The Global Secretariat of the People’s Health Movement (PHM) jointly with the Secretariat of the Global Health Watch 2 (GHW2) call upon all PHM country circles and networks to participate in the launching of the GHW2.

The GHW
Global Health Watch is a collaboration of leading popular movements and nongovernmental organizations comprising civil society activists, community groups, health workers and academics. It was initiated by the People’s Health Movement, Global Equity Gauge Alliance and Medact. It has compiled the second edition of its alternative world health report – a hard-hitting, evidence-based analysis of the political economy of health and health care – as a challenge to major global bodies that influence health. Its monitoring of institutions including the World Bank, the World Health Organization and UNICEF reveals that while some important initiatives are being taken, much more needs to be done to have any hope of meeting the UN’s health related Millennium Development Goals.

GHW2’s content includes

The launching
The PHM Global Secretariat is urging all PHM country circles to use the opportunity of launching the GHW2 for further mobilization around the PHM principles and activism on the country level. This would entail organizing a wide range of pre-launching activities, linking the launching to big planned events, organizing the launch, if stands alone, to discuss and promote the content of the GHW2 rather than just launching it.

The launching activities will start during the second half of October till the end of the year 2008. Each PHM country circle or group would decide upon a launching date, may be in linkage to other planned national activity.

Steps

• Please have a look at the below suggested guidelines.
• Consult with PHM colleagues in your country to draw-up a launching plan for the GHW2.
• Contact the PHM global secretariat (secretariat [at] phmovement.org) or GHW2 secretariat (bridget [at] hst.org.za) to indicate:

o The possibility/willingness to organize the launching of the GHW2.
o Your country-specific launching plan and dates, you may focus on:

• • How to use the launching activities for initiating/strengthening PHM circle on the country level;
  • How to promote the use of the GHW2 as an advocacy tool;
  • How to use the launching event in ensuring better mobilization around the development of GHW-3.
  • How to encourage the presence of media and ensure good coverage

o List of potential collaborates in the launching.
o List of PHM publications you may need, indicating the needed number and preferred language of each (please refer to the section on launching package below) and the address we should post the package to.

Suggested guidelines for Launching the Global Health Watch 2 (GHW2)

The PHM country focal point / coordinating group may find the below guidelines useful.

Pre-Launching activities at the country level
- Identify national partners for the GHW2 launching activities. The nature of partners would vary from a country to another. Broad categories would include:

• Civil society organizations, networks or movements
• Non-governmental non-for-profit organizations
• Trade unions
• Professional syndicates
• Professional organizations
• Political parties

- Call for preparatory meeting for the identified partners. The meeting can be divided into two sections:

• An introductory presentation on the GHW2
• Semi-structured group discussion that would focus on reaching consensus around:

• should we launch the GHW?
• should we use the launching for local and national mobilization? How? (Detailed plan for the launching).
• who else should we invite to join this process?
• how can we contribute to the future GHWs?
• how can we develop a country watch for violation of right to health?

Launching activities
The launching activities will definitely vary from a country to another according to the consensus among the different country groups. The following suggestions would be only useful as guidelines.

- One or two-day event during which,

• A session can introduce the global health crises, the importance of an alternative world health report, the GHW2 (brief to the contents, main messages and needed actions).
• A session or more on the major country specific health problems and health determinants (having testimonies highlighting violation of right to health is always important).
• A final session to discuss the utilization of the GHW2 and the development of a national watch dog for violation of right to health.

- Display area that would provide a space for participant organizations and networks to present their own posters, publications, photographs, etc.

- Culture evening(s): artistic shows would be organized in the evenings of the days of launching days.

Announcing for and documenting the launching events:
- The PHM website will be used to announce for the launching in different countries. To be able to do that, we do need short plans from the focal points of the PHM country circles that will be committed to launching.

- We urge the focal points of the country circles to provide short coverage in form of reports and photos for the launching event. The reports should document the process, the major themes of the launching event and any plans of action for the future. These reports and photos will be uploaded on the PHM website.

In addition, we can dedicate one issue of the PHM Newsbrief for covering the launching events in different countries.

Launching package
The PHM Global Secretariat jointly with the GHW Secretariat will do their best to make the following available for each country circle.

• 20 copies of the GHW2. Note: The GHW2 secretariat will make 20 copies available for each country for free, however the launching organizers will need to take care of the costs of posting the copies from the publisher in UK
• 100 softcopies of the GHW2 on CDs.
• 100 hardcopies of the GHW2 Executive Summary. The Executive Summary will be available in 4 languages (English, Spanish, French and Arabic - more languages will also be available on the PHM website). Note: Each country circle would indicate the preferred language. We urge all PHM country circles to propose translating, printing and disseminating the summary in their own language. This will also need mobilizing funds.
• Copies of the main PHM documents (PHM flyer in English; People’s Charter for Health in English, French and Arabic - Cuenca Declaration in English, Spanish and Arabic - Mumbai Declaration in English and Arabic - and Global Health Action 1 in English, French, Spanish and Arabic) can be posted to the country circles upon request.

Plans of launching GHW2 in different countries

GHW2 Overview (Executive Summary)

The overview is available in English, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, French, German, Farsi, Japanese and Arabic.

To download the PDF right-click on the language and choose "Save target as" to save the file to your computer.

GHW2 Press Release

Alternative world health report calls for radical change
Global Health Watch 2: launch 16th October

Civil society organizations and scientists from around the world are calling for ‘a new development paradigm’ to address the toxic combination of climate change, growing poverty and inequality and poor health.

The new report, Global Health Watch 2, says that unfair social and economic policies combined with bad politics are to blame for the poor state of the health of millions of people in the world ^[1]. The report makes stinging criticisms of key global actors, including the World Health Organization, the World Bank and the Gates Foundation. The report calls on governments to stop the Bank from meddling in health politics.

Global Health Watch 2 provides examples of civil society mobilization across the world for more equitable health care and more health promotion, although more is needed to bring about significant improvements in health.

The report reveals widespread unease about the immense but unaccountable power and influence of the Gates Foundation. It says that although the Gates Foundation has injected vast sums of money into global health, it operates in an undemocratic way and reinforces a medical-technical approach.

Among other issues it highlights is the pressure exerted on the World Health Organization by powerful and vested interests that would prefer WHO’s activities and programme to have a more biomedical and less political focus.

Global Health Watch 2 ^[2] will be launched in London on 16th October, followed by launches in around 20 other countries.

The first edition of Global Health Watch, published in 2005, was hailed for its ground-breaking analysis and mobilising call to action.

Marion Birch, director of the London-based charity, Medact:
“Priorities set by the rich world damage the health of people thousands of miles away. Funding for water and sanitation is falling while slum-dwellers in Lagos pay up to 40 times as much for water as residents in downtown New York. Oil extraction in the Niger Delta generates billions of dollars of revenue but local communities lack basic health care.”


Amit Sengupta of the People’s Health Movement in India:
“The World Bank’s job is to help transfer resources from richer to poor countries and it should act accordingly. Its impact on the health systems of poor countries has been largely negative. Internationally, it has also contributed to the uncoordinated circus of health sector policy-making that makes it difficult for Ministries of Health to function”.


Martin Drewry, director of the charity Health Unlimited:
“The majority world does not want charity – it wants a fairer political and economic system. It needs fewer billionaires; not more. While it is great that Bill Gates is willing to donate his money towards improving health in Africa, he would do far better campaigning for more effective tax systems both nationally and internationally”.


ENDS

For further information, or for a summary of Global Health Watch 2, contact Lisa O’Shea on 0207 840 3754/ l.oshea [at] healthunlimited.org

For press copies or publicity information, please contact Ruvani de Silva at Zed Books on 020 7837 8466 or ruvani.de_silva [at] zedbooks.net. To order copies, please contact the Zed sales team on 020 7837 4014 or email sales [at] zedbooks.net.

Note to editors: Global Health Watch 2 will be launched on Thursday October 16, 4.45 - 6.15 pm, at the Wilkins Jeremy Bentham Meeting Room, Main Building UCL, Gower Street, London.

[1] Global Health Watch 2 reinforces and extends the conclusion of the Commission on the Social Determinants of Health that the state of global health results from "poor social policies and programmes, unfair economic arrangements, and bad politics".

[2] Global Health Watch 2 is a civil society alternative to the WHO's World Health Report. It was coordinated by the People's Health Movement, the Global Equity Gauge Alliance and Medact with input from 80 organisations and more than 130 individuals.

Download the Global Health Watch 2 here.

To download the PDF right-click on the link above and choose "Save target as" to save the file to your computer.

Download the Global Health Watch 2 by chapter here.

To order hard-copies of the book: download, print , fill in and post this form. Or contact Zed Books (UK) at: sales@zedbooks.net or +44 2078374014/8466.

Download the presentation on GHW2 by David McCoy here.