<font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space:pre-wrap"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space:pre-wrap"><b>Statement by CMC/PHM at WHA65 on Nutrition (Item 13.3)
delivered by Meike Schleiff of the People’s Health Movement</b>
Thank you, Chair, for the opportunity to address the distinguished members of the
WHA on behalf of Churches Action for Health and the People's Health Movement.
There is a lot which is good in the draft comprehensive implementation plan (CIP) and
we welcome many of the components of the plan at the country level.
However, the plan fails to deal with the challenge of building a regulatory framework to
regulate transnational agribusiness and food corporations at global and country level.
The commercial interests of transnational agribusiness, food corporations and retailers
play a powerful role in shaping nutrition and malnutrition through marketing and through
price relativities. The challenge of regulation must be faced.
Meanwhile new provisions for investor state dispute settlement being inserted into
preferential trade agreements provide transnational corporations with powerful new defenses
against regulation at both the national and international levels. This has been clearly
demonstrated in the attack by Big Tobacco on the plain packaging policies of Uruguay and
Australia. Resolution WHA59.26 mandates the WHO to work with MS to achieve coherence
across trade and health policies. This must be utilised.
Nutrition needs to be understood in the context of food security (and insecurity). More
than 200 million hectares of land have been sold, mainly to transnational companies, mainly
in Africa, over the past decade with widespread displacement of small producers. Meanwhile
the diversion of land and grain from food to biofuels is contributing to rising food prices and
jeopardising food security and nutrition. The stalemate in the Doha Development Round in
the WTO leaves in place agricultural policies which have been highly detrimental to small
producers in many countries.
WHO cannot address the issues of trade and the regulation of transnational industry
alone but it can take a pro-active stance in working with other competent intergovernmental
bodies.
Thank you, Chair.</span></span></span></font><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space:pre-wrap"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space:pre-wrap"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space:pre-wrap"><br>
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<span style="font-family:arial;white-space:normal">Heba Wanis</span></span></font></p><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><div>Project Coordinator</div><div>Democratising Global Health Governance</div>
<div>People's Health Movement</div><div>Global Secretariat Office, Cairo</div><div><br></div><div>Tel: <a href="tel:%2B2%20022%20268%2022%2078" value="+20222682278" target="_blank">+2 022 268 22 78</a></div><div>Mob: <a href="tel:%2B20%20122%20314%200318" value="+201223140318" target="_blank">+20 122 314 0318</a> (Egypt)</div>
<div> <a href="tel:%2B41%207677%2007800" value="+41767707800" target="_blank">+41 7677 07800</a> (Switzerland)</div><div>
<div>Web: <a href="http://www.phmovement.org" target="_blank">www.phmovement.org</a></div><div> <a href="http://www.ghwatch.org" target="_blank">www.ghwatch.org</a> </div></div></font></div></div></div>