PHM-Exch> [PHM NEWS] PHM achievements: A reminder

[Claudio Schuftan]

*PHM achievements: A reminder*



In the first decade we did quite well. I am just recalling all this from
lived memory and experience, but can provide further details and archival
documents as evidence. These included:

-Bringing back WHO to CPHC,



- Provoking and participating in the WHO-CSDH,



-Getting PAHO to accept the PHM version of CPHC and HFA with health as a
right;( see 2004 report),



- Getting WHO-DG hopefuls in dialogue with PHM via the Lancet,



-Consistently holding IPHUs all over the world,



- Active presence and participation in Global Forum for Health Research and
COHRED annual research fora all over the world-Mexico, Cairo, Mali, Cuba,
etc.,



-Metamorphosis of active WHO advocacy circle into a even more active WHO
watch engagement and presence at the annual meetings but also now
participating in the preceding Executive board meetings. (even many WHO
staff like our notes and handouts ad look forward to it each year),



-The WHO advocacy circle in addition in the first few years consistently
increased the presence of PHM linked resource persons through the
solidarity of partner networks and organisations who had formal affiliation
which WHO - which we could not apply for because we were unregistered.
These partners  sponsored PHM folks as WHA participants making us the
largest delegation to WHA during the Alma Ata Anniversary in 2005 - even
more than the US linked delegation even though we continued to be an
unregistered coalition of networks and partners,



- Active PHM presence and involvement in WHO Health Promotion and other
conferences including Health systems- Beijing, Helsinki etc ad some
influence on the recommendations in the conference declarations,



-Involvement of many PHM linked resource persons in planning WHR 08 and the
actual processes of WHO-CSDH-including a Commissioner; members of knowledge
networks,; facilitating  civil society dialogues in the regions etc.
(Thanks to Amit we had the audacity to provoke the CSDH by offering an
alternate civil society SDH document as well  which he put together by
contribution from so many of us),



- From WHO DG being absent in Savar which you had commented upon, to WHO
officially sending a delegation to the Health Forum and WSF gathering in
Mumbai with the four member delegation not only identifying with PHM
delegation but also apologizing publicly to the gathering on behalf of WHO
for forgetting CPHC!!(that two of them lost their job because of the
unsanctioned apology is another matter!)



- Special recorded CD message of support and solidarity from WHO DG Lee for
the Cuenca Assembly because some bureaucratic tangle with Ecuador govt
prevented his active presence at the PHA2 at Cuenca,



- Presence of Dr Halfdan Mahler at Savar, Cuenca and as regular flag waver
for PHM in so many meetings at WHA. Once even entering WHA as a PHM
delegate since WHO did not give him a pass one year!! (recently Thelma and
I were officially interviewed by the official biographers of Halfdan Mahler
and they asked us about this and other such involvements and links of
Mahler having done their homework well.!),



-Formal invitations by Dr Gro Brundtland, Dr Lee and later Dr Margaret Chan
of  small PHM delegations for dialogue - some of which were minuted,



- Formal invitation by Dr Mirta Roses to me as Global PHM
secretariat coordinator to visit and dialogue with her staff in PAHO  --on
two occasions and attend the Buenos Aires conference which tried to preempt
the WHR08 report. (As PHM secretariat coordinator I was treated with the
same status and respect as Halfdan Mahler, Michael Marmot and Jack Bryant.
There is a publication with all our keynotes), etc.,

.

-Invitation to me and David Sanders to join the WHO Task Force on Health
Systems



Participation by David and myself and Rene Lowenson in preliminary
exploratory dialogue on the content, process and structure of CSDH in
London with Michael Marmot and Amartya Sen. In all these involvements our
strong affiliations with PHM was well known.



- Invitation to me as PHM secretariat coordinator by additional DGs Mirta
Roses and a Ghanian ADG! to give the opening inhouse seminar for a inhouse
all department WHO committee initiating a dialogue process to rediscover
CPHC. The ppt is available on slide share,



-Five very successful Global health watches that are regular reference
texts for Public health courses all over the world,



- The inclusion of references, descriptions and mention of PHM in several
Public health text books around the world. We pulled all this together in
our Oxford encyclopedia paper,



There are many more such small victories if we actually review the archives
more carefully.

For a fledgling loose coalition which we call PHM this is a formidable set
of achievement and we must share this with our newer and younger
members with confidence and a sense of satisfaction rather than despair,



In the second decade some of this has continued and as our 20th year video
of celebration shows (which incidentally is incomplete) we have grown
organically and unevenly all over the world. No doubt there are more
players in global health and more entry and influence of
philanthro-capitalists and the whole global crisis including health
challenges has worsened and we need new vigor and vitality which I am sure
Roman and his companions and a newer team of younger enthusiasts, comrades
and resource persons can take forward. Romans reflections especially his
suggestions for greater multilingualism, etc. were very inspiring and in
the right direction. But we must not despair but review our work and
methodologies seriously, learning from past strategies and initiatives and
doing internal SWOTS etc in the Action- reflection mode,



The world is more complex, WHO more subservient to corporate agendas and
the neo liberal order in reaction and turmoil . but lets
share these stories of small but definitive successes and start more open
learning reviews and not get too distracted by reactive responses and
digital activism or a sense of hopelessness. we must and will overcome
someday!!!that should be the spirit,



If you go to country-level than there are wonderful stories of
struggles big and small and of heroism and courageous activism. We must
collect them and build on them with gratitude and solidarity. The GHWS are
still not capturing them adequately,



Many studies have been done by Fran and others -Ron, David, Thelma all
teamed up for - the Teasdale Corti studies, etc . These need to be shared
in story telling forms and included more actively in IPHUs now that peer
reviewed papers have been published; maybe that is being done,



But the younger activist generation needs more solidarity and more active
follow up and mobilization with the IPHU network needs to be done -
challenging them to do more learning from past experiences. The little
experimental laboratory of initiatives in SOCHARA in Bangalore has been
very rewarding and inspiring.



We should be careful and watchful not also to fall into the trap of making
PHM an International ngo. We are a loose coalition with voluntarism and
solidarity as key components. We do need some basic infrastructure to
coordinate and communicate, connect and collectivize and a small core
secretariat team that we have had serves that purpose. . A shared function
supportive ethos which can come with  different regions providing more
support rather than enhancing the core too much,



I recall that in Cuenca we noted that there will always be a PHM but much
larger and greater than that will be a growing collection of phms which we
must continue to recognize and  link with. I believe we can do it,



All movements have troughs and slowing down and losing steam is part of
that history but if we can harness the younger energies, use social
networking more effectively and take learning from history and PHM past
praxis more seriously we will move forward more effectively. In fact, we
are doing so already but older folks like us will always feel we can do
better!



Ravi Narayan
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