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Resolutions
of the Health civil society in East and Southern Africa meeting
Community
Working Group on Health (CWGH)
October 13, 2005
Health civil
society groups in Zimbabwe and east and southern Africa, recognising
the initiative of health civil society in the region met in Harare
on the 13th of October 2005 to discuss our struggles
for health. We agreed on the following resolutions.
We are united,
together with health civil society in the region, around the core
principles and values of:
- the fundamental
right to health and life
- equity and
social justice
- people-led
and people-centred health systems
- public over
commercial interests in health (health before profits)
- people-led
and grassroots-driven regional integration.
To take these
values forward we are reclaiming the state in health and have identified
the following priorities:
1. Building
a national people’s health system
2. Organising
people’s power for health
3. Having
adequate fairly treated health workers
4. Sufficient
and equitable funding of our health systems
5. Global
solidarity for economic and trade justice.
Within these
areas we resolve that:
BUILDING
A NATIONAL PEOPLE’S HEALTH SYSTEM
1. We are
struggling to build an integrated health systems underpinned by
the principles of equity that addresses of our lives, not just
our illnesses and that keeps us healthy.
2. We
will link, network and foster strategic alliances with partners,
inside and outside the health sector, to develop a unified voice.
ORGANISING
PEOPLE’S POWER FOR HEALTH
3. We are organising
people’s power to amplify our voice, claim our right to health and
control our resources for health.
HAVING ADEQUATE,
FAIRLY TREATED HEALTH WORKERS
4. Our health
systems need adequate, well-trained and fairly distributed health
workers at all levels of our health systems in places where people
need them most.
5. Health
workers in the public sector need to be motivated through decent
conditions, training, incentives, living wages and safe work environments,
in a way that promotes gender-equity.
SUFFICIENT
AND EQUITABLE FUNDING OF OUR HEALTH SYSTEMS
6. We demand
sustained increased investments in the public sector in health.
We expect our governments to meet their Abuja commitment to spend
at least 15% of government spending in health.
7. We demand
an end to African wealth unfairly flowing out of the continent
so that we have the resources for our health.
8. We demand
an end to unfair charges on poor people for health.
GLOBAL SOLIDARITY
FOR ECONOMIC AND TRADE JUSTICE
9. We expect
our parliamentarians to ensure our countries have the independence
and sovereignty to protect our right to health.
10. We remind
those who go to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that: "No
deal is better than a bad deal."
We as health
civil society, together with all other progressive forces in society
in the region, are taking forward the struggle. We call on our global
partners to support us in this struggle!
Visit the CWGH
fact sheet
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