91319 (India)

Maria Hamlin Zuniga, Nicaragua                                     
Sarah Shannon, USA

Dr. Christiane Fischer, Germany : +49 162 811 6377        
Dr. Zafrullah Choudhury, Bangladesh

Florian Suriel, Germany  : ( fstriel at gmx.de)                   
Ellen Verhuel, Netherlands

Dr. Uday Kumar, India                                                  
Dorothy Logie, UK

Mike Rowson, UK : ++47 7703 214469                           
Prem John, India

Dr. Thelma Narayan, India.                                            
Joel Fernandes, SriLanka

Mwajuma S Masaiganah, Tanzania                                 Dr.
Manoj Kurien, Malaysia

AHM Nouman, Bangladesh

Shirina Parvin, Bangladesh

Pam Zinkin, UK

Dr. K Balasubramaniam, Sri Lanka : +94 1 554353

Dr. Laila Parveen Banu, Bangladesh

Alifia Chakera, Australia: +44 (0) 795 027 3945

Sr. Ani C Wihbey, Brazil

Inez Azevedo, Switzerland. +41 22 700 4920 

Prof. David Sanders, South Africa (dsanders at nwc.ac.za) 

Satya Sivaraman, Thailand.  (satyasagar at yahoo.com)

Dr. Unnikrishnan PV, India : +91 98450 91319   (unnikru at yahoo.com) 

 
PHA Coordinating Group : Asian Community Health Action Network (ACHAN)
*  Consumers International Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (CI
ROAP ) *  Dag Hammarskjold Foundation (DHF) * Gonoshasthaya Kendra (GK)
 * Health Action International (HAI) * International People's Health
Council (IPHC) *  Third World Network (TWN) *  Women's Global Network 
for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR)
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