PHA-Exch> Right to Health and Health Care Campaign Update

[Laura Turiano]

PHM Right to Health Care Campaign
September 2007 Update

In this email:
 	1. If you want funding from the global campaign

 	2. Local fundraising ideas
 	3. New financial support for the campaign
 	4. Campaign Assessment Guide Now Available in French
 	5. Discussion group "Together for Equity and Health"
 	6. Update on Campaign organizers
 	7. Sign up for the listserve
 	8. Country news

1. If you want to receive funds

We have funds to give to PHM country circles to carry out the campaign. To
receive these funds a country circle must meet certain criteria to ensure
that there is a structure in place to use the funds effectively and to
account for the use of the funds. These criteria are:
A.	A PHM circle must be formed, if there isn't one in the country already.
The country circle is composed of individuals and organizations that
endorse the People's Charter for Health and operate under its principles.
The country circle can undertake any activities it wants to, one of the
possible activities being the Right to Health Care Campaign.
B.	A committee to carry out the campaign must be formed.
C.	The committee must have the participation of at least 3 different
organizations
D.	The committee must have at least 2 meetings in different parts of the
country to present the concept of the campaign and enlist participation
from groups and individuals.
E.	The committee must select (through some kind of open process) one
person to be the main country contact for the campaign. The role of this
person is to facilitate communication between the global coordinators and
the local campaign and to get people and organizations involved.
F.	The committee must select (through some kind of open process) one
organization that will serve as the fiscal sponsor for the campaign in
that country. This organization will receive and distribute the campaign
funds and be responsible for the accounting requirements we must maintain.
G.	You must report to the global coordinating group what you have done;
who the participating organizations and individuals are; who the country
contact is (including full name, address, phone number and email); and
which organization will be the fiscal sponsor (including full name,
address, phone number, email, bank account information, and the names of
the director and contact person in that organization).

Funds will be distributed on a "first come, first served" basis - those
circles that meet the above criteria will receive funds until they are
used up. It is important to note that the amount given out will be small
and that each country will have to do some of its own fund raising in
order to carry out all the activities it would like to do. (Please see the
"Local fundraising" section below.) Participants should be aware that the
first amount of money will be given to carry out the initial mobilization
and assessment. We are reserving some funds to be distributed later for
country strategy meetings and Phase 2. If we receive more grants, we will
have more support to give.

All committees must meet these requirements to receive funds.
Well-established PHM circles are not exempt.

2. Local Fundraising Ideas

There are many ways local or national campaign committees may be able to
raise funds or stretch the funds they have. Some ideas:
 	Grant money may be available from national foundations. Some
international funders have interests in particular countries. You can
find out about these grantmakers by doing research on the internet. Let
us know if you need help with the research. Once potential funders have
been identified, we can help you write the grant if you need that kind
of assistance.
 	Ask for donations from sympathetic people who have some money to give
away to people doing good work. Not all people who have money are
against our goals. Don't be afraid - the worst they can say is "no".
 	Hold a benefit party or dance. You can charge admission, sell food and
drinks, and pass the hat after you tell the guests about the campaign.
 	Include the local offices of international health and human rights
organizations on the campaign committee. They may have resources they
can contribute such as meeting space, office supplies, and computers.

If your committee has a fundraising event that works well, please share it
with us.

3. New funding awarded to the campaign

We'd like to thank Diakonisches Werk / Bread for the World and Misereor
for their generous grant to PHM to launch the campaign in 4 Asian and 3
North African/ Middle Eastern countries.

4. Campaign Assessment Guide Now Available in French

Thanks to the contributions of Aziz Rhali in Morocco, Cristianne Rocha in
Brazil, and Pacome Tometissi in Benin, the campaign assessment guide is
now available for download in French at
http://www.phmovement.org/en/campaigns/righttohealth. There are also
versions in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

5. Discussion Group "Together for Equity and Health"

Folks working on the campaign in Latin America should join this new
discussion group on Google that is going to serve as the central point of
support and coordination of the campaign in LA. It was formed as one of
the outcomes of a workshop at the Congreso Salvador 2007 organized by
INICIATIVA HONDUREÑA POR EL DERECHO A LA SALUD (IHDS), ASOCIACIÓN
LATINOAMERICANA DE MEDICINA SOCIAL (ALAMES), and SOCIEDAD INTERNACIONAL
POR LA EQUIDAD EN SALUD (ISEqH).

After pre-conference discussions and the workshop at the conference, the
participants agreed to support the campaign, along with other related
ongoing efforts, and many of them have returned to initiate the campaign
in their home countries. The group will help to find and share resources
like educational materials in Spanish and Portuguese, develop and share
curricula for training people on topics related to the campaign, share
experiences of how to utilize the guide, and help to coordinate later
regional activities.

To sign up go to
http://groups.google.com/group/junto-asporlaequidadysalud/about. Click on
"Send email to the owner" to send an email asking to be subscribed. You
will also need a Google account.

The global coordinators would like to thank the workshop and discussion
group organizers for the support they have offered us.

6. Update on Campaign Organizers

In previous communication about the campaign we have discussed the idea of
using campaign organizers to visit countries to support their campaign
efforts. Thanks to everyone who was interested and sent us all your
information. As the campaign has developed, particularly in Latin
American, we have reexamined this strategy. Via the discussion group
described above, campaign participants will be able to decide what kind of
support they need and how to get it. We will resolve these needs as they
arise in a more collective fashion within the region. We hope this new
structure will encourage the development of regional leadership.

In Africa, several campaign leaders will be attending the upcoming
International People's Health University in Savar, Bangladesh (see
www.phmovement.org/iphu). At the IPHU we will discuss how to best support
the country level campaigns in Africa and what kind of regional support
and coordination mechanisms might be most effective. These leaders may be
called upon to travel to assist other countries' campaign organizing
efforts in the future, but we will make these decisions together with the
regional campaign participants. We will keep you updated on any
developments. If you have any suggestions please let us know.

7. Stay in touch with PHM

To stay on top of what is going on in PHM and global health, sign up for
the main PHM listserve, the PHA-Exchange at
http://lists.kabissa.org/mailman/listinfo/pha-exchange. This is
principally an English language list.

For Spanish and Portuguese speakers, you can sign up for the
Redlatinoamericana at
http://mx.groups.yahoo.com/group/REDLATINOAMERICANASALUD/.

For RTHHC Campaign support in Latin America, join the Junt at s por la
Equidad y Salud discussion group at
http://groups.google.com/group/junto-asporlaequidadysalud/about. From
there send an email by clicking on "Send email to the owner". You will
have to sign up for a Google account.

8. Country news

Here are just a few examples of campaign activities going on around the
world. Send us photos and reports about your campaign and we will share
them via this newsletter and the website.

On August 11-12, 2007 PHM Argentina held its first national meeting. About
100 people attended and agreed to implement the campaign. PHM Argentina
has an email group at
http://ar.groups.yahoo.com/group/saludelospueblosargentina/.

In Ecuador several RTH Campaign workshops are taking place in different
cities. Several committees are working on different items related to the
right to health in the context of the new draft constitution. A very
progressive statement has been included in the constitution draft
proposal.

>From the The Cape Argus, Cape Town, South Africa, September 09, 2007:
Sporting placards reading "SA Health Crisis is bigger than Manto vs
Routledge", "Public Health before Private Wealth" and "Health for all
NOW", hundreds of people marched through Site C, Khayelitsha, on September
8, 2007 to mark the launch of the People's Health Movement's Right to
Health Campaign in South Africa. Leslie London, head of family health at
the University of Cape Town and one of the movement's organisers, said the
movement aimed to change current approaches to health and development in
poorer countries. "This is not just an organisation, it's a network. The
movement is a united front to fight the government for proper health-care
facilities, proper medication, more staff at health-care facilities and a
healthier living environment." London said South Africa needed a "strong,
local and independent" civil group to hold the government accountable for
their actions."There are policies in place, but they are nothing if we
don't understand them and if they are not implemented correctly," he said.
The PHM South Africa consists of local organisations including the
Treatment Action Campaign, The Girl Child Organisation, Cosatu, the South
African Democratic Nurses' Union and community churches
For more information about PHM in South Africa, see
http://www.phmsa.memberlodge.org/.

During the month of September the Uruguayan campaign has held over 15
local meetings in different regions of the country and 1 regional health
forum. Over 630 people have participated and the events have been covered
by local media. The meeting begin discussions on themes that will be
brought up to the National Forum on Health in November: the right to
health, the national health system reform, sexual and reproductive health,
and the environment and health. Participants have engaged in a very high
level of discussion and often leave with a commitment to continue local
organizing and to outreach to other communities. A major concern is to
improve the health system characterized by inequity and inaccessibility,
particularly in small rural communities.

The global coordinators are actively following all leads from interested
groups in over 20 countries. We are encouraging local groups to go from
manifesting an interest to getting organized. The assessment phase of the
campaign is in full swing and we are ready to provide the needed support.
We encourage anyone interested to join by following the steps above. To
those already engaged, we pledge to keep working with you on the campaign.

Claudio Schuftan
Laura Turiano