<div dir="ltr">From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Delen de la Paz</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:delen27@yahoo.com" target="_blank">delen27@yahoo.com</a>></span><br><div class="gmail_quote"><span style="font-size:18px"><br>
The 64th meeting of the WHO WPRO has now ended and it has been a good learning experience for us.... how the Ministers of Health of the different countries in the Western Pacific region can talk and talk and praise WHO for all its
achievements and then also just talk about their own accomplishments and the health programs being done in their own countries. (I am not sure how all those talk will be translated into action and proper implementation!)</span><div>
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<div><span style="font-size:large"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:large">Below please find the Statement submitted on behalf of MMI and PHM. Thanks so much to David Legge for drafting this statement. I would have wanted to read it during the plenary but in the interest of time, they told me that they chose only two of the seven who submitted to do ver<span>bal intervention. They chose the Union of Cancer Societies and the Framework Convention Alliance for Tobacco Control. These two, I was told, submitted their statements, weeks before. But the WHO Secretariat
printed our statement and distributed to all the delegates. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size:large"><br></span></div><div><div style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:large"></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:large"><span style="font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif">Yesterday morning, we had a picket-rally outside the WHO WPRO office led
by the PHM Philippines and Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD). We had
it at 8:30 in the morning just before the delegates arrived for the meeting.
The police men and women were driving us away, but when the WHO Head of
Security came out to ask what was going on, we told him that the picket-rally
was intended to call the attention of the WHO WPRO, especially the delegates
attending the regional meeting, to be more aware of the TPPA and not allow it
to be signed by their respective heads of state. We focused on the TPPA
as a driver of more NCD epidemics due to its impact on health. He said he
understood what we wanted to convey and allowed us to stay for an hour with our
banners and placards. We attracted quite a number of people who stopped
and listened to us, even the police listened to us.</span><span style="font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif"></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:large"> </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:large"> The PHM Philippines
and HEAD statement was focused on the TPPA, especially the bullying of
the USA in having this negotiation approved by the countries. We could
not write this in the MMI/PHM statement as I was told to revise this aspect in
the first statement submitted. The WHO secretariat wanted me to
remove the reference to the USA as unduly influencing the negotiations. Since we could not mention USA in our statement
submitted to WHO, we made the PHM Philippines and HEAD statement that was
distributed to the media and the public more direct and pointed to the USA’s
bullying.</span></div>
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<h1 style="text-indent:0in"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:105%" lang="EN-AU">Statement by Medicus Mundi International and the People’s
Health Movement to the 64<sup>th</sup> Meeting of the Regional Committee of WHO
regarding Item 14 on NCDs</span></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-AU">Medicus Mundi International and the
People’s Health Movement thank you, Mr. Chair, for the opportunity to
contribute to this important debate on NCDs. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-AU">We congratulate WHO WPRO for the work which
it has been doing with the countries of the Western Pacific but much more is
needed.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-AU">Three issues which are not adequately
addressed in the draft Regional Action Plan are: price relativities, marketing
controls and trade agreements. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-AU">One of the main drivers of high energy
diets has been the price differences between high energy snack foods and fruit,
vegetables and quality protein. It is also the case that cheap highly processed
commercially available convenience foods are replacing home cooking to some
extent. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-AU">The Action Plan should include a package of
policies (taxation, subsidies, marketing restrictions, social marketing
campaigns) which make healthier diets cheaper and more convenient and which
make meal preparation and eating together cheaper, more attractive and easier. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-AU">Aggressive marketing of snack foods, high
energy drinks, and convenience foods is having a powerful effect in changing
diets in the countries of the region. We urge the Committee to strengthen the
provisions in the Action Plan regarding the regulation of marketing, including
strong provisions regarding food labelling. There is an urgent need for
international collaboration to identify the legal and trade implications of
such policies and to ensure that appropriate ways are found to achieve public
health objectives in these areas.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-AU">In this context we note the comment in the
draft Action Plan that, “Trade agreements should not hamper public health efforts
to protect people from NCDs”and highlight in particular the dangers to public
health associated with the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-AU">It has come to our attention that some
countries are negotiating to include ‘investor state dispute settlement’
provisions (or ISDS) in the proposed TPPA. If the TPPA is agreed to and
ratified, other countries in the region will come under great pressure to join
up. We note that the Distinguished Representative from Malaysia identified this
yesterday, with particular reference to tobacco.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-AU">ISDS provisions give transnational
corporations power to threaten all nation states, as is illustrated by the use
of these provisions by the tobacco companies to unduly influence countries
seeking to implement the provisions of the Framework Convention on Tobacco
Control.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-AU">The TPPA is negotiating for longer patent
terms, extended data protection and new restrictions on price setting in
national pharmaceutical reimbursement schemes. These would all increase the price
of medicines to families and to developing countries in the region, including
for non-communicable diseases. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-AU">WHO has to do more action on this because
the TPP negotiations have started and are almost finished. <span style> </span>We urge the Regional Committee to include, in
the finalised Action Plan, warnings about the implications for public health of
ISDS provisions and higher levels of IP protection in trade agreements and to
reiterate the commitment in WHA59.26 to work towards trade policies which do
not prevent action on urgent public issues such as non-communicable diseases. <a name="_GoBack"></a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-AU">Submitted by:<span style>
</span>Edelina P. Dela Paz, MD</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-AU"><span style> </span>October 22, 2013</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10pt" lang="EN-AU"> </span></p>
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