Last Update:  August 12, 2005 

Campaigns

People's Health Movement - 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.

Global Health Watch An Alternative World Health Report The Global Health Watch, currently being developed, is planned as a regular report, that will be based on rigorous analysis and will form a useful platform for the strengthening of advocacy and campaigns to promote equitable health for all. At the World Health Assembly in May 2003, the Peoples Health Movement, together with GEGA and Medact discussed the need for civil society to produce its own alternative World Health Report. It was felt that the WHO reports were inadequate, and furthermore, that there is a report that monitors the performance of the global health institutions themselves. It was also felt that the dominant neo-liberal discourse in public health policy also needed to be challenged by a more people-centred approach that highlights social justice. This idea of an alternative World Health Report since developed into an initiative called the ‘Global Health Watch’ the first of which will be launched in May 2005. Objectives Amplifies the calls for a broad, multi-sectoral approach to health by explicitly and concretely linking health concerns to the environment, international finance, agriculture and food security, war, housing, land rights, conflict and education. Strengthens the capacity and accountability of the world’s global health institutions to provide technical and value-based leadership in the struggle to attain adequate health for all. Creates a more vibrant global civil society in health by strengthening the links between socially conscious non-government and civil society organisations across all regions of the world, based on shared values Provides a forum for magnifying the voice of the poor and vulnerable and those who advocate for them Shifts the health policy agenda away from technocratic approaches, to one that also recognises the political, social and economic barriers to better and more equitable health; and Promotes human rights as the basis for health policy, as a corrective to the market-led policy agenda which tends to fragment and exclude Structure The Watch will consist of a compilation of chapters on various global health issues written by NGOs and academics from different regions of the world. Stories, experiences and analysis direct from poor communities will be threaded through the chapters and enable those who are traditionally unheard to voice their concerns on global health issues. For the first edition, the chapters will cover the following topics among others: Please see concept document for full list of chapters and for chapter descriptions Section A: Politics and Economics of Health Politics and economics of poverty Privatisation of health care Global brain drain Access to medicines Section B: Beyond the Health Sector Nutrition and food security Water and sanitation Environment and climate change Education Conflict Special Chapter: Indigenous People Special Chapter: Disabled People Section C: Monitoring Section WHO monitor World Bank monitor IMF monitor WTO monitor SUPPORT THE GLOBAL HEALTH WATCH The Global Health Watch team is in the process of commissioning lead authors of the various chapters as well as soliciting case studies, stories and experiences from around the world. For further information on the areas we are covering, see the concept document. For more information or to join an e-mail list for regular updates on this project, e-mail ghw@medact.org