 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Sarah Shannon, Hesperian Foundation, 1919 Addison St., #304, Berkeley, CA 94704, 510-845-1447, sarahs@hesperian.org
The People's Health Movement in the United States: Fighting Injustice through Solidarity and Organizing Sarah Shannon
Corporate-led globalization has driven millions of families around the world into poverty. Unable to meet their basic needs, they are more vulnerable to disease and many lack access to treatment and care when they become sick. At the same time, the IMF, World Bank and WTO carry through with structural adjustment programs, health sector reforms and imbalanced trade agreements. And, shamefully, twenty-five years after "Health for All" was declared at Alma Ata, 44 million people in the US still lack access to health care.
In light of the need to support groups working on health and justice within the US and at the same time work in solidarity with those organizing for health around the world, the US circle of the People's Health Movement (PHM) came together in the fall of 2002 and was> officially launched in the winter of 2003 with a national tour focused on how corporate-led globalization affects people's health. PHM USA, which is convened by the Hesperian Foundation and Doctors for Global Health, is currently focusing efforts on education and outreach about the People's Health Charter, the 25th anniversary of the Alma Ata Declaration that called for "Health for All," and the negative impact of corporate-led globalization policies such as the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) on health.
Learning Objectives:
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.