Third People's Health Assembly: International Activism for Health For All

This session will review the state of international health activism in support of “Health for All” by examining the third People's Health Assembly (PHA3) to be held in July 2012 in Capetown, South Africa. PHA3 is organized by the People's Health Movement, a movement founded in 2000 to pursue the goal of “Health for All.” The Assembly brings together a diverse group of civil society organizations and networks, social movements, academics, activists and other stakeholders from around the globe. Delegates are charged with mapping out PHM's strategy over the next five years in a final “Call for Action.” The debates on this strategy will benefit from the rich diversity of international experiences represented at the Assembly. Direct action characterized health activism in many countries in 2011; this was seen in protests by Greek doctors against austerity and in marches for universal health care on Wall Street. In Latin America many social movements have gained positions of political power; the Bolivian constitution was built around the concept of sumak kawsay (living well) while former FMLN guerrillas have designed a new health care system. Other activists have introduced democratic reforms such as the extensive Community Based Monitoring (CBM) program in India. The legal system has been an effective means of bringing about health care reform; in Colombia a Supreme Court decision mandated government reform of the health care law. These and related experiences will shape the final PHA3 “Call for Action” and will be discussed in this session.