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Responding to the Tsunami Crisis - A People's Health
Movement Statement
Released at International Health Forum in Defense of
People's Health and World Social Forum held at Porto Alegre, Brazil from 23rd
to 31st January 2005
This
document in  doc format
At the year-end, on 26th December 2004, an earthquake,
off the Sumatra coast in Indonesia (measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale)
unleashed Tsunami waves that caused one of the biggest human tragedies in
recent history in Southern Asia and in few parts of Africa. By 20th January
2005, the estimated toll of death was well past 228,000
A massive national and international response to this
human disaster and its humanitarian challenges is underway after
communities, nations and the international community recovered from the
shock of the sheer immensity of the devastation.
The PHM Global Secretariat has been receiving messages of
concern and solidarity from all over the world and offers of support. The
PHM members in the affected countries supported by local efforts and
International solidarity have been actively involved in responding to the
disaster.
While encouraging all PHM members to respond in
solidarity, and to work at all levels with people's organizations, local
governments and state and international aid efforts, the PHM would also like
to raise a few important issues and concerns, which might be kept in mind as
we respond to this disaster.
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All relief and rehabilitation efforts must be done in
close collaboration and partnership with affected communities keeping their
needs, ideas, and aspirations in mind.
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Relief and rehabilitation efforts must not become sub-servient
to the political agendas of the state and national governments, nor to the
pressures and priorities of aid giving agencies, either from developed
countries or International funding agencies.
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The aid efforts - both relief and rehabilitation, must be
sensitive to the social, economic, cultural situation of the affected
communities and their human rights.
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The aid efforts must be gender sensitive and take into
consideration the requirements of people with special needs including
non-fisher folk, people with disabilities, and socially neglected groups
like widows, elderly people and orphans.
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The programmes have to be holistic, responding to the
basic needs, psycho-social, medical, livelihoods, and community organization
and capacity building aspects of the challenge, and not be over medicalized
or techno-centric or sub-servient to external agendas of any kind.
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The greatest challenge is to collaborate with
communities, local civil society organizations and governments, to rebuild
lives and livelihoods of people, strengthening their access to comprehensive
and responsive Primary Health Care, education, social services and economic
/ livelihood support.
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Long-term rehabilitation has to be done, empowering
affected communities as active participants and not passive beneficiaries.
Care must also be taken to ensure that all those who were marginalized by
the societal processes before the disaster, are not further marginalized by
it. They must be organized and supported to ensure equity in relief and
rehabilitation. The long term efforts must also focus on disaster
preparedness in the coastal villages and measures to the potential recurrent
disaster.
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All relief and rehabilitation work and processes should
adhere to internationally agreed codes of conduct as far as possible to
ensure equity and dignity to the affected people. Government and other
agencies must be supported to attain those standards.
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Aid is also being subjected to a series of external
factors, which include donor agendas, media exploitation, global security
policies, market economy and commodification. As we all respond to the
current disaster, it is also time to scrutinize all these practices and the
ongoing structural determinants of aid.
While gearing up collectively in the new year to respond
to the Asian tsunami disaster, let us also continue to build a strong
solidarity against the ongoing 'tsunamis' of war and occupation; corporate
led globalization; the unjust WTO and international agreements like TRIPS,
GATS; and unsustainable development. This year needs our collective response
in solidarity with all those who are facing these challenges.
PHM Secretariat
January 21, 2005
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