Congress report - European Health Forum Gastein

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92 European Health Forum Gastein 2001 Development is the new global environment for public health practice: health is now firmly on the global policy agenda; achievements in health are critical to the fulfilment of international development goals; and domestic action alone can no longer ensure people’s health locally. The dangers, for population health from this new environment are numerous, for example, exclusion/disconnection from global markets; increasing private ownership of knowledge with potential impact on technology transfer and access to drugs; the continuing migration of health professionals; cross border transmission of disease (infectious and noncommunicable such as tobacco caused); environmental degradation; and increased conflict. The opportunities for public health are increasingly recognised and arise from: the new levels of interconnectedness; the new market incentives for research and development for diseases of the poor; the new and major resources promised to scale up existing effective interventions; the wider dissemination of knowledge of effective interventions; and the new global health rules to control cross border and global risks. The strategies being used by WHO to assist member states take advantage of these opportunities include: expanding and sharing knowledge on the effects of globalization on health; continuing to act as an independent provider of knowledge and evidence; developing appropriate policy responses; strengthening national negotiating capacity to place public health interests higher on the trade, investment and development agendas; supporting the control of public health bads and the production and access to public health goods. Specific areas of work include: analysing the impact of globalisation on health (risks, opportunities and responses); documenting the public health implications multilateral trade agreements; promoting new avenues for international financing for health development; assisting the processes of managing interdependence for health and negotiating across boundaries; analysing the implications of global public goods for health; exploring opportunities for strengthening global health governance. Presentation slides are available for download at the EHFG web-site http://www.ehfg.org/website01/abstracts.htm International Forum Gastein, Tauernplatz 1, A-5630 Bad Hofgastein Tel.: +43 (6432) 7110-70, Fax: Ext. 71, e-mail: info@ehfg.org, website: www.ehfg.org
Forum II: Globalisation, World Trade and Health The role of health issues in multilateral trade agreements Rolf Adlung Presentation was based largely on an article previously published in Issues in European Health Policy, 5th Issues, July 2001. THE GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN SERVICES: APPLICATION TO THE HEALTH SECTOR The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is the multilateral trade agreement in the area of services. Its entry into force in 1995 was one of the major achievements of the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations (1986-1993) and a landmark event in the history of the trading system, comparable to the inception of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1948. While the GATT was initially conceived as a framework for merchandise trade between the post-war economic powers, it has since achieved almost global coverage. The World Trade Organization – its successor since 1995 – has 141 Members at present, including some 80 developing countries and close to 30 least-developed countries. The WTO comprises the GATT, as amended in eight successive rounds of trade negotiations, the GATS, and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). All WTO Members participate in, and have assumed obligations under, all three Agreements. Despite many significant reforms since the late 1940s, core elements of the system have remained unchanged. These include the consensus principle – i.e. no decision is taken as long as even one Member objects – and Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) treatment, i.e. a requirement on all Members not to discriminate in their trade regimes between products and producers of different foreign origin. The commitment to MFN treatment reflects not only economic efficiency considerations but, more importantly, the system's exclusive reliance on rules- as against power-based policies. All goods and services imported from abroad must be accorded the same treatment, regardless of the economic clout of the originating country and any specific policy considerations. For decades, the non-existence of a services agreement had not been viewed as a particularly pressing problem. Apart from international transport and communication, services have predominantly been considered as domestic activities, requiring the simultaneous presence of supplier (e.g. banks, hotels, hospitals and their staff) and consumer (depositors, tourists or patients). However, this view has changed significantly in recent years as a result of technical developments, including new communication technologies enabling e-banking or tele-health services, as well as economic reforms that have increased the "openness" of many services sectors. Although cross-border trade in services is still dwarfed by merchandise trade, accounting for no more than 20 per cent of total exchanges, it has grown faster over the past two decades. While the emphasis of the Uruguay Round was on creating a comprehensive set of trade rules, the liberalizing effects of GATS have remained limited to date. Most WTO Members have confined their access commitments to binding status quo conditions in a limited number of sectors. The ongoing services negotiations, launched in January 2000, offer them a new opportunity to consider the advantages of internationally guaranteed, more open access regimes. Increased foreign presence in a sector may help, for example, to fill domestic supply gaps; to broaden a country's resource base (including capital and expertise); to promote efficiency through competition; and, in infrastructural sectors such as International Forum Gastein, Tauernplatz 1, A-5630 Bad Hofgastein Tel.: +43 (6432) 7110-70, Fax: Ext. 71, e-mail: info@ehfg.org, website: www.ehfg.org 93
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Organiser: International Forum Gast
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The International Forum Gastein gra
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Co-organisers Sponsors
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8 European Health Forum Gastein 200
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12 Preface David Byrne European Hea
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16 Günther Leiner European Health
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34 Investing in Better Health in Wa
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214 Summary Report of Forum V Stipe
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238 Main features of this database:
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242 DRAFT GUIDELINES ON QUALITY CRI
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244 Petra Wilson Statement not avai
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Inserat DaMe
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276 Final Programme 2001 Programme
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278 Friday, September 28th , 2001 0
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280 Forum II: Globalisation, World
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308 Ms. Regina Sauto Information an
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Congress report - European Health Forum Gastein

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