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Sun May 11 03:02:16 PDT 2014


tee shirts with the symbol of the PHM on the front and on the back, in 
three languages, the message of Health for All Now!

At the opening ceremony Hugo Icú and María Hamlin Zuniga represented 
the PHM and the IPHC respectively as co-sponsors of the event.   Both 
emphasized the importance of continuing the strategy of Primary Health 
Care in order to reduce the inequity, exclusion, marginalization, and 
injustices in the access to health and health care.  They also stressed 
the need to join forces to visualize health in the broadest terms so as 
to bring about social and economic development.  

The representation of India and the Asian Social Forum was important in 
the initial presentation, in order to demonstrate the global experience 
of the movement and the common problems that unite us world wide.  

During the health forum there were presentations of representatives 
from various countries concerning the local and national health 
conditions and the consequences of health care reform.  There were also 
opportunities for group work and further sharing of experiences.   

Hugo Icú and Julio Monsalvo representing the PHM and IPHC made 
presentations on the second day in the session concerning local, 
regional and national initiatives, and in particular the experiences of 
Mayan Indigenous practices and those of the communities in Argentina.  

On the third day Elvire Beleoken, WGNRR from Cameroon, and María Hamlin 
Zuniga participated in a plenary session related to mobilization for 
the defense of the health of the people and for access to health, 
especially for women.  In this session there was a presentation of the 
PHA process and the PHM as a movement.  Later in a panel discussion 
there was an opportunity to hear from John Kinuthia, Consumer 
Information Network, Amit Sengupta, India, representing the Asian 
Social Forum, and Margarita Posada presenting a vivid description of 
the struggle against privatization of the social security system and 
health care in El Salvador.   


THE MILLION SIGNATURE CAMPAIGN

The Million Signature Campaign in the English version was launched at 
the Asian Social Forum in Hyderabad.  The Spanish language version was 
launched on the final day of the Forum for the Health of the People in 
Porto Alegre.  A Portuguese version will be forthcoming on the website.

There was an enthusiastic response to the call for the Campaign.  This 
will be a major activity for awareness raising in Latin America during 
the 25th Anniversary year of Alma Ata.

See http://www.themillionsignaturecampaign.org/

DECLARATION

A consensus declaration was prepared with the active participation of 
Carlos Lix, Ana Quirós, and Margarita Posada representing the PHM 
delegation in the drafting group.  The declaration was presented to the 
plenary for discussion and approval and later reproduced for wider 
distribution at the WSF.   It was presented in the joint workshop held 
on the 25th between the PHM and the Forum on January 25th.


The Declaration has been posted on the PHA_Exchange and the 
REDLATINOAMERICANASALUD list serves.  It has also been distributed by 
the other groups and networks that were at the Forum.  It was also the 
subject of a Press Release at the WSF.

One important aspect of the Declaration is the call to hold the II PHA 
and the I World Forum on Health in Port Alegre in July 2004.  After 
consultation with the PHM Steering Group it was decided to accept the 
proposal and begin a process toward this goal.  A joint meeting was 
held with PHM, IPHC, ALAMES, and a representative of the Porto Alegre 
Health Secretariat to set up a process for planning and organizing the 
event.  More information about this process will be reported shortly.  
A planning meeting is proposed during May at the WHA in Geneva.


PUBLICATIONS

Massive distribution of the following documents took place at the Forum 
for Health and later at the WSF.

The People’s Charter for Health
	2000 bilingual English and Spanish copies
	1800 Portuguese copies.    These included an insert with the 
Alma Ata Declaration and the announcement of the Million Signature 
Campaign.

Voices of the Unheard
	800 copies in Spanish
	1800 copies in Portuguese.  

The Struggle for Health:  Problems and Solutions, Reflections from the 
South.  
This was produced by IPHC in a trilingual booklet. 
1000 copies were distributed at the WSF.

Printed version of The Million Signature Campaign.org web site.  

Contact issue No. 176 on the People’s Health Movement  - limited 
distribution.
	

WGNRR distributed materials in their workshops as well.  


WORKSHOPS DURING THE WSF

This report covers only three of the workshops that were presented by 
the PHM and IPHC.  It does not include the workshops that were 
presented by WGNRR.

The three workshops were carried out with translation provided by 
persons in the group in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

24 January 2003  
The Neoliberal Reform in the Health Sector: Alternatives and New Models 
of Attention.
Presented by Hugo Icú, Carlos Lix, and Julio Monsalvo
Video from Ecuador on Genetically Modified Organisms
Participants: Delegates from Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, 
Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Germany, Kenya and The 
Netherlands.

Presentation of the Mayan Indigenous Model of Medicine in Guatemala, 
the experience of popular practices and knowledge in Argentina, and a 
reflection on GMO foods prepared by IPHC in Ecuador.

Conclusions:  
Confrontation between the different models of health care and the 
possibility of integrating different practices.
The need to recover and give value to cultural biodiversity that means 
struggling against neoliberalism.  
The need to monitor neoliberal reforms in health and work against those 
which violate the right to health.  Neoliberalism means death to 
biodiversity and brings about the collapse of life.

January 25, 2003
Privatization and liberalization of Health Services: a violation of 
human rights?
Public Private Initiatives in health at the global level:  a solution 
to global health problems?  (Two workshops themes were combined because 
of programming difficulties.)

Presented by Marjan Stoffers, John Kinuthia, Margarita Posada
Participants:  Delegates from Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Guatemala, El 
Salvador, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Germany, Kenya,  Canada, South Korea, 
Italy, The Netherlands and USA.

Presentation of the neoliberal paradym and its application to the field 
of health care.  
Analysis of the control of the multilateral organizations and 
transnational companies.  
The role of the WTO and the trade agreements.
Types of public private partnerships in health and some results.

Analysis of what we know and what we would like to know about PPI and 
privatization.

Examples from the experiences of the participants.  Presentations from 
investigations in Kenya, and the practical experience of the struggle 
against privatization in 
El Salvador.

Conclusions:  It is essential to sensitize the grassroots about the 
concept of Health as a Human Right and to formulate a call to 
collective action, to utilize legal instruments to defend the right to 
health.

Documents were distributed.


25 January 2003
The People’s Health Assembly, the People’s Health Movement and the 25th 
Anniversary of the Alma Ata Declaration.
Presented by:  María Hamlin Zúniga, Hugo Icú, Arturo Quizphe, and Amit 
Sengupta
Participants:  Delegates from Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, 
Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Uruguay, Mexico, Sweden, 
Germany, Kenya, Canada, South Korea, Italy, The Netherlands India, 
France, and USA.

Presentation of the video of the PHA in GK Savar, December, 2003.
Group discussion by Language groups with facilitators in each group to 
explain the process of the PHA and the subsequent PHM.
Presentation of the Million-Signature Campaign.
Presentation of the Declaration of the II Forum for the Defense of 
Health.
Articulation of the organizations and movements to work toward the II 
People’s Health Assembly.
Presentation of a Video about the Palestinian Situation.

MEDIA 

There were four Press Releases prepared by Unni and distributed through 
the WSF Media Center to the multiple media present in Porto Alegre.  
They were posted on the PHA_Exchange.
	Health for All is Necessary and is Possible, January 20
	Health for All Now.  The Million-Signature Campaign, January 22
	Stop the War on Iraq, January 25
	Porto Alegre to Host the People’s Health Assembly II, January 
26.

The independent daily paper of the WSF, Terraviva, published an 
interview with María Hamlin Zúniga on January 25th.  See the interview 
at http://www.ipsnews.net/fsm2003/25.01.2003/nota13.shtml

There were many press, radio and TV interviews during the event with 
different persons from the PHM delegation.  




 PARTICIPANTS REPRESENTING THE PEOPLE´S HEALTH MOVEMENT AT THE III WSF 
2003

Melina Auerbach, Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights, 
Holland.  Member of the PHM Steering Committee.

Elvire Beleoken, Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights, 
Cameroon.  PHM representative for West Africa.

María Hamlin Zúniga, IPHC Global Coordinator and member of the PHM 
Steering Committee.

Marisol Herrera,  AIS Bolivia.  PHM.

Hugo Icú Peren, Director of ASECSA in Guatemala.  Representative of 
Central America and the Caribbean in the PHM Steering Committee.

John Kinuthia, Investigator, Consumer Information Network, Kenya.  PHM.

Carlos Lix,  ASECSA, Guatemala.  Representative of the Regional 
Committee for the Promotion of Community Health, PHM reference 
organization in Central America and the Caribbean.

Julio Monsalvo,  Medical doctor.   PHM Activist in Argentina, Paraguay 
and Uruguay.  IPHC collaborator in those countries.

Margarita Posada,  Director  APROCSAL, El Salvador.  IPHC focal person 
for the Regional Committee for the Promotion of Community Health, PHM 
reference organization in Central America and the Caribbean.

Ana Quirós Viquez,  Director CISAS, Nicaragua.  Representative of the 
Regional Committee for the Promotion of Community Health, PHM reference 
organization in Central America and the Caribbean.

Andrea Quizphe, Rural Doctor, Ecuador.  PHM
 
Arturo Quiche, Rector of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of 
Cuenca, Ecuador.  IPHC focal person for South America.  Reference 
person for PHM for South America.

Amilcar Rada Rivas,  AIS Bolivia,  PHM.

Amit Sengupta,  PHM India and representative of the Asian Social Forum.

Nidia Solis, University of Cuenca,  Ecuador.  PHM.

Marjan Stoffers,  WEMOS Holland,  PHM.

Unnikrishnan P.V.  IPHC representative for media relations, PHM.

Javier Valencia T.,  AIS Bolivia,  PHM

Christian Wagner,  BUKO Pharma, Germany,  PHM.

Sr. Anne Caroline Wihbey,  ¨Ani¨, PHM activist in Sao Luis Maranhao, 
Brazil.  IPHC focal person in Brazil.

Rebeca Eileen Zúniga H.,  Logistic support and translator for the PHM 
Delegation










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