PHM-Exch> India: health issues in the current election: A PHM India overview and an example to follow in other countries

[Claudio Schuftan]

All PHM circles should do this when national or regional elections take
place!

From: Ravi Narayan <chcravi at gmail.com>
From: Deepak <kumaraswamy.deepak at gmail.com>

PHM India worked towards compiling the health issues that have been
discussed as part of party manifestos for the current Indian elections.

*Background *

The Peoples Health Movement –India has been promoting health for all
policies through various forms of engagement with the health policy process
in the country since its inception in 2000. Various Innovative instruments
of engagement have been produced.

(i) The IndianPeoples Health
charter<http://www.communityhealth.in/~commun26/wiki/index.php?title=Indian_People%27s_Health_Charter_(2000)>(2000)
  ;

(ii) Critique of the Draft National Health Policy (NHP) 2001,

(iii) The right to health care hearings and peoples tribunals in 2003-04;

(iv) *ThePeoples Health Source Book
<http://www.communityhealth.in/~commun26/wiki/index.php?title=Health_For_All_Now!_A_People%27s_Health_Resource_Book>*(January
2004)

(v) The policy brief entitled “ *Save Public Health- Ensure Health for All
NOW
<http://docs.aidindia.org/Documents/AID-Resources/Ebooks/Peoples_Health_Manifesto_JSA_2004.pdf>*!”
in 2004.

(vi) The dialogue with representatives of the political parties before the
2004 election and the preparation of handout of demands towards Health For
All- for public rallies and distribution;

(vii) Another policy brief in April 2005 entitled “ *Moving towards Right
to Health care*”;

(viii) A *PeoplesHealth manifesto 2009
<http://docs.aidindia.org/Documents/AID-Resources/Ebooks/Peoples_Health_Manifesto_JSA_2009.pdf>*which
was a call to all political parties to include Health For all Now-
oriented policies.


 Other additional forms of engagement have also been pursued.


*The 2014 Election*

The current 2014 election   has also seen an active engagement by PHM
India. In early March, JSA released an updated people’s health manifesto
with 19 well articulated policy recommendations towards health for all and
universal health coverage. This was circulated to various contacts in
different parties and through various social networks and followed up with
a dialogue with some representatives of political parties trade unions and
movements in New Delhi at the end of March.

We have recently collated the health sections and health related
commitments of various political parties in their current, recently
announced party manifestos and some very significant developments seemed to
have taken place as far as health is concerned.

·   Taken together  these health issues in the current election manifestos
definitely indicate a significant interest in the evolving universal health
coverage and care debate putting a great onus on civil society networks and
circles  in active engagement, advocacy and policy dialogue in the months
and years ahead with which ever combination of political alliance emerge on
the national scene.  The focus of our engagement should  be on
implementable agendas.

 See the link :
http://sochara.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/health-in-manifestos-2014.pdf


*State Level Efforts *

Some state level  efforts at engagements with political parties and
suggestion of health issues for manifestos has also taken place during this
elections. See:
http://sochara.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/tamilnadu-peoples-health-manifesto-2014.pdf



*Additional coverage *
o   BMJ article -*Expert views: what the next Indian government should do
for health and healthcare*, BMJ 2014;348:g2479 doi: 10.1136/bmj.g2479
(Published 3 April 2014).

o   Lancet article -*Health* *gets greater attention in the 2014 Indian
elections*, The Lancet, Volume 383, Issue 9925, Pages 1281 - 1282,
(Published 12 April 2014).

o   Special article on Dr. Narendra Gupta- a mfc /JSA health activist who
is an election candidate of AAP in Rajasthan -*An activist doctor joins the
electoral fray in Rajasthan*.  BMJ 2014;348 doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g2814 (Published 15 April 2014)
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