PHA-Exchange> US Public Health Supports WHA resolutions

[Claudio]

From:  <spiritof1848 at yahoogroups.com>

> Eight major public health organizations have urged the U.S. to support a
> resolution on trade and health at the World Health Assembly (WHA) next
> week.  Four of the groups also expressed support for a groundbreaking
> proposal to establish a framework convention on development and 
> distribution
> of medicines. The WHA is the governing body of the World Health
> Organization. and will convene on May 22 in Geneva.  The statements 
> follow.
>
> *U.S. Public Health Support for WHA Resolution on Trade and Health: EB 117
> R5*
> As public health advocates, we urge the U.S. delegation to the World 
> Health
> Assembly (WHA) to continue to support the proposed Resolution on
> International Trade and Health (EB117.R5) at the WHA meeting on May 22-27,
> 2006.  The Resolution was originally sponsored by Thailand, Benin, Bhutan,
> Bolivia, Brazil Canada, China, Iraq, Jamaica, Kenya, Nepal, Sudan, Tonga,
> and Vietnam
> The Resolution gives a broad mandate to the WHO secretariat to assist
> countries to frame coherent trade and health policies and to understand 
> the
> implications and challenges that trade agreements may have for health. It
> also calls for policy coherence between trade and health at regional and
> global levels.
>
> We are increasingly concerned with the adverse effects of multilateral 
> trade
> agreements as well as bilateral and regional free trade agreements on 
> health
> policies. Trade rules can limit our nations' abilities to regulate in the
> interest of public health and the environment, to set standards for health
> care services and health professional training, and to assure access to
> affordable health-related services and to medicines. We call for 
> international
> trade agreements to include provisions that achieve upward harmonization, 
> in
> that they elevate the standards of health care, environmental health,
> workers' safety, the training of health care providers, and overall health
> status, that improve access to medical care and pharmaceuticals, and that
> support the protection of children in the workforce.