PHM-Exch> Final PHM and MMI statement submitted to WHO Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO)

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Delen de la Paz <delen27 at yahoo.com>

The 64th meeting of the WHO WPRO has now ended and it has been a good
learning experience for us.... how the Ministers of Health of the different
countries in the Western Pacific region can talk and talk and praise WHO
for all its achievements and then also just talk about their own
accomplishments and the health programs being done in their own countries.
 (I am not sure how all those talk will be translated into action and
proper implementation!)

Below please find the Statement submitted  on behalf of MMI and PHM.
 Thanks so much to David Legge for drafting this statement.  I would have
wanted to read it during the plenary but in the interest of time, they told
me that they chose only two of the seven who submitted to do verbal
intervention. They chose the Union of Cancer Societies and the Framework
Convention Alliance for Tobacco Control.  These two, I was told, submitted
their statements, weeks before.  But the WHO Secretariat printed our
statement and distributed to all the delegates.

Yesterday morning, we had a picket-rally outside the WHO WPRO office led by
the PHM Philippines and Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD).  We had it at
8:30 in the morning just before the delegates arrived for the meeting.  The
police men and women were driving us away, but when the WHO Head of
Security came out to ask what was going on, we told him that the
picket-rally was intended to call the attention of the WHO WPRO, especially
the delegates attending the regional meeting, to be more aware of the TPPA
and not allow it to be signed by their respective heads of state.  We
focused on the TPPA as a driver of more NCD epidemics due to its impact on
health.  He said he understood what we wanted to convey and allowed us to
stay for an hour with our banners and placards.  We attracted quite a
number of people who stopped and listened to us, even the police listened
to us.

  The PHM Philippines and HEAD statement was focused on the TPPA,
especially the  bullying of the USA in having this negotiation approved by
the countries.  We could not write this in the MMI/PHM statement as I was
told to revise this aspect in the first statement  submitted.  The WHO
secretariat wanted me to remove the reference to the USA as unduly
influencing the negotiations.  Since we could not mention USA in our
statement submitted to WHO, we made the PHM Philippines and HEAD statement
that was distributed to the media and the public more direct and pointed to
the USA’s bullying.


 Statement by Medicus Mundi International and the People’s Health Movement
to the 64th Meeting of the Regional Committee of WHO regarding Item 14 on
NCDs

Medicus Mundi International and the People’s Health Movement thank you, Mr.
Chair, for the opportunity to contribute to this important debate on NCDs.

We congratulate WHO WPRO for the work which it has been doing with the
countries of the Western Pacific but much more is needed.

Three issues which are not adequately addressed in the draft Regional
Action Plan are: price relativities, marketing controls and trade
agreements.

One of the main drivers of high energy diets has been the price differences
between high energy snack foods and fruit, vegetables and quality protein.
It is also the case that cheap highly processed commercially available
convenience foods are replacing home cooking to some extent.

The Action Plan should include a package of policies (taxation, subsidies,
marketing restrictions, social marketing campaigns) which make healthier
diets cheaper and more convenient and which make meal preparation and
eating together cheaper, more attractive and easier.

Aggressive marketing of snack foods, high energy drinks, and convenience
foods is having a powerful effect in changing diets in the countries of the
region. We urge the Committee to strengthen the provisions in the Action
Plan regarding the regulation of marketing, including strong provisions
regarding food labelling. There is an urgent need for international
collaboration to identify the legal and trade implications of such policies
and to ensure that appropriate ways are found to achieve public health
objectives in these areas.

In this context we note the comment in the draft Action Plan that, “Trade
agreements should not hamper public health efforts to protect people from
NCDs”and highlight in particular the dangers to public health associated
with the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA).

It has come to our attention that some countries are negotiating to include
‘investor state dispute settlement’ provisions (or ISDS) in the proposed
TPPA. If the TPPA is agreed to and ratified, other countries in the region
will come under great pressure to join up. We note that the Distinguished
Representative from Malaysia identified this yesterday, with particular
reference to tobacco.

ISDS provisions give transnational corporations power to threaten all
nation states, as is illustrated by the use of these provisions by the
tobacco companies to unduly influence countries seeking to implement the
provisions of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

The TPPA is negotiating for longer patent terms, extended data protection
and new restrictions on price setting in national pharmaceutical
reimbursement schemes. These would all increase the price of medicines to
families and to developing countries in the region, including for
non-communicable diseases.

WHO has to do more action on this because the TPP negotiations have started
and are almost finished.  We urge the Regional Committee to include, in the
finalised Action Plan, warnings about the implications for public health of
ISDS provisions and higher levels of IP protection in trade agreements and
to reiterate the commitment in WHA59.26 to work towards trade policies
which do not prevent action on urgent public issues such as
non-communicable diseases.

Submitted by:  Edelina P. Dela Paz, MD

                           October 22, 2013
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