PHA-Exchange> PHM moves to save WHO from industry- PHM media coverage : Daily Mirror (SriLanka) 21st April 2004

[UNNIKRISHNAN P.V. (Dr)]

PHM moves to save WHO from industry

Daily Mirror (SriLanka) 21st April 2004

Organisation promised HEALTH FOR ALL through the Alma Ata declaration. However, the UN body abandoned the primary health care agenda in the later years. 'Health systems, including primary health care', a new WHO document endorses the primary health care agenda. It is a welcome return to the basics. 

Grassroots movements like the People's Health Movement (PHM) offer a cautious welcome, but say this is not enough. 



The apex UN health body's new 'road map' that is being presented during the ongoing World Health Assembly in Geneva endorses the importance of primary health care- something that grass roots movements like the PHM have been demanding all these years. 



Consider the positive elements in the WHO document: 

* It endorses primary health care and calls for a wholistic approach. 

* It calls for participation and inter sectoral coordination. 

* It reiterates the responsibility of governments and suggests decentralized action. 

* It suggests the importance of public health orientation to health systems development. 



"This is a progressive and realistic move" said Maria Hamlin Zuniga of PHM. "It is good at its vision but weak in its strategies" she said. However, "The new 'road map' for primary health care misses the current political and economic realities" she added. 



Consider the facts: 

* There is no reference to the terms and present day realities like poverty, hunger, food, water and education - the key determinants of health 

* The WHO is completely silent on the disastrous effects of the policies dictated by the World Bank, IMF and other financial institutions. 

* The document is completely silent on the negative role of pharmaceutical, tobacco, alcohol, military, baby food and other industries that negatively influence the health of the people. 

* WHO misses the point when it comes to the impacts of wars, conflict, militarization and occupation on health and health systems. 



"Three key developments that we observe in this document are the emphasis it gives on the government's responsibility, reference to health system determinants and use of the 'primary health care lens' to track health strategies", said Ravi Narayan of PHM. "However, it is absolutely necessary that WHO strengthens its research capabilities on the social determinants of health so that it can feed appropriate information to member nations who thus can make informed decisions" he added. 



"The resolution mentions the need to integrate disease-control programmes such as the new global funds with health care systems, but offers no ideas about mechanisms to do this. We need a code of practice, monitored by WHO, to ensure that disease control programmes do no harm to health services in developing countries", said Mike Rowson of MEDACT, UK and a constituent of PHM. However, PHM expressed serious concerns over the fact that the relevance of Primary Health Care was not reflected in the speech delivered by the Director General of WHO on Tuesday. 



The People's Charter for Health, the guiding spirit of the People's Health Movement and the largest consensus document on health, addresses some of these glaring omissions from a people's perspective. People's Health Movement will keep up the pressure on WHO to ensure that the UN body is not just a pawn of the industry. PHM calls for creating space within WHO for strong representation of grass roots movements and ordinary people in policy and project formulation. 



The Global Health Watch - an alternative World Health Report - is a new initiative by PHM. This alternate report is expected to 

amplify the voices of the grass roots and come up with fresh ideas about global health policy in the wake of the failures of the last 25 years. 

The report will highlight the political, social and economic determinants of health and suggest alternatives to the market-driven approaches to health and health care.


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