PHM-Exch> [PHM NEWS] WHO Watch: Planned Activities WHA66 - May 2013

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: PHM Global Secretariat <globalsecretariat at phmovement.org>

*The forthcoming World Health Assembly (WHA), taking place from 20-28 May
2013 in Geneva, will be monitored, advocated to and reported upon  by PHM
health activists under the ‘Democratising Global Health Governance
Initiative: WHO Watch’.*

WHO Watch is a resource for advocacy and mobilisation and an intervention
in global health governance. More about WHO
Watch<http://www.ghwatch.org/who-watch/about>and the Democratising
GHG Initiative <http://www.ghwatch.org/democratising>.

As a resource for advocacy and mobilisation WHO Watch provides a current
account of global policy dynamics in relation to a wide and growing range
of health issues. While the focus is on issues being considered through the
WHO the background documentation provides a more broadly based account of
these issues.

We aim to strengthen various streams in the Health for All movement (IP and
access, trade and health, health systems, PHC, quality use of medicines,
etc etc) by ensuring that activists whose concerns arise from their grass
roots involvements can learn about the global dimensions of the problems
they are facing and reshape their advocacy and mobilising accordingly.

WHO Watch is also an intervention in global health governance.

Partly this is about defending WHO which has been subject to very bad
stresses for several decades. WHO is the paramount health authority at the
global level and needs to be strengthened and reformed and properly funded
to play this role. WHO Watch seeks to generate support for a reformed WHO
restored to its proper place in global health governance.
Finally, WHO Watch aims to support wider knowledge of, and participation
in, the various engagements across the broader field of GHG.  We are aiming
to change the balance of power framing global decisions which impact on
health.

[image: Inline image 2]


*From 15-31st of May PHM activists will gathering in Geneva to ‘watch’ WHO
(actually monitor, engage with and and report upon). The activities start
with an orientation and planning workshop where the ‘watchers’ work through
the WHA agenda and develop a PHM position on critical issues.*

The workshop is designed to introduce WHO to the volunteer watchers and to
develop PHM positions. The watchers share the agenda items and present at
the workshop: a) a summary of the documents circulated by the WHO
Secretariat; b) an analysis of the politics of this issue at this time; and
c) a brief on what PHM's position should be.

Position documents are developed and uploaded to the
ghwatch.org/who-watch website.
We already have a dedicated WHA66
page<http://www.ghwatch.org/whowatch/wha66>uploaded and we upload
further material as it emerges.

This pre-analysis helps us to follow the discussions at the meeting and
also provides material that is picked up by other NGOs and member countries.

As the agenda item unfolds at the meeting, the watchers provide a semi
verbatim report of the discussion on a skype channel (which is picked up by
a much larger group from other NGOs).

In the evening, we summarise and comment on the day's proceedings and
upload our comments onto the website.
We choose some issues on which we make statements (about 2-4) at the
meeting. The statements are collectively developed, with 1 or 2 people
taking the lead in preparing it.


CLICK HERE <http://www.phmovement.org/en/node/7505> for the PHM report for
the most recent WHO watch activity: EB132

If you wish to know more about the WHO watch, feel free to contact the
global secretariat of the PHM on globalsecretariat at phmovement.org

--
Global Secretariat
People's Health Movement (PHM)
Email: globalsecretariat at phmovement.org
Web: www.phmovement.org
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