[Ip-health] World Council of Churches: Economic Programs Sometimes Prevent 'Health for All'

[mpalmedo@cptech.org]

http://www2.wcc-coe.org/pressreleasesen.nsf/index/pu-03-25.html

World Health Assembly: economic programmes sometimes prevent 'Health for All'

Cf. Press Release PR-03-19 of 20 May 2003

Some recent economic programmes have endangered people's health,
especially the health of poor people, and are one of the most significant
barriers to 'Health For All'. This is what civil society speakers said at
a symposium organized on 20 May 2003 - the second day of the 56th World
Health Assembly in Geneva.

The symposium was jointly organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC)
and the "NGO Forum for Health". The WCC and other NGOs facilitated civil
society participation in the Assembly by bringing members of the
world-wide Peoples Health Movement to Geneva to share their grassroots
experiences and insights on the goal of 'Health For All' and primary
health care (PHC) with governments. Among the economic programmes
identified as dangerous for people's health, symposium speakers mentioned
bilateral free trade agreements in Latin America, and the World Trade
Organization's TRIPS (trade-related aspects of intellectual property
rights) agreements.

25 years ago, an international conference at Alma Ata, USSR, said that the
way to achieve 'Health for all' was through primary health care. The Alma
Ata Declaration then became the cornerstone of WHO's and of many
governments' health care policies.

In a 20 May Assembly discussion of the Alma Ata anniversary, several
states reiterated their commitment to the ideals of 'Health for All' and
PHC, and moved to further strengthen Assembly resolutions in this respect.
The WCC and the Peoples Health Movement were also invited by WHO to
address the topic in plenary. "It is encouraging to see WHO's and member
states' openness to the voices from the grassroots on an issue that is of
vital importance to the poor and the marginalized," says Dr Manoj Kurian
of the WCC's Mission & Ecumenical Formation team.

Voices from civil society
Later in the day, presentations by practitioners of primary health care in
different parts of the world at the well-attended symposium co-organized
by the WCC and the "NGO Forum for Health" brought the issues into stark
relief.

Speakers from Nicaragua, Kenya, India, Philippines, Bangladesh, Iran,
Moldova and the Democratic Republic of Congo described the health
situation in their countries, and unanimously reiterated their commitment
to the vision and vital importance of community participation in health
care.

They reported that preoccupation with health care methods often leads to
losing sight of goals. By endangering people's health, some recent
economic programmes constitute important barriers to 'Health for All'. And
trends towards vertical, disease-specific programmes are damaging the
functioning of public health systems in developing countries, they
stressed.

These civil society voices expressed a shared conviction that the vision
of Alma Ata is as relevant today as it ever was, but that international
events like war and trade need to be factored into the analysis. Yet
overall, there is adequate evidence that primary health care brings
significant improvements in the health status of individuals and
communities, the PHC practitioners said.

The following members of the WCC delegation to the World Health Assembly
are available for interviews:

Natalia CEBOTARENCO, director, DrugInfo Moldova, board member, Ecumenical
Pharmaceutical Network (Moldova)
Gabi HETLER, coordinator, German Institute for Medical Mission (DIFAM)
Manoj KURIAN, programme executive for Health, Healing and Wholeness, WCC
Mission & Ecumenical Formation team
Samuel MWENDA, director, Health Association of Kenya
Patricia NICKSON, dean, Panafrican Institute for Community Health (Dem.
Rep. Congo)
Eva OMBAKA, director, WCC Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network (Tanzania)
J.C.OMMEN, head, Community Health Department, Christian Hospital,  Orissa,
(India)
Eric RAM, former director, World Vision and former director, WCC/CMC
(Switzerland)
David SANDERS, professor of Community Health, University of Western Cape
(South Africa)
Jose UTRERA, coordinator, Dutch Working Group on Health and Development
Issues (WEMOS) (Netherlands)

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