AFRO-NETS> People's Health Assembly - A Call For Participation

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People's Health Assembly - A Call For Participation
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4-8 December 2000
Dhaka, Bangladesh

To: All non-governmental organizations, humanitarian and community-
based organizations, academic institutions, religious organizations, 
trade unions, representatives and groups of global civil society.


FROM: THE PEOPLE'S HEALTH ASSEMBLY SECRETARIAT

Please distribute as widely as possible.
Please forward to other interested groups and organisations.


Dear friends,

Greetings of peace and solidarity.

The People's Health Assembly (PHA) is a global project collectively 
organised by 8 civil society organisations viz. Asian Community 
Health Action Network (ACHAN), Consumers International (CI), Dag Ham-
marskjold Foundation (DHF), Gonoshasthaya Kendra (GK), Health Action 
International (HAI), International People's Health Council (IPHC), 
Third World Network (TWN) and Women's Global Network for Reproductive 
Rights (WGNRR).

The PHA will bring together the knowledge and experiences of differ-
ent groups and communities around the world with the aim of analysing 
and assessing their experiences in health and health-related issues. 
The People's Health Assembly is a broad and new initiative involving 
as many people as possible to formulate their own health agenda and 
set their own priorities. People's long and rich experiences will be 
presented, discussed and translated into clear, practical and democ-
ratic policy guidelines.

Goal
The goal of the PHA is to re-establish health and equitable develop-
ment as top priorities in local, national and international policy-
making with Primary Health Care as the strategy for achieving these 
priorities. The Assembly aims to draw on and support people's move-
ments in their struggles to build long-term and sustainable solutions 
to health problems.

Objectives
The following objectives will guide the PHA process:

a. To hear the unheard. The Assembly will present people's concerns 
and initiatives for better health, including traditional and indige-
nous approaches. Their direct experiences of ill-health, its causes 
and possible solutions will also be presented, discussed and ana-
lysed. Action plans will be worked out and refined;

b. To reinforce the principle of health as a broad cross-cutting is-
sue. There will be emphasis on the intersectoral dimensions of pri-
mary health care and focus on health development, rather than health 
services. The problematic aspects of vertical, non-integrated pro-
grammes will be highlighted;

c. To develop co-operation between concerned actors in the health 
field. The importance of strengthening the links between the differ-
ent institutions and actors in the health field should not be under-
estimated. Such revived and/or new partnerships will be built on the 
principle of equity and accountability between the parties;

d. To formulate a People's Health Charter. Based on thorough analyses 
of world health problems as well as existing policies and programmes, 
a People's Health Charter will be formulated. Concrete recommenda-
tions regarding policy and practice will be made to governments, in-
ternational organisations, the business sector, non-governmental or-
ganisations and people's movements;

e. To improve the communication between concerned groups, institu-
tions and actors. Communication and networking among individuals, 
groups, organisations and institutions will be developed during the 
Assembly and sustained and strengthened thereafter;

f. To share and increase knowledge, skills, motivation and advocacy 
for change. During and after the Assembly opportunities will be pro-
vided for in-depth exchange of experiences and development of skills 
to participants in the on-going PHA process. The People's Health 
Charter will provide a base for advocacy, policy-formulation and cam-
paigns at the local, national and international levels.

Characteristics of the PHA Project
The People's Health Assembly is a long-term process with the actual 
Assembly only being the peak event among several other activities. 
The Assembly will be preceded by extensive preparatory activities and 
will be followed up by advocacy, campaigning and improved networking 
among the participating individuals and organisations. The PHA will 
be organised in a way that allows for as broad participation as pos-
sible in order to involve a large number of people and stakeholder 
groups in the preparations.

Pre-assembly activities
Activities leading up to the PHA event in December 2000 will include 
three broad areas:

Analytical work, which will focus on a broad analysis of the major 
health issues facing the world, in order to provide a solid basis for 
policy formulation, advocacy and development of innovative solutions. 
The effort will mainly draw on existing analyses and data, but will 
also, where needed, involve original research by resource persons 
with recognised expertise. This background documentation will be used 
to guide discussions within countries and regions and promote peo-
ple's action for health.

Country and regional meetings
Drawing on, but not restricted to the analytical work, country and 
regional discussions will deepen understanding of and elaborate 
strategies to address priority health problems. These meetings will 
serve three major purposes: to bring together large numbers of health 
and development workers, community members and decision-makers; to 
engage critically with the above analyses; and to form a basis for 
future health development action.

Case studies, experiences and "people's stories" from as many coun-
tries as possible will be collected. These will describe people's di-
rect experiences of health and health problems, their own analysis of 
causal factors, their initiatives, examples of success stories, fail-
ures and proposals for the future.

Products of these processes will be analytical and discussion papers, 
case studies and people's stories. These will contribute to the de-
velopment of a People's Health Charter. This Charter will be widely 
circulated for input during the pre-Assembly process and will be pre-
sented at the Assembly for further refinement and endorsement. It is 
recognised that the task of involving people all over the world is 
ambitious and will necessarily have to draw on existing networks and 
organisations.

The People's Health Assembly Event 
The actual Assembly will be held during five days from 4-8 December 
2000 near Dhaka, Bangladesh with approximately 500 participants. As-
sembly activities include keynote addresses, analytical presenta-
tions, sharing of people's testimonies and stories on health prac-
tices and concerns, workshops, debates, cultural and audio-visual 
presentations, exhibitions and the discussion and endorsement of the 
People's Health Charter. The Assembly will be an exciting, vibrant, 
and inspiring event that will become an important landmark in global 
health development. Directly following the Assembly, a one week spe-
cial Forum will be organised for those who want to deepen their un-
derstanding of the issues and enhance their skills. Activities will 
include opportunities for exchanges among the participants and local 
and regional health and development activists, development of net-
working and advocacy strategies, hands-on experiences and field 
trips.

Post-assembly activities 
Post-assembly activities will be as important as the other phases of 
this process. Activities will include the dissemination, promotion 
and wider endorsement of the People's Health Charter; coordinated ad-
vocacy and lobbying at the local, national and international levels; 
and the publication of material related to the PHA, leading to peo-
ple's action for health.


GET INVOLVED! BE PART OF A WORLD-WIDE INITIATIVE. LET YOUR VOICES BE 
HEARD!

Please send the above information to your network partners/members 
and invite them to join us in the PHA process to make our collective 
vision of health for all a possibility. Your work and commitment to 
this process is therefore vital to the entire PHA process.

We would appreciate it if you could publish this information in your 
organisation's newsletter, magazine or create a link on your website. 
Information on the PHA process can be obtained from our website at: 
http://www.pha2000.org

You will be able to download the relevant information as well as the 
invitation to participate in pre-assembly activities.

Registration for the assembly event, scheduled for 4-8 December and 
following that the Forum 10-13 December will only be open after April 
2000. We are expecting 600 representatives from grassroots and commu-
nity-based organisations, non-governmental organisations, trade un-
ions, academics, international agencies to participate in the assem-
bly event.

We look forward to your involvement and participation in the PHA 
process. Kindly direct your queries to PHA Secretariat:

PHA Secretariat
CI ROAP
250-A Jalan Air Itam
10460 Penang
Malaysia
Tel: +604-229-1396
Fax: +604-228-6506
mailto:phasec@pha2000.org
http://www.pha2000.org

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