The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #74442

Lanny Smith, MD, DTMH, MPH, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, P.O. Box 672444, Bronx, NY 10467, 917-424-4007, lannysmith@yahoo.com

Liberation Medicine, "the conscious, conscientious use of health to promote social justice and human dignity," came into definition in 1996 under conditions of Community Based Health and Human Rights activity, also the roots of the People's Health Movement or PHM. The PHM grew from the People's Health Assembly in GK-Savaar, Dhaka, Bangladesh from 4-8 December 2000, in which 1500 persons from 94 different countries gathered to discuss alternatives to the present situation of world dis-ease. The PHM is now a global coalition of hundreds of health and human rights organizations dedicated to improving health around the world. Key objectives include "listening to the unheard," building a social movement, and promoting health as a basic human right. The PHM Secretariat has invited Doctors for Global Health, DGH, as well as the Hesperian Foundation (publisher of Where There Is No Doctor), to promote the PHM within the United States, as well as be part of the global movement.

Goals: 1. Understand the origins and principles of Liberation Medicine, LM, including how LM can be applied toward healing in one's own community. 2. Understand how the People's Health Movement functions and how one can invite the PHM to become part of one's local community action.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the session, the learner will be able to:
• give a brief definition of LM and give at least one concrete example of LM in action.
• at the end of the session, the learner will understand the process of the People's Health Movement and how to invite the movement to become part of one's own work.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.