People's Health Movement (PHM) is a global network of grassroots health activists, civil society organizations and academic institutions particularly from developing countries. PHM currently has bases in more than 70 countries that include both individuals and well-established circles with their own governance structures. It has chapters in South Asia (India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka), Africa (South Africa), Pacific (Australia), South America (Brazil, Ecuador), Central America (El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala), North America (USA, Canada), Europe (Italy, Switzerland, UK, Greece) and several other countries. PHM works towards the revitalisation of Primary Health Care (PHC), as described in the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1978.
Vision of PHM:
"Equity, ecologically-sustainable development and peace are at the heart of our vision of a better world - a world in which a healthy life for all is a reality; a world that respects, appreciates and celebrates all life and diversity; a world that enables the flowering of people's talents and abilities to enrich each other; a world in which people's voices guide the decisions that shape our lives...."
History
At the Alma-Ata Conference in 1978, health ministers from 134 countries, in association with the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, set a goal of achieving "Health for All by the Year 2000" and identified primary health care as the mean to achieve it. However, in response to continued and deepened health inequalities, on 8 December 2000, 1453 delegates from 92 countries met at Savar, Bangladesh for the First People's Health Assembly which led to the founding of the People's Health Movement and the drafting of the People's Charter for Health<ref>Zafrullah Chowdhury and Michael Rowson (2000) The People's Health Assembly: Revitalising the promise of "Health for All. British Medical Journal321;1361-1362. PDF</ref>
People's Charter for Health
The People's Charter for Health echos many of the principles of the Alma Ata Declaration by recognizing health as "..a social, economic and political issue and above all a fundamental human right". It names "inequality, poverty, exploitation, violence and injustice" as the main drivers of ill-health and calls for "Health for ALL NOW" through the involvement of people's organizations in health decision making. PHM attributes the inequity in health care to the laissez faire economic practices globally and seeks to counter these practices and challenge health policy makers around the world with a Peoples Health Campaign for Health for All-Now!
Social Determinants of HealthSee Also'': Social determinants of health and Social determinants of health in poverty
PHM also works to address the Social determinants of health, including in particular, the growing inequity within and between nations attributed by them to unfair economic structures which lock people into poverty and poor health. PHM helped to put the Social Determinants of Health on the global agenda through continued engagement with the World Health Organization. In response Prof. Fran Baum (Australia), at that time Chair of the PHM Steering Council, was appointed as a commissioner on the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH). Working with other civil society organizations, PHM helped gather evidence for the WHO final report on the Social Determinants of health released in August 2008. PHM's engagement with the commission's work also resulted in the publication of a Civil Society Report on Social Determinants of Health. In 2011 PHM was involved in the civil society side meeting during the Conference on Social Determinants of Health, taking place in Rio de Janeiro.
Campaign on Right to Health
The PHM is engaged in a major global campaign to promote the Right to Health which involves coordinated national and international level action. PHM uses a consultative process in countries to involve thousands of people in making a demand for Health for All as described in the Alma Ata Declaration of 1978.
The first phase of the campaign involves the production of rights-based evaluations of national health policies in countries with PHM circles. The global coordinating group has developed The Assessment of the Right to Health at the Country Level: A People's Health Movement Guide for national PHM circles to use to produce consistent reports using human rights law. The second phase of the campaign focuses on movement building and mobilisation.
Global Health Watch
The Peoples Health Movement plays a lead role in co-ordinating the production of the Global Health watch.