PHA-Exchange> Global Health Watch Update 6

[Global Health Watch]

GLOBAL HEALTH WATCH
-------------------------------
Mobilising Civil Society around an Alternative World Health Report


GHW Update 6 - November 2004
-----------------------------------

Please pass on this newsletter to anybody that might be interested in the
GHW

To receive periodical updates e-mail
GHWatch-newsletter-subscribe at yahoogroups.com


GHW FEATURED AT THE GLOBAL FORUM FOR HEALTH RESEARCH IN MEXICO
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------

Participants at the 8th Global Health Research Forum health this month
expressed their enthusiasm and support to the GHW initiative.

David McCoy, a member of the GHW Secretariat, together with eleven other
members of the People's Health Movement, delivered several presentations
featuring the GHW at the 8th annual meeting of the Global Health Research
Forum held in Mexico City this November.

The Forum was a gathering of a broad range of constituencies such as health
and development ministries, multilateral and bilateral agencies,
research-oriented bodies and universities, NGOs, the private sector and the
media with the common aim to correcting the 10/90 gap in health research.
For more details visit www.globalforumhealth.org

Several plenary discussions at the Forum highlighted the role of civil
society in closing the 10/90 in health research, and the Watch was
recognised as an key opportunity to fulfil that role. Participants also
expressed their interest in the Peoples Health Movement as a resonance board
for civil society voices.

The need for local and regional papers to accompany the Global Health Watch
report was highlighted, and specific participants expressed their
willingness to contribute to the Australian and Latin American versions.

If you are interested in joining/starting your local/regional Watch, please
contact us at ghw at medact.org for more information.


HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 2005 REPORT - DEBT RELIEF FOR POOR COUNTRIES
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------

In 1996, 42 heavily indebted countries were deemed as eligible to take part
in debt relief initiative put forward by the World Bank. Eight years after
the HIPC (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries) Initiative was launched, only 14
countries considered eligible have reached "completion point".  Why is HIPC
progressing so slowly? Delays are due in large part to the failure of
countries to comply with the rising number of economic conditions laid down
by the IMF.

The Zambian case

In the year 2000, Zambia became qualified to become eligible to receive up
to a 50% reduction in its foreign debt burden of $6.8 billion. All it had to
do was follow all of the IMF's loan conditions satisfactorily for three
years.

One of the binding IMF loan conditions called for Zambia to impose a strict
cap on the government's wage bill at no more than 8% of its Gross Domestic
Product (GDP). However, the Zambian government is regularly faced with the
threat of a worsening "skills drain," in which professionals leave the
country in search of higher wages abroad. Government's attempts to stem this
tide of fleeing professionals made the public sector wages reach 9% of GDP.
By exceeding the 8% agreed with the IMF in the budget agreement, Zambia was
thus considered "off-track" with its IMF loan program, and was suspended
from eligibility to receive debt relief.

According to the IMF, Zambia can take steps to get back "on-track" with its
IMF program, and again be in a position to eventually receive debt relief.
But an IMF condition for doing so is to privatize Zambia's remaining public
utilities and state-owned companies in the energy and telecommunications
sectors.

The Zambian government is at a crossroads. If it pleases the IMF by going
along with the new conditions, it is likely to cause industrial unrest by
workers opposed to privatization in the energy and telecommunications
sectors. If it goes with the will of the people and seeks to maintain public
ownership of these companies, the country will miss its chance at receiving
debt-relief and have to pay hundreds of millions of dollars more in debt
servicing  every year. Either way, Zambia cannot raise the wage bill high
enough to retain the doctors, teachers, or healthcare professionals needed
to fight HIV/AIDS.


GET INVOLVED IN THE GHW!
-----------------------------------

- Submit local/regional case studies
- Launch the report in your country/ region
- Produce an accompanying country or regional paper or report
- Help with funding or fundraising

Please pass on this newsletter to anybody that might be interested in the
GHW
TO RECEIVE PERIODICAL UPDATES E-MAIL
GHWatch-newsletter-subscribe at yahoogroups.com

If you do not wish to continue receiving this newsletter, please e-mail
ghw at medact.org with Unsubscribe in the subject box.