PHM-Exch> Fwd: Your Money or Your Life: over 60 organisations call on world leaders to act at the UNGA and make health care free in poor countries

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Anna Marriott AMarriott at oxfam.org.uk



Too poor to pay: Over sixty organisations call on world leaders to make free
healthcare a reality for millions


I am writing on behalf of over 60 organisations who today have launched a
report calling on world leaders to act ahead of the high level event on
health on 23rd September at the UN General Assembly to make health care
free and save lives. User fees for health care are a life or death issue
for millions of people in poor countries. Too poor to pay, women and
children are paying with their lives. For those who do pay, over 100
million are pushed into poverty each year.


On 23rd September world leaders will meet at the United Nations General
Assembly in New York for a high-level event on health. On the table is a
proposal to support at least seven developing countries to fully implement
free care for women and children or to expand free health services to all.
The seven countries are Burundi, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal
and Sierra Leone. The need to make health care free and expand access in
these and other countries is beyond question, but to do so successfully
requires high-level political commitment and sustained additional financial
and technical support.


Sixty-two organisations are calling on leaders in the North and South to
back this proposal on 23rd September and announce the additional and
long-term support they will provide over the coming years to make it a
success.


Oxfam Chief Executive Barbara Stocking said, “How many lives will be
needlessly lost before leaders act? Poor people simply cannot afford fees
and inaction will continue to deny access to life-saving healthcare for
millions.”


Jasmine Whitbread, Save the Children's Chief Executive, said: “If free
health care had been introduced in 2000 when world leaders promised to
reduce child mortality by two-thirds, the lives of more than two million
children could have been saved by now. Leaders have the power and the
responsibility to make healthcare free for poor families. Allowing any more
children to die because they can't afford treatment is inexcusable.”


Adrienne Germain, President of the International Women’s Health Coalition
said, “I’ve seen myself the impact of imposing—and lifting—user fees on
women, children and families. We urgently need the carefully designed
action called for in “Your Money or Your Life."


Please find a copy of the report attached which is also available at:
www.oxfam.org.uk/resources/policy/health/your-money-or-your-life.html


For more information report please contact: Anna Marriott, Health Policy
Advisor, amarriott at oxfam.org.uk or Sarah Dransfield, Oxfam Press Officer,
01865 472269/ 07767 085636, sdransfield at oxfam.org.uk

The report has been backed by 62 NGOs and unions including:
Action for Global Health, Action Aid, Action Aid Burundi, Ghana, Liberia,
Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal & Sierra Leone, AIDES, AIDOS, Avocats pour la
Santé dans le Monde (See attached file: Your Money or Your Life.pdf)France,
Cara International Consulting Ltd, Citizens United to Promote Peace and
Democracy in Liberia, Commonwealth Association of Paediatric
Gastroenterology and Nutrition (CAPGAN), Commonwealth HIV & AIDS Action
Group, Commonwealth Nurses Federation, Diverse Women for Diversity,
Regional Network on Equity in Health in Southern Africa (EQUINET),
Essential Services Platform of Ghana, European Public Health Alliance,
Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) Liberia, Global Health
Advocates India, Global Health Advocates Switzerland, Initiative for Health
Equity & Society, Integrated Social Development Centre (Ghana), Interact,
International Women’s Health Coalition, International Peoples Health
Council (South Asia), Liberia Democratic Institute, Malawi Health Equity
Network, Médecins du Monde (France, Portugal, Spain & UK), Médecins Sans
Frontieres (MSF), Merlin, National Organization of Nurses and Midwives of
Malawi, National Association of People Living with HIV and AIDS Malawi,
Oxfam, People's Health Movement, Physicians for Human Rights, Public
Services International, Plan, Resource Centre for Primary Health Care
(RECPHEC) Nepal, Results UK, Save the Children UK, Sidaction, Stop AIDS
Campaign, Treatment Action Group (TAG), TB Alert, The International
HIV/AIDS Alliance, Trades Union Congress (TUC), UNISON, UK Student Stop
AIDS Campaign, Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), WEMOS (Netherlands), World
Vision International, Women and Children First.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://phm.phmovement.org/pipermail/phm-exchange-phmovement.org/attachments/20090914/1f03c788/attachment-0001.html>