PHM-Exch> Speak-Up! Inject a dose of democracy into the World Health Assembly -WHO4ALL-

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: <access at imaxi.org>


Speak-Up! Inject a dose of democracy into the World Health Assembly
-WHO4ALL-

Perhaps the most important annual global meeting on health, the WHO's World
Health Assembly (WHA) begins next week in Geneva. For eight days,
ministerial delegations from the United Nation's 193 member governments will
discuss and decide policies on the issues that can have a life or death
impact on billions of people around the globe, but without them having any
say in the proceedings. Although the UN has repeatedly pronounced noble
words about everyone's Right to Health, those most in need of care do not
have a 'voice' at the WHA, so that the noble words just remain promises
which can't be held to account.

However, recent advances in mobile phone technology and social media has
provided a key to open the door to the WHO and the World Health Assembly.
Now, for the first time, people around the world can have a say about the
health issues that concern them, and make their views heard at the highest
level. The World OPEN Health Assembly (WOHA), to be held from 16-24 May,
will provide an amplifier for the voices of people on the 'bottom', to be
heard at the 'top'.

WOHA 2011 is the first step of the Million Message March to the UN, a seven
month campaign to that marches to UN High Level Meetings on HIV and on Non
Communicable Diseases, finishing at the High Commission for Human Rights on
the 10th of December, Human Rights Day. 'Speak-Up' is going on the road for
the Right to Health.

An innovative global collaboration of health activists and civil society
organizations from around the world, The Million Message March to the UN and
WOHA iare being coordinated by the IMAXI Cooperative Trust, a new
international NGO based in India driven by patients with life-threatening
diseases and public health experts. Its mission is to increase the public's
involvement in health issues and institutions by using the new technologies
of communication that are becoming increasingly accessible to many, even in
the same communities where access to healthcare is out of reach. Tech in
hand but health at risk, we use the first as tools to fix the other.

The World OPEN Health Assembly begins with moderated 'Speak-Up Sessions' on
issues derived from the WHA agenda (or missing from it!) including on HIV,
Cancer, Diabetes, TB, Palliative Care and other topics. These 'Speak-Up
Sessions', one hour online discussions moderated by activists and experts,
begins 'live & direct' from the Institute of Palliative Medicine in Kerala,
India, WHO Collaborating Center. The moderation, relayed across time zones
to partners in Kenya, South Africa, UK, Brazil, the US and other countries,
allows anyone to participate around the clock from around the world.
Combined with feeds of live tweets from the WHA by WHO Watch and Human
Rights Watch, the WHA is having its doors opened from outside. WOHA is a
global community gathering by Twitter, Facebook, Skype chat or SMS text, and
everyone will have their views incorporated into recommendations,
'open-drafted' during 18-22 May, that will be delivered to the WHO Director
General, Dr. Margaret Chan, on the 24th of May at the 64th World Health
Assembly.

The World OPEN Health Assembly is injecting a dose of democracy into the
World Health Organization. WHO4ALL.

Speak-Up! By Twitter: @WOHA2011 / SMS:+41787597991 or +91 8129094433  / FB:
facebook.com/MillionMessageMarch
skype: imaxi.org / blog: www.imaxi.org  Follow #WOHA on twitter, non-stop
from May 16 - 24  Join the March @MMM2UN

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