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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><b style><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34)" lang="EN-ZA">People’s Health Movement (PHM) celebrates and remembers the life of Dr
K. Balasubramaniam (1926 – 2011)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34)" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34)" lang="EN-GB">Dr Bala was friend, comrade and mentor
of the People’s Health Movement: and the student & protégé of Dr
Seneka Bible. Dr Bala carried within his heart and soul the deep concern for
the marginalized. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34)" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34)" lang="EN-GB">Dr Bala worked with Dr Bible in UNCTAD. Dr Bible had
taken on the Pharma corporations to ensure affordable Access to
Medicines, by initiating the international Tender System in Sri Lanka. Dr Bala
initiated Action for Rational Drugs in Asia (ARDA) and Rational Drug Activists
of the region to address the issue of Pharmaceuticals, hazardous drugs, drug
pricing and rational use of drugs. ARDA was later renamed Health Action
International Asia Pacific (HAI AP). </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34)" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34)" lang="EN-GB">Dr Bala was committed to the concept of
Comprehensive Primary Health Care and Concept of Essential Drugs. He was “literally
the midwife for the birth of PHM”, being the first secretariat when he was
at Consumer International (known as International Organization of Consumer
Unions), where he was in charge of Pharmaceuticals & Health.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34)" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34)" lang="EN-GB">Realizing the tremendous threats of the unjust
International Trade Regimes, Dr Bala organized many HAI AP activities such
as conferences, seminars, annual meetings on Intellectual Property Rights,
General Agreement on Trade in Services, Free Trade Agreements, Health
Financing, Compulsory Licensing, Role of Traditional Medicine in Health, etc. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34)" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34)" lang="EN-GB">Dr Bala did his best to identify, mentor
and nurture those committed to the concept of Rational Use of drugs.
Having worked in UNCTAD he was aware of the problems of the Global South
and his stature and tremendous knowledge of Pharmaceuticals and Trade issues enabled
him to hold dialogues and advise Government officials, Health Ministers and senior
bureaucrats about resisting international trade regimes, agreements and
policies that would undermine public health and public Interest. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34)" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34)" lang="EN-GB">Dr Bala was highly respected as a professional
and loved and respected as a human being; and for his humane approach,
his efforts to unite people; and to make everyone
feel wanted and that their contribution to the Rational Drug and
comprehensive Primary Health Care Movement was valued and valuable. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34)" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34)" lang="EN-GB">Dr Bala lived a simple life supported by
his warm and loving wife Kamala. Throughout his life, Dr Bala gave much
more than he received: <span style> </span>he gave courage and
hope, helped build skills and knowledge to fight public health challenges. For
Dr Bala, work was not a career but a passion and a commitment. Numerous
documents, including the HAI 25 years recollection he put together
"Fast and Furious" reflected some of this. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34)" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34)" lang="EN-GB">The last time PHM met with Dr Bala was at the
Steering Council meeting held in Sri Lanka in 2010, immediately following an
International People’s Health University hosted jointly with Sarvodya. Many of
us looked at Dr Bala as a role model of healthy aging; despite becoming
physically frail, his mind remained clear and his contribution meaningful even at
80 years of age. <span style> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34)" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34)" lang="EN-GB">To PHM Dr Bala </span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34)" lang="EN-ZA">was a
teacher, author, strategist, founder (of PHM global and HAI AP), guide and
mentor and above all a courageous health activist and we</span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34)" lang="EN-GB"> remember him with affection, warmth and gratitude for all that he
shared and left behind with us. <span style> </span>We wish
we could have done more for him and expressed to him our gratitude and how much
we valued his contribution. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34)" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34)" lang="EN-GB">The memories, work and commitment of Dr Bala
will continue through the lives and work of the many people he touched through
throughout his life. <span style="background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style><img src="file://localhost/Users/claudioschuftan/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0/clip_image002.png" alt="Description: C:\Users\blloydphmovement.org\Pictures\PHM\Bala_HAIAP.jpg" height="353" width="470"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style lang="EN-ZA">Dr Bala
with some PHM friends in Sri Lanka, 2010.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style> </b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style>On Behalf of People’s
Health Movement</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style>April 2014</b></p>
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