PHM-Exch> Nations urged to act on shocking health inequalities at Rio meeting

[Claudio Schuftan]

 *Nations urged to act on shocking health inequalities at Rio meeting*



*Health campaigners: Rio Declaration appears set to betray the promise to
"close the gap in a generation"*

*Press release from Baby Milk Action and Health Poverty Action*

*Rio de Janeiro**: 20 October 2011*

See online version for supporting documents, the latest situation and
additional quotes:

http://info.babymilkaction.org/pressrelease/pressrelease20oct11<https://83.218.154.201/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://info.babymilkaction.org/pressrelease/pressrelease20oct11>

Health campaigners have gathered alongside a World Health Organisation (WHO)
meeting in Rio de Janeiro (note 1) to call on government representatives to
counter what WHO's own expert Commission called “the toxic combination of
poor social policies, unfair economic arrangements and bad politics” which
results in the unequal distribution of health-damaging experiences (note 2).
The WHO World Conference on Social Determinants of Health is to issue the
Rio Declaration on Friday 21 October. Campaigners are concerned that early
drafts of the Rio Declaration show it will do little to address growing
health inequalities or to prevent the wholesale privatisation of public
health systems, which some governments are already ushering in under the
cover of deficit reduction strategies during the current financial crisis.

Many of the civil society recommendations coincide with the recommendations
of the Commission on the Social Determinants of Health, which WHO itself set
up and has since largely ignored - or buried, in the words of one of the
members of the Commission speaking in Rio.

Campaigners have put forward the recommendations in an alternative civil
society Rio Declaration (note 3), developed through widespread consultation
in a process led by the People’s Health Movement. Recommendations
campaigners want to be introduced into the official declaration include:

   - Use of progressive taxation, wealth taxes and the elimination of tax
   evasion to finance action on the social determinants of health;
   - Regulate and protect populations from health hazards emanating from
   commercial activities, such as those created by the tobacco, alcohol,
   breast-milk substitutes, high fat and sugar processed food, and the
   petroleum and extractive industries.
   - Develop and adopt a code of conduct in relation to the management of
   institutional conflicts of interest in global health decision making (note
   4);
   - Provide equitable universal health care coverage including high quality
   promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative health services
   throughout the life cycle, based on comprehensive primary health care;
   - Press for high income countries to adequately compensate poor countries
   for their substantial losses in the form of migrant health professionals;
   innovative mechanisms that may include repatriation to sending countries of
   taxes paid by immigrant health professionals should be explored.
   - Recognise explicitly the ways in which the current structures of global
   trade regulation shape health inequalities and deny the right to health;
   - Develop and implement reliable measures of societal wellbeing that go
   beyond economic instruments.

Mike Brady, Campaigns and Networking Coordinator at Baby Milk Action, said:

*"Social determinants of health is a shorthand term for the social,
economic, political, cultural, and environmental factors that impact on
health. WHO Director General, Dr. Margaret Chan, said during the opening
ceremony, 'We have to put the health of people before the health of
corporations', which is right, but WHO, meaning the Secretariat and the
Member States, must commit to action, not just issue platitudes. Member
States must reassert their democratic legitimacy to set health policies in
the public interest and face down vested interests that continue to sabotage
health, often while proclaiming to be a force for good."*

Corinna Heineke, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Health Poverty Action,
adds:

*“The marginalisation of poor people is both a result and a cause of poor
health. In order to tackle the shocking inequalities and health outcomes of
the poorest we don’t just require doctors, nurses and well-equipped clinics.
We also need to address the structural causes of poor health such as trade
systems that deny the poorest access to medicines or the racism that
prevents indigenous mothers from seeking skilled assistance during birth
complications. So let’s have concrete commitments for addressing health
inequities and the financial allocations needed.”*



*Contacts*

Mike Brady at mikebrady at babymilkaction.org - +44 20 3239 9222

Corinna Heineke at c.heineke at healthpovertyaction.org - +44 7576 754912.



*Notes for editors*

   1. For details of the WHO World Conference on Social Determinants of
   Health: http://www.who.int/sdhconference/declaration/en/<https://83.218.154.201/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.who.int/sdhconference/declaration/en/>
   2. For the Commission on the Social Determinants of Health report
   "Closing the Gap in a Generation":
   http://www.who.int/social_determinants/thecommission/en/<https://83.218.154.201/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.who.int/social_determinants/thecommission/en/>
   3. For the Rio Declaration by Public Interest Civil Society Organisations
   and Social Movements:
   http://www.phmovement.org/sites/www.phmovement.org/files/AlternativeCivilSocietyDeclaration.pdf<https://83.218.154.201/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.phmovement.org/sites/www.phmovement.org/files/AlternativeCivilSocietyDeclaration.pdf>
   4. For the Statement of Concern from the Conflicts of Interest Coalition
   (consisting of 147 civil society organisations and networks):
   http://coicoalition.blogspot.com/2011/09/coi-coalition-statement.html<https://83.218.154.201/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://coicoalition.blogspot.com/2011/09/coi-coalition-statement.html>
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