[afro-nets] PHA 2 Media coverage - British Medical Journal

[Claudio Schuftan <claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn>]

PHA 2 Media coverage - British Medical Journal
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STORY 1: Global right to health campaign launched

BMJ 2005;331:252 (30 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7511.252-a

News
The People's Health Movement Assembly
Cuenca, Ecuador 18-23 July

Global right to health campaign launched
Ronald Labonte

Cuenca

The People's Health Movement, an international organisation of
health activists, launched a new global campaign on the right to
health at its second assembly in Cuenca, Ecuador, held from 18
to 23 July.

"The campaign in its first cycle will focus on the right to
health care," said Abhay Shukla, co-convenor of the People's
Health Movement in India. Dr Shukla works with a highly visible
campaign for the right to health care in his own country that
has documented hundreds of cases of denial of access, often re-
sulting in serious health and financial consequences. The cam-
paign has organised several local "people's health tribunals"
and regional public hearings, with the support of the National
Human Rights Commission of India.

"Access to health care is becoming a burning issue world-wide,"
Dr Shukla continued. "It is also directly amenable to actions
from within the health sector, has a single group of target de-
cision makers, and presents an important set of clear achievable
outcomes."

These outcomes included strengthening universal and comprehen-
sive healthcare systems in all countries and lobbying to change
global patent and trade rules and conditions associated with the
international financial institutions that presently undermine
access, he said.

Assembly delegates from many countries attested to the cam-
paign's importance. Increasing erosion in access to universal
health care, growth of unregulated private providers, and de-
clines in public funding are leaving millions of people without
insured services. The Global Health Watch, an alternative world
health report also launched at the assembly, cites evidence of
surging medical poverty in many developing countries embracing
market reforms, where lack of public health care is forcing
families to exhaust what small savings they have on private
treatments.

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Longer versions of these articles are on http://bmj.com
The Global Health Watch report is available at www.ghwatch.org