conference concept note - European Public Health Alliance

Action for Global HealthCross-Europe Conference2 March 2010Concept NoteConference title: Delivering the right to health with the healthMillennium Development GoalsConference rationaleLess than six years are left to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and for all UN members tohonour their commitments to poor populations in the world. Still prevailing harsh social and economicinequities within and between countries require urgent action if we want to succeed in this critical task.The lack of access to health services remains a key illustration of such inequities, further increased bythe global economic crisis. Reduction of maternal and infant mortality — MDGs 4 and 5 — is far offtrack; many developing countries risk falling short of achieving their 2010 goal to reach universalaccess to comprehensive HIV services; and advances in controlling tuberculosis are threatened by theemergence of drug-resistant strains that are expensive and difficult to treat. Today, millions of women,men, and children lack access to even the most basic health care.The universal right to the highest attainable level of health, enshrined in the Universal Declaration onHuman Rights (1948), the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural rights (1966) or theDeclaration of Alma Ata (1978), remains a basic human right that the global community hasrecognized but markedly failed to deliver. Fulfillment of the right to health and the health MDGsrequires sufficient and sustainable funding to confront pressing health challenges and build strong andsustainable health systems. What this means is that EU Member States must fulfill their promisesto commit 0.7% of gross national income (GNI) to ODA by 2015. As recommended by the WHO’sCommission on Macroeconomics and health, Action for Global Health believes that at least 15% ofthis increased ODA should be allocated for health in order to achieve the health MDGs. Achieving thehealth MDGs will also require finances that are new and additional to this and the EU should urgentlysupport the development of innovative sources of finances in general and financial transaction taxes inparticular, including a currency transaction levy for health.Achieving the health MDGs also requires the development of strong health systems. The EU as awhole needs to adopt and implement a strong coherent joint approach to enable developing countriesto achieve universal access to a basic health care package, including through the International HealthPartnership (IHP+).Finally, the EU and its Member States need to provide the support necessary to allow the abolition ofuser fees and the pro vision of public basic health care services free at the point of use, in order toallow fair access for all. The EU should strongly promote social protection and gender equity in healthso as to ensure access for the poorest and most marginalized.The EU and its Member States, collectively the largest global aid donor, will need to afford theMillennium Development Goals the highest priority for the coming years, if these goals are to beachieved by 2015. The Action for Global Health conference will target EU policy makers at a keymoment, right after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty and the start of the new EuropeanCommission in a year in which the MDGs will be high on the international agenda again.

The aim of the conference is to examine what concrete actions the EU Institutions and Member Stateswill need to undertake to ensure that the health MDGs are to be achieved and all citizens indeveloping countries have equal access to quality health care.The Conference will put a specific emphasis on the need to allocate full funding, develop strong healthsystems, and ensure fair access to realize the right to health. Action for Global Health believes that therealization of the right to health is key for achieving the health Millennium Development Goals. Itrequires the building of strong and integrated primary health care systems, including universal accessto sexual and reproductive health services, and meaningful community participation.More than sixty years on from the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, governmentsaround the world have failed to fulfill their obligations and the right to health remains largely rhetoric,with more than a billion people around the world lacking even the most basic levels of health care. Afailure to apply the principles of the right to health has led to persistence and widening of healthinequalities, both between and within countries.Conference formatThe conference will take place on Tuesday 2 March 2010 and will consist of two parts:Panel discussions and thematic workshops.Panel Discussions: Morning 2 MarchThe EU Presidencies panel will consist of the EU Presidency of Spain and the two upcoming EUPresidencies, Belgium and Hungary. The Spanish and Belgian EU Presidencies are importantPresidencies as they hold the EU Presidency in 2010, a key year for the MDGs. In the second half of2010, there will a UN High Level Summit on the MDGs as it is five years before the target date of2015. The Hungarian EU Presidency, first half of 2011, will need to take a leading role inimplementing the commitments made in 2010. The aim is of the panel is to renew politicalcommitment of the EU Presidencies to the achievement of the health MDGs.The EU Institutions panel will include representatives of the three EU Institutions, the EuropeanParliament, the new European Commission and the Council. The panel members will be asked tohighlight which actions each Institution aims to undertake and what role each Institution can play torealize the universal right to health and to support developing countries in achieving the health MDGsby 2015.Thematic workshops: Afternoon 2 MarchThe thematic workshops aim to stimulate debate between participating Southern and NorthernNGOs and technical experts from UN agencies and the European Commission on issues relating tofinancing for health, health systems strengthening and fair access.Conference participants:The conference will be attended by EU policy makers based in Brussels and EU Member States, NGOrepresentatives from the North and the South, as well as UN representatives, representatives ofAcademic Institutions and Brussels based Ambassadors from the African, Caribbean and Pacific(ACP) regions.