PHA-Exchange> GHW 2- Bretton Woods and Health

[David McCoy]

Dear friends,

At the London launch of the Global Health Watch, there was a further
expression of interest and support from the Bretton Woods Project - they
were instrumental in writing the chapter on the World Bank and IMF.

After some initial discussion, it was proposed that we engage with the
broader community of NGOs that are working on the Bank and IMF to
explore the possibility of further and more detailed work to assess,
analyse and campaign against the impact of the Bank on health - and in
particular on health care systems. Another area we thought would be
useful to do some research on is on the relationship between the Bank
and WHO

Pasted below is a short discussion document on this idea. Your thoughts
and comments on this would be great.  

David



Dear IFI Watch community,

Last month saw the launch of the first alternative world health report
(Global Health Watch) - written from an explicitly political and
anti-neoliberal perspective, and discussing issues that can't be touched
upon in the official world health reports. It was coordinated by the
Peoples Health Movement, Medact and GEGA (www.ghwatch.org), but involved
more than 70 different organizations across the world. 

The report includes a chapter intended to inform the broader health
community about the Bank and IMF, and why they are so (negatively)
important to health.

We would like to press on with further analysis and monitoring of the
role of the Bank and IMF on health, and in particular on health care
systems. The aim is to continue to inform the broader public health
community, strengthen the mandate of the WHO to protect health and bring
the weight of the public health community to bear upon the broader
campaigning aims for the reform of the IFI institutions. 

We are writing to ask if there may be research and analysis conducted by
the IFI-Watch community that could be used for this purpose. 

We also feel that the impact of the Bank and IMF on health care is a
neglected area of research and policy analysis, and one that funders can
be persuaded to support. 

Suggestions of how this research could feed into outputs include: 
.	The production of a dedicated report on the World Bank and IMF
(possibly entitled, "WB and IMF - public health threats or friends?)"
that could be released to coincide with the release of the official
World Health Report or the WDR (attached is a suggested outline of what
such a report could look like); 
.	the basis for a chapter in GHW 2 (to be published in 2007) 

This research and analysis would strengthen the health community's
ability to effectively campaign for strengthened health care systems
etc. In addition, this is an opportunity to support the general work of
campaigning organizations that are part of IFI Watch. Funders may also
be attracted to the idea of strengthening links between civil society
NGOs campaigning on the IFIs and civil society NGOs campaigning on
health.

We are writing to canvas opinion on this idea and to specifically ask if
anyone is interested in working on this project with the idea of
developing a funding proposal and research plan, commissioning or
conducting the research, and working with the GHW team to produce the
outputs suggested above.


Many thanks


David McCoy
On behalf of the GHW team



 
Suggested outline of a short booklet - The World Bank and IMF: Public
health threats or friends?


Chapter topics (chapters: 2 - 5000 words each)


1. Introduction to WB and IMF (re-cap of what is in GHW1)

2.	An overview of the Bank's health sector grants and loans 

3. The Bank and IMF and health systems development

- To what extent is the Bank pursuing a neoliberal health sector reform
package - implemented through grant conditionalities and PRSPs? 

- Critical issue of IMF ceilings on public sector wages.

4.	The BWIs and health determinants 

- One chapter highlighting the impact of the BWIs on the broader
determinants of health - e.g. water privatization, land reform etc? 

5.	The BWIs and WHO

- An analysis of the relationship between BWIs and WHO. 

6.	Recommendations and demands to:
.	WB and IMF
.	WHO
.	Ministries of Health in developing countries
.	Health professional associations and other citizens in the main
donor countries of the WB and IMF
.	Rich country governments