PHA-Exchange> European network for the RTH

[Claudio]

[Note from the translator:

As a very small organization, we don't have any full time staff. And this includes the translators. I did my best with this, but please forgive the errors and horible style.

Juan Blanco. REDS/Spain]

 

 

REDS      : RETE EUROPEA PER LA DIFESSA DELLA SALUTE

ENRH     : EUROPEAN NETWORK FOR THE RIGTH TO HEALTH

 

 

The reasons behind REDS.

 

The European Network for the Right to Heath ( ENRH ) was born at the Florence ESF, in November 2002. In these few years, it has promoted a fruitful debate on this issue (the Right to Health) among various bodies, including trade unions and associations working in a number of countries: France, Catalonia, Basque Country, Spain, Italy, Greece, Switzerland, Hungary, Turkey and England.

 

The necessity to build the ENRH arises precisely from the beginning of the Public Health Services privatizations in various European countries, with a common factor: the development of the Neoliberal politics, despite of the right, center-right of center-left flavour of their governments, devastating the Public Health Services, and converting them into just "Health Supermarkets". That's why our ENRH was born, intended to combine the necessary defence of the Right to Health Care - managed by the public administration - with the claim for a new model of Health, with the goal of promoting health and improving the life quality, beyond any economic profit. Protecting the Public Health Care System from the aggressiveness of the market who sees the Health Care as a very profitable item is our goal.

 

An ENRH that debates a new model of Health in which the citizen is not considered as just a customer, to whom we sell the more profitable products, but as a subject with Rights, one of them being the Right to Health, that must be warranted by the Public sector.

 

It is tough business, but it's possible, because there is a growing popular awareness of the devastating effects of neoliberal politics.

 

The failure of these policies is quite visible to all: hospitals transformed into health "plants", where the quality of the health care is continuously questioned by the economic objectives, personnel shortages, and the cutting of services considered "less productive", together with a lack of Health Promotion.

 

To seek a new model of Health means to depart from the certainty that this can't be achieved from within a profit based socioeconomic framework. "Health is not a merchadise" is not only a quote, but the actual awareness of the impossibility to make an "equitable world" based on the market laws, because the latter were born just to prevent it.

 

ENRH advocates for the necessity of social transformation: the problem  is not only to manage "honestly and with ability" the services to warrant an adequate response to the  health needs of the public. It is impossible to solve the health problems of the people if they keep being harmed by a polluted environment, unhealthy housing, unemployment, labor uncertainty and other negative social factors.

 

That is why our health model is tied to these "health & life quality determinants". We see health promotion and illness prevention at the same level as health care. The right to healthy housing and a quality public education, cannot be reserved to an elite. And the right to a safe working environment cannot be used as a counterweight with the economic trimming, in the same way that the respect for the environment cannot be just a motto of the environmentalists; in the same way, we think that all the immigrants and all the excluded from social protection must be considered subjects with health right.

 

ENRH intends to involve the social movements over all these factors, emphasizing that Health did neither have a relevant role in the previous ESF nor in the Movements Assemblies.

 

The Right to Health is an inalienable right for human beings, tied to the right of their very existence. It is a negation by the capitalist globalization that has failed to motivate its defense by the Social Movements, on a uropean or global scale, as a central element in the demonstrations.

 

 

European Health Systems

 

The initiative for changing the public health systems arises from the neoliberal economic politics being advocated in the EU countries, from the Maastricht treaty to the Agreements on Stability and Growth. This kind of politics - including the "zero deficit" goal - have a direct effect on the budget slice intended for the public health services which have been reduced to obey in order to accomplish said "zero deficit" directive.

 

In this Capitalist Globalization Era these politics are in perfect harmony with the "recipes" of the Bretton Woods Gang (IMF, WB, WTO, GATS ) and even the - still to be approved - Treaty on the European Constitution, all of which recommend the opening of the public sectors (including Health, Education & the Environment) to the market.

 

In these last two decades, all this has lead to a more or less covert privatization, through formulae such as the PPIs - Private Public Initiatives -  the externalization of some services and the cutting of the work force. All this is causing in all the EU countries the marketization of the Health with various regional subtleties, putting in jeopardy the very survival of the Public Health Systems.




The EU policy, considers the Public Services Systems just "General Interest Services" and has opened them to the market; this  will keep being applied with the backing of the  future EU Constitution and the WTO's GATS, unless the liberalization process is kept out from the Public Health Services. But nowadays, the ruling interests in the EU, and the ones who are being defended by the European Commission, are in the profitable business foreseen for the big multinationals, estimated as some 65% of the EU's GDP.

 

AN ALTERNATIVE MODEL

 

The essential points to be considered within an alternative model should be :

 

·                    To take into account the differences among the existing Health Systems

·                    A holistic ( comprehensive ) approach to health which is not compatible with the current neoliberal paradigm.

 

Regarding the first point, it has been a progressive and massive privatization of the Health Services,  of the "Public health" an of the "Social Security" variety, causing an increase in the citizen payments to the system, but failing to provide any increase of the quality of the services.

 

For us at  REDS, a Public Health Care System is one which warrants the integral health of the population, through  Universality, Accessibility, Free of charge, and social direct control. In this sense, the triad "Universality-Comprehensiveness-Equity", combined with the basic principles of social participation and social control over the State, cannot be treated on a one-by-one basis, because the lack of any of them negates the Right to Health.

 

There is another consideration to be stressed: Our Holistic Health concept is far beyond the "health-illness" dichotomy, which fails to assign any role to the  social "Health Determinants". Because  Health is a Human, Economic, Social and cultural Right, directly related to the "Right to Life"  inmediately claimable.

 

We think that is the role of REDS to always lead the fight against all aspects of a  global neoliberal project to which we oppose, with the clear concioussness that Health cannot exist in a world ruled by labour cuts, enviromental pollution and, in short , the marketization of life.

 

That is why we seek a Public Health System with the following characteristics:

 

·                    Universal

·                    Publiclu Financed

·                    Provided by the public sector

·                    Driven by capability and taken as neccesity

·                    Free of charge

·                    Including all the needed items for any illness, and for all its duration. 

Including from Health Promotion to Rehabilitation, from Environmental Health to Workplace Sanitation.

·                    Respectful of the dignity and particularities of each person and community, being not invasive in health care and avoiding any bias.

·                    Participative.

 

 

The Alliance between health users and workers

 

The application of the neoliberal policies in Public Health Care Systems does determine a lowering on the quality of care, as much as a lowering of the labor conditions of the professionals involved, in order to cut in infraestdructure and personnel costs. The system goes as far as to try to get the approval of the Health Workers in policies that objetively erode the Right to Health.

 

Although they are natural allies, frequently, health users and workers have been confronted by the neoliberal system, pretending the acquiescence of the workers to the  Government Health Policies, and impeding their claiming and demanding capabilities.

 

We consider of a foremost importace to join efforts between health users and workers, in the defence of this Public Health System being in jeopardy.

 

REDS FUTURE WORK

 

We are part of a global movement on the Right to Health, and that is why we are commited to its birth, so we support the social mobilization for the achievment of the following goals:

 

            1. Increase in each administration of public fundings for the Health Systems, matching them with the needs of the population and avoiding the transfer - direct or indirect - of public funds to private structures.

            2. Assured access to the Health Care Services by everyone without any diiscrimination, removing any obstacles that could imply a certain bias in the access.

            3. Qualitative improvemets of the services offered from Public Health Services, levelling the quality with the most advanced services.

            4. Free accesss to all the essential pharmaceuticals, not being limited by intellectual property rights or profitabilty issues arising from the big pharmaceutical multinationals.

            5. We will develop Right to Health alliances between REDS and PHM in the European countries, open to any contribution from the health care workers, the citizens or any other organization having as a goal the fight for a  Public Sector in health, with the characteristics of Universality, Solidarity, Equity, Gratuity and Participation, and being respectful of the values and sensibilities of both individual and communities. It will be the local network responsibility to do  everything to advance and promote the neccessity of a popular control of Health and Health Services.

            6. Active population participation in all the phases of the clinical process.

            7. Defense of the purchasing power of the salaries, of the dignity of the health sector workers, so as to achieve independence and objetictivity in their specific functions.

            8. Specific prohibition of any form of private activities for all the Public Health Care System workers. And denial of the private usage of any Public Sector infraestructure.

 

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://phm.phmovement.org/pipermail/phm-exchange-phmovement.org/attachments/20060102/a0057589/attachment-0001.html>