<h2><strong><span style="font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:
Calibri;text-transform:uppercase;font-style:normal;mso-bidi-font-style:italic" lang="EN-GB">Nations
urged to act on shocking health inequalities at Rio
meeting</span></strong><span style="font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:
Calibri;text-transform:uppercase;font-style:normal;mso-bidi-font-style:italic" lang="EN-GB"></span></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family:Calibri;
mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" lang="EN-GB">Health campaigners: Rio
Declaration appears set to betray the promise to "close the gap in a
generation"</span></strong><span style="mso-bidi-font-family:
Calibri" lang="EN-GB"></span></p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;
mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" lang="EN-GB">Press release from Baby Milk Action and Health
Poverty Action</span></strong><span style="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" lang="EN-GB"></span></p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" lang="EN-GB">Rio
de Janeiro</span></strong><strong><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" lang="EN-GB">: 20
October 2011</span></strong><span style="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" lang="EN-GB"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" lang="EN-GB">See
online version for supporting documents, the latest situation and additional
quotes:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" lang="EN-GB"><a href="https://83.218.154.201/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://info.babymilkaction.org/pressrelease/pressrelease20oct11" target="_blank">http://info.babymilkaction.org/pressrelease/pressrelease20oct11</a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:
Calibri" lang="EN-GB">Health campaigners have gathered alongside a World Health Organisation
(WHO) meeting in Rio de Janeiro (note 1) to call on government representatives
to counter what WHO's own expert Commission called “the toxic combination of
poor social policies, unfair economic arrangements and bad politics” which
results in the unequal distribution of health-damaging experiences (note 2).
The WHO World Conference on Social Determinants of Health is to issue the Rio
Declaration on Friday 21 October. Campaigners are concerned that early drafts
of the Rio Declaration show it will do little to address growing health
inequalities or to prevent the wholesale privatisation of public health
systems, which some governments are already ushering in under the cover of
deficit reduction strategies during the current financial crisis.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:
Calibri" lang="EN-GB">Many of the civil society recommendations coincide with the
recommendations of the Commission on the Social Determinants of Health, which
WHO itself set up and has since largely ignored - or buried, in the words of
one of the members of the Commission speaking in Rio. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:
Calibri" lang="EN-GB">Campaigners have put forward the recommendations in an alternative
civil society Rio Declaration (note 3), developed through widespread consultation
in a process led by the People’s Health Movement. Recommendations campaigners
want to be introduced into the official declaration include:</span></p>
<ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" lang="EN-GB">Use of progressive
taxation, wealth taxes and the elimination of tax evasion to finance
action on the social determinants of health; </span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" lang="EN-GB">Regulate and protect
populations from health hazards emanating from commercial activities, such
as those created by the tobacco, alcohol, breast-milk substitutes, high
fat and sugar processed food, and the petroleum and extractive industries.</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" lang="EN-GB">Develop and adopt a code
of conduct in relation to the management of institutional conflicts of
interest in global health decision making (note 4); </span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" lang="EN-GB">Provide equitable
universal health care coverage including high quality promotive,
preventive, curative and rehabilitative health services throughout the
life cycle, based on comprehensive primary health care; </span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" lang="EN-GB">Press for high income
countries to adequately compensate poor countries for their substantial
losses in the form of migrant health professionals; innovative mechanisms
that may include repatriation to sending countries of taxes paid by
immigrant health professionals should be explored.</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" lang="EN-GB">Recognise explicitly the
ways in which the current structures of global trade regulation shape
health inequalities and deny the right to health;</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" lang="EN-GB">Develop and implement
reliable measures of societal wellbeing that go beyond economic
instruments.</span></li></ul>
<p><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:
Calibri" lang="EN-GB">Mike Brady, Campaigns and Networking Coordinator at Baby Milk Action,
said:</span></p>
<p><em><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:
Calibri" lang="EN-GB">"Social determinants of health is a shorthand term for the
social, economic, political, cultural, and environmental factors that impact on
health. WHO Director General, Dr. Margaret Chan, said during the opening
ceremony, 'We have to put the health of people before the health of
corporations', which is right, but WHO, meaning the Secretariat and the Member
States, must commit to action, not just issue platitudes. Member States must
reassert their democratic legitimacy to set health policies in the public
interest and face down vested interests that continue to sabotage health, often
while proclaiming to be a force for good."</span></em><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" lang="EN-GB"></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:
Calibri" lang="EN-GB">Corinna Heineke, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Health Poverty
Action, adds:</span></p>
<p><em><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:
Calibri" lang="EN-GB">“The marginalisation of poor people is both a result and a cause of
poor health. In order to tackle the shocking inequalities and health outcomes
of the poorest we don’t just require doctors, nurses and well-equipped clinics.
We also need to address the structural causes of poor health such as trade
systems that deny the poorest access to medicines or the racism that prevents
indigenous mothers from seeking skilled assistance during birth complications.
So let’s have concrete commitments for addressing health inequities and the
financial allocations needed.”</span></em><span style="font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" lang="EN-GB"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;
mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" lang="EN-GB">Contacts</span></strong><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" lang="EN-GB"></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:
Calibri" lang="EN-GB">Mike Brady at <a href="mailto:mikebrady@babymilkaction.org" target="_blank">mikebrady@babymilkaction.org</a> - +44 20 3239 9222</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:
Calibri" lang="EN-GB">Corinna Heineke at <a href="mailto:c.heineke@healthpovertyaction.org" target="_blank">c.heineke@healthpovertyaction.org</a> - +44 7576 754912.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;
mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" lang="EN-GB">Notes for editors</span></strong><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:
Calibri" lang="EN-GB"></span></p>
<ol start="1" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" lang="EN-GB">For details of the WHO
World Conference on Social Determinants of Health: <a href="https://83.218.154.201/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.who.int/sdhconference/declaration/en/" target="_blank" title="WHO site">http://www.who.int/sdhconference/declaration/en/</a></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" lang="EN-GB">For the Commission on the
Social Determinants of Health report "Closing the Gap in a
Generation": <a href="https://83.218.154.201/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.who.int/social_determinants/thecommission/en/" target="_blank" title="WHO site">http://www.who.int/social_determinants/thecommission/en/</a></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" lang="EN-GB">For the Rio Declaration by
Public Interest Civil Society Organisations and Social Movements: <a href="https://83.218.154.201/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.phmovement.org/sites/www.phmovement.org/files/AlternativeCivilSocietyDeclaration.pdf" target="_blank" title="Peoples Health Movement">http://www.phmovement.org/sites/www.phmovement.org/files/AlternativeCivilSocietyDeclaration.pdf</a></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri" lang="EN-GB">For the Statement of
Concern from the Conflicts of Interest Coalition (consisting of 147 civil
society organisations and networks): <a href="https://83.218.154.201/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://coicoalition.blogspot.com/2011/09/coi-coalition-statement.html" target="_blank" title="COI Coalition">http://coicoalition.blogspot.com/2011/09/coi-coalition-statement.html</a></span></li>
</ol>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></p>
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