AFRO-NETS> People's Charter for Health, December 2000 (2)

[Claudio Schuftan <aviva@netnam.vn>]

People's Charter for Health, December 2000 (2)
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Part 2 of 2

Environmental challenges

Water and air pollution, rapid climate change, ozone layer depletion, 
nuclear energy and waste, toxic chemicals and pesticides, loss of 
biodiversity, deforestation and soil erosion have far-reaching ef-
fects on people's health. The root causes of this destruction include 
the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources, the absence of a 
long-term holistic vision, the spread of individualistic and profit-
maximising behaviours, and over-consumption by the rich. This de-
struction must be confronted and reversed immediately and effec-
tively.

This Charter calls on people of the world to: 

* Hold transnational and national corporations, public institutions 
  and the military accountable for their destructive and hazardous ac-
  tivities that impact on the environment and people's health.

* Demand that all development projects be evaluated against health 
  and environmental criteria and that caution and restraint be applied 
  whenever technologies or policies pose potential threats to health 
  and the environment (the precautionary principle).

* Demand that governments rapidly commit themselves to reductions of 
  greenhouse gases from their own territories far stricter than those 
  set out in the international climate change agreement, without re-
  sorting to hazardous or inappropriate technologies and practices.

* Oppose the shifting of hazardous industries and toxic and radioac-
  tive waste to poorer countries and marginalised communities and en-
  courage solutions that minimise waste production.

* Reduce over-consumption and non-sustainable lifestyles - both in 
  the North and the South. Pressure wealthy industrialised countries to 
  reduce their consumption and pollution by 90 per cent.

* Demand measures to ensure occupational health and safety, including 
  worker-centred monitoring of working conditions.

* Demand measures to prevent accidents and injuries in the workplace, 
  the community and in homes.

* Reject patents on life and oppose bio-piracy of traditional and in-
  digenous knowledge and resources.

* Develop people-centred, community-based indicators of environmental 
  and social progress, and to press for the development and adoption of 
  regular audits that measure environmental degradation and the health 
  status of the population.

War, violence, conflict and natural disasters

War, violence, conflict and natural disasters devastate communities 
and destroy human dignity. They have a severe impact on the physical 
and mental health of their members, especially women and children. 
Increased arms procurement and an aggressive and corrupt interna-
tional arms trade undermine social, political and economic stability 
and the allocation of resources to the social sector.

This Charter calls on people of the world to: 

* Support campaigns and movements for peace and disarmament.

* Support campaigns against aggression, and the research, production, 
  testing and use of weapons of mass destruction and other arms, in-
  cluding all types of landmines.

* Support people's initiatives to achieve a just and lasting peace, 
  especially in countries with experiences of civil war and genocide.

* Condemn the use of child soldiers, and the abuse and rape, torture 
  and killing of women and children.

* Demand the end of occupation as one of the most destructive tools 
  to human dignity.

* Oppose the militarisation of humanitarian relief interventions.

* Demand the radical transformation of the UN Security Council so 
  that it functions democratically.

* Demand that the United Nations and individual states end all kinds 
  of sanctions used as an instrument of aggression, which can damage 
  the health of civilian populations.

* Encourage independent, people-based initiatives to declare 
  neighbourhoods, communities and cities areas of peace and zones free 
  of weapons.

* Support actions and campaigns for the prevention and reduction of 
  aggressive and violent behaviour, especially in men, and the foster-
  ing of peaceful coexistence.

* Support actions and campaigns for the prevention of natural disas-
  ters and the reduction of subsequent human suffering.


A PEOPLE-CENTERED HEALTH SECTOR

This Charter calls for the provision of universal and comprehensive 
primary health care, irrespective of people's ability to pay. Health 
services must be democratic and accountable with sufficient resources 
to achieve this.

This Charter calls on people of the world to:

* Oppose international and national policies that privatise health 
  care and turn it into a commodity.

* Demand that governments promote, finance and provide comprehensive 
  Primary Health Care as the most effective way of addressing health 
  problems and organising public health services so as to ensure free 
  and universal access.

* Pressure governments to adopt, implement and enforce national 
  health and drug policies.

* Demand that governments oppose the privatisation of public health 
  services and ensure effective regulation of the private medical sec-
  tor, including charitable and NGO medical services.

* Demand a radical transformation of the World Health Organization 
  (WHO) so that it responds to health challenges in a manner which 
  benefits the poor, avoids vertical approaches, ensures intersectoral 
  work, involves people's organisations in the World Health Assembly, 
  and ensures independence from corporate interests.

* Promote, support and engage in actions that encourage people's 
  power and control in decision-making in health at all levels, includ-
  ing patient and consumer rights.

* Support, recognise and promote traditional and holistic healing 
  systems and practitioners and their integration into Primary Health 
  Care.

* Demand changes in the training of health personnel so that they be-
  come more problem-oriented and practice-based, understand better the 
  impact of global issues in their communities, and are encouraged to 
  work with and respect the community and its diversities.

* Demystify medical and health technologies (including medicines) and 
  demand that they be subordinated to the health needs of the people.

* Demand that research in health, including genetic research and the 
  development of medicines and reproductive technologies, is carried 
  out in a participatory, needs-based manner by accountable institu-
  tions. It should be people- and public health-oriented, respecting 
  universal ethical principles.

* Support people's rights to reproductive and sexual self-
  determination and oppose all coercive measures in population and fam-
  ily planning policies.

This support includes the right to the full range of safe and effec-
tive methods of fertility regulation.


PEOPLE'S PARTICIPATION FOR A HEALTHY WORLD

Strong people's organisations and movements are fundamental to more 
democratic, transparent and accountable decision-making processes. It 
is essential that people's civil, political, economic, social and 
cultural rights are ensured. While governments have the primary re-
sponsibility for promoting a more equitable approach to health and 
human rights, a wide range of civil society groups and movements, and 
the media have an important role to play in ensuring people's power 
and control in policy development and in the monitoring of its imple-
mentation.

This Charter calls on people of the world to:

* Build and strengthen people's organisations to create a basis for 
  analysis and action.

* Promote, support and engage in actions that encourage people's in-
  volvement in decision-making in public services at all levels.

* Demand that people's organisations be represented in local, na-
  tional and international fora that are relevant to health.

* Support local initiatives towards participatory democracy through 
  the establishment of people-centred solidarity networks across the 
  world.

The People's Health Assembly and the Charter

The idea of a People's Health Assembly (PHA) has been discussed for 
more than a decade. In 1998 a number of organisations launched the 
PHA process and started to plan a large international Assembly meet-
ing, held in Bangladesh at the end of 2000. A range of pre- and post-
Assembly activities were initiated including regional workshops, the 
collection of people's health-related stories and the drafting of a 
People's Charter for Health.

The present Charter builds upon the views of citizens and people's 
organisations from around the world, and was first approved and 
opened for endorsement at the Assembly meeting in Savar, Bangladesh, 
in December 2000.

The Charter is an expression of our common concerns, our vision of a 
better and healthier world, and of our calls for radical action. It 
is a tool for advocacy and a rallying point around which a global 
health movement can gather and other networks and coalitions can be 
formed.

Join Us - Endorse the Charter

We call upon all individuals and organisations to join this global 
movement and invite you to endorse and help implement the People's 
Charter for Health.

Mailing address:
PHA Secretariat
Gonoshasthaya Kendra, Savar
Dhaka, 1344, Bangladesh
mailto:phasec@pha2000.org
http://www.pha2000.org


Amendment

After the endorsement of the PCH on December 8, 2000 it was called to 
the attention of the drafting group that action points number 1 and 2 
under Economic challenges could be interpreted as supporting the so-
cial clause proposed by WTO, which actually serves to strengthen the 
WTO and its neoliberal agenda. Given that this countervails the PHA 
demands for change of the WTO and the global trading system, the two 
paragraphs were merged and amended.

The section on War Violence, and Conflict has been amended to include 
natural disasters. A new action point, number 5 in this version, was 
added to demand the end of occupation. Furthermore, action point num-
ber 7, now number 8, was amended to read to end all kinds of sanc-
tions. An additional action point number 11 was added concerning 
natural disasters. 

--
Claudio Schuftan
mailto:aviva@netnam.vn

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