By Jack McCarthy * Board Member and Past Chairperson - CACHCA * Executive Director - Somerset West Community Health Centre (Ottawa)
Last month I traveled to Rio De Janiero, Brazil, to attend the World Health Organization’s Conference on Social Determinants of Health. Over one thousand delegates, from 120 countries, including sixty Ministers of Health, called on member states from around the world to "achieve social and health equity through action on the social determinants of health and well-being by a comprehensive intersectoral approach".
I was energized by the enthusiasm of these international delegates, describing innovative approaches to building civil society organizations; often powerful voices for social justice. I heard time and time again that community participation improves health status. Community health workers with clinical assessment skills and community development expertise are the critical resource that is needed now in many developing countries.
On this, the concluding day of the World Conference on Social Determinants of Health in Brazil, the Canadian Alliance of Community Health Centre Associations (CACHCA), the European Forum for Primary Care (EFPC) and the United States National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) are excited to announce the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding. The new global agreement commits all organizations to work collaboratively in establishing an International Federation of Community Health Centres, and an expansion of access to CHCs and community-oriented primary health care around the world. The tri-partite agreement adds to commitments being made on this day to increase local and global action on the "social determinants of health" around the globe.
Meaning to cause no injury, we ask you to first consider the following:
This evening, the Canadian Medical Association hosts a gala event in Ottawa whose purpose is to honour "outstanding journalists whose work has enhanced our understanding of the key health and health policy issues facing Canadians today";
An article in today's Globe and Mail describes findings from the new Canadian Index of Wellbeing that underscore the drastic "inequalities in quality of life" faced by Canadians; and
Across Canada, and around the world, local "Occupy" sit-ins are bringing together individuals, families and groups who wish to display their palpable concern with growing social and economic inequities and
This "Triple A" call to action was front and centre in statements from WHO Director-General, Dr. Margaret Chan, on the first day of the World Conference on Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Dr. Chan's words reflected a strong appetite for change among groups present at the global meeting, particuarly civil society participants who are calling for the global community to move beyond theory and debate to implementation of practical government policies, intersectoral partnerships, and health services and programs that tackle social barriers to health. Dr. Chan singled out civil society groups as being critical in moving forward, urging governments
On Day 2 of the World Conference on Social Determinants of Health (Oct 20th), there are several ways to follow along and participate in global discussion about improving local and global action on the SDOH.
Beginning at 10am in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (see what time this is in your region), a series of five parallel sessions will be broadcast, focusing on the following global themes:
Making policy (on SDOH) coherent at the national level
Institutionalizing participation in policy making
Ensuring equitable universal coverage
Negotiating for health at the international level
Measuring, monitoring and integrating data into policy
For a description of each session, including session Chairs and global panelists, refer to the World Conference programme by clicking here. Select one of these parallel sessions and watch it live by clicking here. NOTE: An additional five parallel sessions take place on the afternoon of October 20th. We will bring you more details regarding online streaming of these sessions once they become available.
Then, from 3pm - 4pm Eastern Time (see what time this is in your region), join participants from around the world for a special session of the weekly online discussion forum CHC Chat, as we connect you to a live conversation about/from the World Conference on SDOH. Join others from around the globe for this one-hour, online discussion linking action on the SDOH to community health, community-oriented primary health care and Community Health Centres (CHCs). Click here for more details and follow @CHC_Chat on Twitter to follow the latest updates!
For those on Twitter: make sure to watch the following hastags for all the latest updates and tweets from and about the World Conference: #WCSDOH -- #SDOHchat -- #CHCchat. Discussion is taking place around the clock, so join in!
The World Conference on Social Determinants of Health got underway today in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, with visible concern from Canadian and global delegates regarding the absence at the conference of Ministers from Canada's federal government.
Over 60 Ministers of Health, including U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, prioritized participation in the global meeting, deeming it a critical stage on which to demonstrate commitment to local, national and global action in improving health around the world.
CACHCA Board Member and lead representative at the Rio conference, Jack McCarthy, described reactions on the ground in Brazil:
"There is a clear sense of disappointment and frustration here from Canadian delegates and our global partners that the Government of Canada has turned its back on this global gathering. On the one hand, it is exciting and encouraging to see Ministers of Health gathered from countries around the world, while on the other hand it is very troubling and quite embarrassing that Canada's Minister of Health and her government colleagues are conspicuously absent."
McCarthy noted the shared sense of frustration that Canadian delegates at the conference are dealing with in trying to explain the lack of Ministerial representation on the part of Canada: "Canadian delegates are at a loss for words, quite frankly. An online petition signed by Canadians from coast to coast has been calling for Canada to send a Ministerial representative to the important global gathering.
Global delegates are inquiring about Canada's absence when our country has, in the past, taken a lead on global cooperation related to action on health, including a critical role in bringing the WHO's Commission on Social Determinants of Health into being. We're left holding the bag, ourselves wondering why our federal government has decided to turn its back on the health of Canadians and on the global community."
The three-day world conference got underway this afternoon with addresses from Brazil's President and Minister of Health, the Director-General of the World Health Organization and other leaders who welcomed delegates and declared the conference officially open.
UPDATE (October 20, 2011): Deputy Health Critic for Canada's Official Opposition, the NDP, asks Canada's Minister of Health, in House of Commons, to explain absence from World Conference on SDOH (see English translation of question, below).
ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF QUESTION: "Mr. Speaker, this week 118 countries are meeting in Brazil to develop a plan of action for the social determinants of health. However, this government [Canada] chose not to attend. In Canada, 20% of spending on health care is attributable to preventable social causes of illness such as inadequate housing and poverty. The World Health Organization recognizes that social inequities result in inequities in health. The costs are astronomical. Can the Minister of Health explain why she chose not to participate in this important meeting?"
As Ontarians get ready to head to the polls this October, most political parties are beginning to connect the dots between their respective promises for a better, healthier Ontario and the important role of Community Health Centres in the province. But communities across Ontario want more details about how each party proposes to expand access for Ontarians to high-quality health care through Community Health Centres (CHCs) and Aboriginal Health Access Centres (AHACs).
And in the case of the lone political party yet to begin responding to these requests from Ontario communities -- the Progressive Conservative Party -- Ontarians are sending a clear message to party leader, Tim Hudak: "start connecting the dots!" Currently, the Ontario PC Party
After a hiatus for the month of July, the moderated, global discussion forum #CHCchat makes its return in August 2011. The schedule of #CHCchat topics for August 4th to September 15th has just been released! Take a glance below at the list of topics
News and updates from the Canadian Alliance of Community Health Centres / Regroupement canadien des associations de centres communautaires de santé. To learn more about CACHCA visit www.cachca.ca
