PHA-Exchange> (43) In prepararation of PHA2 Call for Action

[Claudio]

THE PEOPLE'S HEALTH MOVEMENT (PHM) IN 2005: STILL AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE STRUGGLE FOR 'HEALTH FOR ALL NOW'!

 

1. Five years after the historical People's Health Assembly in Savar, Bangladesh, December 2000, the PHM with affiliates in five continents, re-commits itself to its flagship document, the People's Health Charter (PCH).

 

2. The analysis made in the PCH applies to today's world every bit as much as it did five years ago --only that the sense of urgency has been hightened!

 

3. Our vision remains one striving for peace, equity, and an ecologically-sustainable development.  We see the health crisis we described for most countries in the world in the year 2000 to have, if anything, deepened.

 

4. Fully aware that our legitimacy is only as strong as the weakest link in our Movement, we re-commit ourselves to the "Call for Action" points made in the PCH as they relate to actively influencing the many direct and indirect determinants of health.

 

In a nutshell, we still stand for:

 

5. Combating the negative impacts of Globalization as a worldwide economic and political ideology and process.

6. Significantly reforming the IFIs and the WTO to make them more responsive to poverty alleviation and the Health for All Now movement.

7. A forgiveness of the foreign debt of least developed countries and use of its equivalent for poverty reduction, health and education activities.

8. Greater checks and restraints of the freewheeling powers of transnational corporations, especially pharmaceutical houses (and mechanisms to ensure their  compliance).

9. Greater and a more equitable household food security.

10. Some type of a Tobin tax that taxes runaway international financial transfers. 

11. Unconditionally supporting the emancipation of women and the respect of their full rights.

12. Putting health higher in the development agenda of governments.

13. The health (and other) rights of displaced people.

14. Halting the process of privatization of public health facilities and for greater controls of the already installed private health sector.

15. More equitable, just and empowered people's participation in health and development matters.

16. A greater focus on poverty alleviation in national and international development plans.

17. Greater and unconditional access of the poor to health services and treatment regardless of their ability to pay.

18. Strengthening public institutions, political parties and trade unions involved, as we are, in the struggle of the poor.

19. Opposing restricted  and dogmatic fundamentalist views of he development process.

20. Greater vigilance and activism in matters of water and air pollution, the dumping of toxics, waste disposal, climate changes and CO2 emissions, soil erosion and other attacks on the environment.

21. Militant opposition to the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources and the destruction of forests.

22. Protecting biodiversity and opposing biopiracy and the indiscriminate use of genetically modified seeds.

23. Holding violators of environmental crimes accountable.

24. Systematically applying environmental assessments of development projects and people-centered environmental audits.

25. Opposing war and the current USA-led, blind 'anti-terrorist' campaigns.

26. Categorically opposing the Israeli invasion of Palestinian towns and the construction of the wall (having, among other, a sizeable negative impact on the health of the Palestinian people).

27.The democratization of the UN bodies and especially of the Security Council, as well as of the IFIs.

28. Getting more actively involved in actions addressing the silent epidemic of violence against women.

29. More prompt responses and preventive/rehabilitative measures in cases of natural disasters.

30. Making a renewed call for a comprehensive, more democratic PHC that is given the resources needed --holding governments accountable in this task.

31. Vehemently opposing the commoditization and privatization of health care (and the sale of public facilities).

32. Fostering independent national drug policies focused around essential, generic drugs.

33. Lobbying for the transformation of WHO, supporting and actively working with its new Commission on the Social Determinants of Health making sure it remains accountable to civil society.

34. Assuring WHO stays staunchly independent from corporate interests.

35. Sustaining and promoting the defense of effective patients' rights.

36. Actively working for an expansion and incorporation into PHC of traditional medicine.

37. Revamping and making changes in the training of health personnel to assure it covers the great issues of our time as depicted in our PCH.

38. Insisting on public health-oriented (and not for-profit) health research worldwide.

39. Promoting strong people's organizations and a global movement working on health issues.

40. Being more proactive in countering the media that are at the service of the negative aspects of the globalization process.

41. Putting people's empowerment  first so as to lead them to greater control of the health services they need and get.

42. Creating the bases for a better analysis and better concerted actions by our members through greater involvement of them in the PHM's website and list-server.

43. Fostering a global solidarity network that can support and reach our fellow members when facing disasters, emergencies or acute repressive situations.

 

Specific actions are proposed in the PCH for each of these headings above. 

 

Join our Movement  as active participants.

[To start with, you should regularly  visit our website at www.phmovement.org, contact our Secretariat at secretariat at phmovement.org and join the pha-exchange list-server by writing to its moderator at claudio at hcmc.netnam.vn ].
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