PHM-Exch> The future of financing for WHO - MMI statement at World Health Assembly

[MMI Thomas Schwarz]

The future of financing for WHO
MMI statement at World Health Assembly

...

 

Thank you, Chair, for giving me the opportunity to address the distinguished
members of the World Health Assembly on behalf of Medicus Mundi
International, a Network of nongovernmental organizations working in the
field of health cooperation and advocacy.

 

Upon reading the report on the WHO reforms for a healthy future, we
appreciate the courage by the Director General and her staff to initiate
this reform and tackle its current crisis, which is not only a financial
one, but also a crisis of identity and legitimacy. We limit our contribution
to the section of the Secretariat's report dealing with Strengthening WHO's
role in global health governance.

 

Health is a global public good that requires collective responsibility. Most
problems in health systems cannot be resolved solely by the health sector,
nor within a single country. Increasing policy coherence and improving
global governance for health is therefore crucial.

 

Kindly allow us to briefly highlight the following issues:

 

In the secretariat's report, we miss a clear statement or appeal for
increased national level stewardship as governance for health starts at
home. We wish to plea for national level democratic debates on public health
issues. This is key in strengthening governance for health, and we urge
governments to ensure that the people directly affected participate actively
in decision-making processes. Health democracy is a pre-condition for
countries to make an impact in the decision making processes within the
World Health Organization and in other multilateral fora.

 

At global level, the WHO faces challenges in governance. We expect the World
Health Organization to re-claim its mandate as the directing and
coordinating authority for the realization of the right to health and
universal health coverage. This role is embedded in the constitution of the
WHO. However, this role has been diluted and usurped by the proliferation of
new actors in the field of global health. We therefore urge member states
not to allow the WHO to be consigned to becoming a 'technical' agency that
is stripped of its political and legal role.

 

As Civil Society Organization with a public interest, our organization and
our partners contribute to health care within the national systems. We
appreciate Civil Society Organizations to be included in the political
debate on health and its determinants as a formal partner at both national
and global level, and we appreciate the spirit of inclusiveness in the
related proposals by the Secretariat. We however wish to reiterate that we
cannot accept any influence of the corporate private sector through
financing and other means in WHO priorities and programmes.

 

We wish to remind the Secretariat and all Member States that it is crucial
that the reform package be characterised by a process in which the space for
contributions is based on the voice and needs of people, not the power of
money. We underline that this reform requires clear definition of actors and
their roles, goals and conflict of interests. All these issues need to be
addressed and clarified prior to the convening of any structured public
dialogue for global health.

 

Lastly, the Medicus Mundi International Network recommends the formal
decision-making process at the World Health Assembly to remain the prior
responsibility of member states, potentially informed by, but always
independent from any world health forum advises.

 

These views and concerns were discussed and shared amongst a large number of
public interest groups in Delhi two weeks ago. The outcome is a "Delhi
statement", with specific recommendations, that we will be happy to share. 

 

Thank you very much for your attention.

............
Statement by the Medicus Mundi International Network
to the 64th session of the World Health Assembly 
on agenda item 11: The future of Financing for WHO

Statement delivered by Remco van de Pas, Wemos
member of the MMI Global Health Governance team
on Wednesday, 18 May 2011 (Committee A)

Download as PDF: http://bit.ly/iBqz0Z 
Online available on: http://bit.ly/j2YPss 
Delhi statement: http://www.phmovement.org/en/node/6053 

Contact for enquiries:
Thomas Schwarz, Executive Secretary

Medicus Mundi International Network

Murbacherstrasse 34, CH-4013 Basel

Phone +41 (61) 383 18 11 (MON-WED)

 <mailto:schwarz at medicusmundi.org> schwarz at medicusmundi.org
 <http://www.medicusmundi.org/> www.medicusmundi.org

 

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