The International Association of Health Policy (IAHP) is a scientific, political, and cultural organisation founded in 1977. It is an international network of scholars, health workers, and activists with the aim of promoting the scientific analysis of public health issues and a forum for international comparisons and debate on health policy issues.
In Thessaloniki, Greece, doctors, nurses, hospital administrative staff and citizens gathered outside Ippokrateio and Yiorgos Genimatas Hospital, holding an “Our Health Is Not For Sale” banner.
18ο Συνέδριο Διεθνούς Ένωσης Πολιτικής Υγείας (ΙΑΗPE)
21-24 Σεπτεμβρίου, Θεσσαλονίκη – Πρόσκληση για συμμετοχή
Ευρωπαϊκές πολιτικές για την υγεία στην εποχή της κρίσης και της αναδιάρθρωσης του καπιταλισμού
Η Διεθνής Ένωση Πολιτικής Υγείας (International Association of Health Policy – IAHPE), είναι μια επιστημονική, πολιτική και πολιτιστική οργάνωση, που ιδρύθηκε το 1977. Πρόκειται για ένα διεθνές δίκτυο ακαδημαϊκών, εργαζόμενων στο χώρο της υγείας και ακτιβιστών/τριών, σκοπός του οποίου είναι η προώθηση της επιστημονικής ανάλυσης ζητημάτων δημόσιας υγείας και η δημιουργία ενός χώρου συζήτησης και σύγκρισης πολιτικών για την υγεια σε διεθνές επίπεδο. Το 18ο Συνέδριο της IAHPE διοργανώνεται φέτος στη Θεσσαλονίκη, από τις 21 ως τις 24 Σεπτεμβρίου 2017, υπό την αιγίδα του Τμήματος Ιατρικής του Αριστοτελείου Πανεπιστημίου Θεσσαλονίκης, και σε συνεργασία με το Πανεπιστήμιο Queen Mary του Λονδίνου.
Ακολουθώντας μια παράδοση 40 χρόνων, η Διεθνής Ένωση Πολιτικής Υγείας θα δώσει έμφαση στις σύγχρονες εξελίξεις στις ευρωπαϊκές πολιτικές υγείας στα συμφραζόμενα της καπιταλιστικής κρίσης και της καπιταλιστικής οικονομικής αναδιάρθρωσης. Το συνέδριο, λοιπόν, θα καλύψει τις εξής θεματικές:
Συμφωνίες διεθνούς εμπορίου και η επίδρασή τους στο αγαθό της υγείας στην Ευρώπη
Ιδιωτικοποίηση και εμπορευματοποίηση των υπηρεσιών φροντίδας υγείας στην Ευρώπη
Η κρίση στην Ευρωζώνη και η επίδρασή της στην υγεία και την μεταρρύθμιση πολιτικής υγείας
Η προσφυγική κρίση και οι επιπτώσεις της στην υγεία και την κοινωνία
Ακαδημαϊκές ελευθερίες σε κίνδυνο στην Ευρώπη
Κοινωνικά κινήματα και υγεία στην Ευρώπη
Κάλεσμα για υποβολή περιλήψεων
Το πρόγραμμα του συνεδρίου περιλαμβάνει τις διαλέξεις κεντρικών ομιλητών, συζητήσεις σε πάνελ και ανακοινώσεις. Οι συζητήσεις θα εστιάσουν στις βασικές θεματικές του συνεδρίου, ενώ οι ανακοινώσεις –προφορικές και πόστερ–, αναγνωρίζονται ως ακαδημαϊκά ισότιμες παρουσιάσεις στο συνέδριο.
Η διαδικασία κατάθεσης των περιλήψεων έχει ως εξής:
Στην αρχή της περίληψης γράφετε το όνομα, την ιδιότητα και την ηλεκτρονική διεύθυνση του/της συγγραφέα που πρόκειται να παρουσιάσει την ανακοίνωση.
Ακολουθείτε την κλασική δομή της περίληψης: τίτλος παρουσίασης, συγγραφείς και ιδιότητες, και σώμα της περίληψης (μέχρι 500 λέξεις), που περιλαμβάνει την Εισαγωγή, την Μέθοδο, τα Αποτελέσματα και τα Συμπεράσματα.
Νέα προθεσμία για την υποβολή περιλήψεων: 30 Ιουνίου 2017
Σε εύλογο χρονικό διάστημα θα σας γνωστοποιηθεί η απόφαση της επιτροπής αξιολόγησης για τη συμμετοχή και το είδος της ανακοίνωσής σας (προφορική παρουσίαση ή πόστερ).
Συμμετοχή
Συμμετέχοντες/ουσες με πλήρη απασχόληση και μισθό: 100 €
Άνεργοι, επισφαλώς εργαζόμενοι και φοιτητές: δωρεάν
XVIII Conference of the International Association of Health Policy in Europe, 21-24 September 2017, Thessaloniki-Greece
European health policies in the era of capitalist crisis and restructuring
The International Association of Health Policy in Europe in collaboration with Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Queen Mary University of London are inviting you to the XVIII IAHPE Conference that will be held in Thessaloniki on the 21st until the 24th September 2017. IAHPE following its 40 years tradition will focus on the contemporary developments in European health policies within the context of capitalist crisis and capitalist economicrestructuring. The conference will be covering the following themes:
International trade agreements and their impact on Europe’s environment and health
Privatization and marketization of healthcare services in Europe
Eurozone crisis and its impact on health and health policy reform
Refugee crisis and its health and social implications
The programme of the conference will include keynote speakers, panel discussions and papers presentations. The panels will be stressing on the main objects of the Conference with the help of invited speakers.
The papers presentations will be allocated in oral presentations and posters, both having equal academic recognition as presentations in the Conference.
The process of admission of presentations abstracts in the Conference is as follow:
at the head of the abstract write the name, affiliation and e-mail of the author that is going to present the paper in the conference
follow the classic abstract’s structure – title of the presentation, authors with affiliations, and the body of the abstract up to 500 words including Introduction, Methods, Results, Conclusions
Deadline of abstracts submission (extended) 30 July 2017
In due time you will receive the decision of the peer review committee regarding the admission of your presentation and in case of positive answer its allocation in oral or poster presentation.
Fees Participants with full time job and salary: 100€ Unemployed, precarious workers, students: free of charge
Supported by
Guidelines
Tritis Septemvriou Street – Campus of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
OASTH lines 2, 8, 14, 78 Bus Stop University of Macedonia. 17, 37 Bus Stop Fititiki Leschi. Further info: http://www.oasth.gr/index.php
18ο Συνέδριο Διεθνούς Ένωσης Πολιτικής Υγείας (ΙΑΗPE)
21-24 Σεπτεμβρίου, Θεσσαλονίκη – Πρόσκληση για συμμετοχή
Ευρωπαϊκές πολιτικές για την υγεία στην εποχή της κρίσης και της αναδιάρθρωσης του καπιταλισμού
Η Διεθνής Ένωση Πολιτικής Υγείας (International Association of Health Policy – IAHPE), σε συνεργασία με το Αριστοτέλειο Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλονίκης, το Πανεπιστήμιο Queen Mary του Λονδίνου και το Πανεπιστήμιο Αιγαίου της Σμύρνης σας προσκαλούν στο 18ο Συνέδριο της Ένωσης, που θα διοργανώνεται στη Θεσσαλονίκη από τις 21 ως τις 24 Σεπτεμβρίου 2017.
Ακολουθώντας μια παράδοση 40 χρόνων, η Διεθνής Ένωση Πολιτικής Υγείας θα δώσει έμφαση στις σύγχρονες εξελίξεις στις ευρωπαϊκές πολιτικές υγείας στα συμφραζόμενα της καπιταλιστικής κρίσης και της καπιταλιστικής οικονομικής αναδιάρθρωσης. Το συνέδριο, λοιπόν, θα καλύψει τις εξής θεματικές:
Συμφωνίες διεθνούς εμπορίου και η επίδρασή τους στο αγαθό της υγείας και το περιβάλλον στην Ευρώπη
Ιδιωτικοποίηση και εμπορευματοποίηση των υπηρεσιών φροντίδας υγείας στην Ευρώπη
Η κρίση στην Ευρωζώνη και η επίδρασή της στην υγεία και την μεταρρύθμιση πολιτικής υγείας
Η προσφυγική κρίση και οι επιπτώσεις της στην υγεία και την κοινωνία
Ακαδημαϊκές ελευθερίες σε κίνδυνο στην Ευρώπη
Κοινωνικά κινήματα και υγεία στην Ευρώπη
Κάλεσμα για υποβολή περιλήψεων
Το πρόγραμμα του συνεδρίου περιλαμβάνει τις διαλέξεις κεντρικών ομιλητών, συζητήσεις σε πάνελ και ανακοινώσεις. Οι συζητήσεις θα εστιάσουν στις βασικές θεματικές του συνεδρίου, ενώ οι ανακοινώσεις –προφορικές και πόστερ–, αναγνωρίζονται ως ακαδημαϊκά ισότιμες παρουσιάσεις στο συνέδριο.
Η διαδικασία κατάθεσης των περιλήψεων έχει ως εξής:
Στην αρχή της περίληψης γράφετε το όνομα, την ιδιότητα και την ηλεκτρονική διεύθυνση του/της συγγραφέα που πρόκειται να παρουσιάσει την ανακοίνωση.
Ακολουθείτε την κλασική δομή της περίληψης: τίτλος παρουσίασης, συγγραφείς και ιδιότητες, και σώμα της περίληψης (μέχρι 500 λέξεις), που περιλαμβάνει την Εισαγωγή, την Μέθοδο, τα Αποτελέσματα και τα Συμπεράσματα.
Νέα προθεσμία για την υποβολή περιλήψεων: 30 Ιουλίου 2017
Σε εύλογο χρονικό διάστημα θα σας γνωστοποιηθεί η απόφαση της επιτροπής αξιολόγησης για τη συμμετοχή και το είδος της ανακοίνωσής σας (προφορική παρουσίαση ή πόστερ).
Συμμετοχή
Συμμετέχοντες/ουσες με πλήρη απασχόληση και μισθό: 100 €
Άνεργοι, επισφαλώς εργαζόμενοι και φοιτητές: δωρεάν
Πώς θα φτάσετε στο Συνέδριο
Tο κτίριο του ΚΕΔΕΑ, όπου θα διεξαχθεί το συνέδριο είναι στην οδό 3ης Σεπτεμβρίου – Πανεπιστημιούπολη)
Εξυπηρετούν οι γραμμές του ΟΑΣΘ 2, 8, 14, 78 Στάση Πανεπιστήμιο Μακεδονίας. 17,37 Στάση Φοιτητική Λέσχη. Περισσότερες Πληροφορίες: http://www.oasth.gr/index.php
Επικοινωνία
Για περισσότερες πληροφορίες, στείλτε μήνυμα στην ηλεκτρονική διεύθυνση της IAHPE
XVIIIème Conférence de l’ ΙΑΗPE, 21-24 / 9, Thessalonique (Grèce) –
Appel à contribution
XVIIIème Conférence de l’Association internationale de la politique de la santé en Europe, du 21 au 24 septembre 2017 à Thessalonique-Grèce.
Politiques européennes de santé à l’ère de la crise capitaliste et de la restructuration
L’Association internationale de la politique de la santé en Europe en collaboration avec l’Université Aristote de Thessalonique et l’Université Queen Mary de Londres, vous invitent à la XVIIIème conférence de l’IAHPE, qui se tiendra à Thessalonique du 21 au 24 septembre 2017. L’IAHPE après sa tradition de 40 ans, se concentrera sur les développements contemporains des politiques sanitaires européennes dans le contexte de la crise capitaliste ainsi que de la restructuration économique capitaliste. La conférence couvrira les thèmes suivants:
Les accords commerciaux internationaux et leur impact sur la santé et l’ environment de l’Europe • Privatisation et commercialisation des services de santé en Europe • La crise de la zone euro et son impact sur la réforme de la santé et de la politique de santé • La crise des réfugiés et ses implications sociales et de santé • La liberté universitaire menacée en Europe • Les mouvements sociaux et la santé en Europe
Appel à contribution
Le programme de la conférence comprendra des conférenciers principaux, des tables rondes et des présentations-exposés. Les tribunes souligneront les principaux objectifs de la Conférence avec l’aide de conférenciers invités.
Les exposés seront attribués dans des présentations orales et des présentations des documents, toutes les deux ayant la même reconnaissance académique que les présentations lors de la Conférence.
Le processus d’admission, des résumés des présentations à la Conférence, est le suivant:
à la tête de l’abstrait, écrivez le nom, l’affiliation et le courrier électronique de l’auteur qui présentera la contribution dans la conférence • suivre la structure classique du résumé – titre de la présentation, auteurs avec affiliations et le corps de l’abstrait jusqu’à 500 mots incluant Introduction, Méthodes, Résultats, Conclusions • envoyer le résumé en tant que document joint à l’adresse électronique IAHPEconference2017@gmail.com
Date limite de soumission des résumés le 30 juillet 2017.
En temps voulu, vous recevrez la décision du comité scientifique par les pairs concernant l’admission de votre présentation et, en cas de réponse positive, la répartition en présentation orale ou par présentation des documents.
Frais
Participants à temps plein et salaire: 100 €
Chômeurs, travailleurs précaires, étudiants: sans frais
7 April: World Health Day in the streets of Brussels and across Europe against health commercialisation
Different networks of trade unionists, citizen collectives, NGOs and social movements have planned a series of actions in several European cities this World Health Day (Friday 7 April 2017). A rallying cry will be heard from activists in Madrid, Barcelona, Zaragosa, Paris, Nice, Brussels, Milan, Florence, Bologna and many other cities across Europe (see map of actions). Our message is simple: governments should invest more in quality health care for all and end considering health as a commodity. OUR HEALTH IS NOT FOR SALE!
We want to send a strong message to the European institutions and their Member States, highlighting:
the negative consequences of prolonged austerity on the quality and accessibility of health care;
trade, fiscal and single market EU policies encouraging the growth of private for-profit insurances and providers in the health sector, with a negative impact on the already widening health inequalities.
We want these policies be reversed immediately because of their negative consequences on people’s health.
«All across Europe, millions of people are experiencing lower access to healthcare, higher waiting lists, closure and privatisation of health services, de-reimbursement of medicines… EU institutions and European governments are making people pay for the crisis bill. These policies have and would have catastrophic effects on people’s health!» warns Sebastian Franco, coordinator of the European network against health commercialisation.
Several national demonstrations in March align with the spirit of 7th April:
on March 4th in the UK, people marched to support the NHS against privatisation;
on March 7th in France, workers of the health sector went on strike;
on March 21st in Belgium, people demonstrated against the policies of the health minister.
ACTIONS
More than 50 actions will take place around Europe and the world showing growing concerns and convergence of social organisations against health commercialisation. Everywhere, we call the citizenry to show support hanging a white sheet from the window with a message supporting #health4all.
In Brussels, two events will be organized:
A rally at 11am in front of the national Ministry of Health,
Boulevard du Jardin Botanique 50, 1000 Brussels
A roundtable at 2pm, International Auditorium, Avenue Roi Albert II no 5 «Consequences of health commercialisation on the working conditions and on the quality of health care».
CONTACTS
Contact in Brussels
Sebastian Franco, European Network against Health commercialisation
Alexis Benos, IAHPE, People’ s Health Movement Greece
abenos@gmail.com ; +30 6985 02 02 40
The following organisations are supporting the mobilisation:
Europe : European network against health commercialisation, European federation of Public service Unions (EPSU), People’s Health Movement Europe, Alter Summit
Belgium: Centrale générale des services publics (CGSP)-ALR, Centrale Nationale des Employés (CNE), LBC-NVK (Vakbond voor bedienden en kaderleden), Conseil Bruxellois de Coordination Sociopolitique (CBCS), Fédération des Maisons Médicales, M3M, Médecins du Monde Belgique, Médecine pour le Peuple, Memisa, Plate-forme d’action Santé et Solidarité
France: Act-Up Paris, Act-Up Toulouse, Association nationale des centre d’IVG (ANCIC), ATTAC, CADTM, Collectif national pour le droit des femmes (CNDF), Collectif 20° Tenon, Coordination nationale des associations pour le droit à l’avortement et à la contraception (CADAC), Convergence des collectifs de défense et de développement des services publics, Coordination de défense et de promotion des centres de santé, Coordination nationale des comités de défense des hôpitaux et maternités de proximité, COSS 33 – Coordination santé solidarité Gironde, Ensemble pour une santé solidaire , La santé n’est pas une marchandise, Résistance sociale, SERPSY, Union nationale des Groupements Mutualistes Solidaires, Fédération SUD Protection Sociale, Fédération SUD Santé Sociaux, Hôpital Debout, Syndicat de la médecine générale (SMG), Union nationale de la psychiatrie (USP), Union syndicale Solidaires, Ensemble!, Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste, Parti Communiste français, Parti de Gauche, Psy soins accueil
Italy: Rete Sostenibilità e Salute, Medicina Democratica Onlus, Forum Salute Italia, CUB sanità, Coordinamento Nazionale Unitario Pensionati di Oggi e di Domani (CoNUP), Illuminiamo la Salute – Libera Società Italiana di Medicina delle Migrazioni (SIMM), No Grazie, Grup-pa – Rete PHM Italia, Rete italiana per l’insegnamento della salute globale (RIISG), Comitato Toscano Sanità, Comitato Veneto, Sensibilità Chimica, SIAL Cobas, Osservatorio Molisano sul Diritto Alla Salute, Presidio di Salute Solidale – Napoli, Rete per il Diritto alla Salute – Napoli, Forum per il diritto alla salute – Roma e Lazio, Gruppo Welfare Coalizione Civica per Bologna, Associazione Explore, Comitato Collaborazione Medica, Torino, Periodico Lavoro e Salute, #buongiornoLivorno, Io faccio la mia parte Onlus Napoli, Gruppo Prometeo – Bologna, Movimento per i diritti del malato – Brescia, Nessuno escluso – Modena, Collettivo Autogestito Casarossa40,ACLI Gallarate, ADL Varese, Legambiente Gallarate, Centro per la salute G.A. Maccaro Catellanza, Gallarate in movimento, Casa delle Donne “Anna Andriulo”Gallarate, Sinistra Italiana Gallarate e Busto Arsizio, Rifondazione Comunista Gallarate, Busto a Sinistra, Rete per il diritto alla salute Milano e Lombardia, PCI provincia di Varese, Individualità e Singoli attivisti di Busto e Gallarate
Spain: Coordinadora Mareas Blancas estatales
***
7 Απριλίου: Παγκόσμια Ημέρα Υγείας
στους δρόμους των Βρυξελλών και σε όλη την Ευρώπη
ενάντια στην εμπορευματοποίηση της υγείας
Δίκτυα συνδικαλιστών, συλλογικότητες πολιτών, ΜΚΟ και κοινωνικά κινήματα έχουν σχεδιάσει σειρά δράσεων σε διάφορες ευρωπαϊκές πόλεις για τη φετινή Παγκόσμια Ημέρα Υγείας (Παρασκευή 7 Απριλίου 2017). Καλέσματα για συγκεντρώσεις θα γίνουν από ακτιβιστές στη Μαδρίτη, τη Βαρκελώνη, τη Σαραγόσα, το Παρίσι, τη Νίκαια, τις Βρυξέλλες, το Μιλάνο, τη Φλωρεντία, τη Μπολόνια και πολλές ακόμα πόλεις σε όλη την Ευρώπη. Το μήνυμά μας είναι απλό: οι κυβερνήσεις πρέπει να επενδύσουν περισσότερο στην ποιοτική φροντίδα για όλους και να σταματήσουν να θεωρούν την υγεία ως εμπόρευμα.
Η ΥΓΕΙΑ ΜΑΣ ΔΕΝ ΕΙΝΑΙ ΓΙΑ ΠΟΥΛΗΜΑ!
Θέλουμε να στείλουμε ένα ισχυρό μήνυμα στους ευρωπαϊκούς θεσμούς και τα κράτη-μέλη της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης, επισημαίνοντας:
Τις αρνητικές επιπτώσεις της παρατεταμένης λιτότητας στην ποιότητα της φροντίδας υγείας και την πρόσβαση σε αυτήν·
Τις πολιτικές της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης για το εμπόριο, τα δημοσιονομικά και την ενιαία αγορά, που ενθαρρύνουν την ανάπτυξη της κερδοσκοπικής ιδιωτικής ασφάλισης και των ιδιωτών παρόχων στον τομέα υγείας, με συνέπεια τη διεύρυνση των ήδη υπαρκτών ανισοτήτων στην υγεία.
Θέλουμε οι πολιτικές αυτές να αντιστραφούν αμέσως, εξαιτίας των αρνητικών συνεπειών τους για την υγεία των ανθρώπων.
«Σε ολόκληρη την Ευρώπη, εκατομμύρια άνθρωποι έχουν δυσκολότερη πρόσβαση στη φροντίδα υγείας, υφίστανται την ταλαιπωρία σε όλο και μεγαλύτερες λίστες αναμονής, το κλείσιμο και την ιδιωτικοποίηση των υπηρεσιών υγείας. Οι θεσμοί της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης και οι ευρωπαϊκές κυβερνήσεις υποχρεώνουν τους λαούς να πληρώσουν αυτοί για την κρίση. Οι πολιτικές αυτές έχουν και θα έχουν καταστροφικές συνέπειες για την υγεία των ανθρώπων», προειδοποιεί ο Σεμπαστιάν Φράνκο, συντονιστής του Ευρωπαϊκού Δικτύου ενάντια στην εμπορευματοποίηση της υγείας.
Στο πνεύμα του καλέσματος της 7ης Απριλίου, μέσα στον Μάρτιο έγιναν συγκεντρώσεις σε διάφορες χώρες:
Στις 4 Μαρτίου στη Βρετανία, πολίτες διαδήλωσαν για να στηρίξουν το Εθνικό Σύστημα Υγείας ενάντια στην ιδιωτικοποίηση.
Στις 7 Μαρτίου στη Γαλλία, εργαζόμενοι στην υγεία κατέβηκαν σε απεργία.
Στις 21 Μαρτίου στο Βέλγιο, πολίτες διαδήλωσαν ενάντια στην πολιτική του υπουργείου Υγείας.
ΔΡΑΣΕΙΣ
Την Παρασκευή 7 Απριλίου, θα λάβουν χώρα περισσότερες από 50 δράσεις σε ολόκληρη την Ευρώπη και τον κόσμο. Η κινητοποίηση αυτή απηχεί την ολοένα μεγαλύτερη μέριμνα, αλλά και τη σύγκλιση των κοινωνικών οργανώσεων, ενάντια στην εμπορευματοποίηση της υγείας. Καλούμε παντού τους πολίτες να δείξουν τη στήριξή τους, κρεμώντας ένα λευκό σεντόνι στο παράθυρο με το υποστηρικτικό μήνυμα #health4all.
Στις Βρυξέλλες θα οργανωθούν δύο δράσεις:
Μια διαδήλωση στις 11 π.μ., μπροστά στο υπουργείο Υγείας (Boulevard du Jardin Botanique 50, 1000 Βρυξέλλες).
Ένα στρογγυλό τραπέζι στις 2 μ.μ., στο International Auditorium (Avenue Roi Alber II no 5), με θέμα «Συνέπειες της εμπορευματοποίησης της υγείας στις συνθήκες εργασίας και την ποιότητα της φροντίδας υγείας».
Στη Θεσσαλονίκη, έχει προγραμματιστεί για τη 1 μ.μ. συγκέντρωση στο Ιπποκράτειο Νοσοκομείο.
ΕΠΑΦΕΣ
Στο Βέλγιο (Βρυξέλλες)
Sebastian Franco, European Network against Health commercialisation
Την κινητοποίηση στηρίζουν οι παρακάτω οργανώσεις:
Ευρώπη: Ευρωπαϊκό Δίκτυο Ενάντια στην Εμπορευματοποίηση της Υγείας, Ευρωπαϊκή Ομοσπονδία Συνδικάτων στις Δημόσιες Υπηρεσίες, People’s Health Movement Europe (PHM), Alter Summit
Bέλγιο: Centrale générale des services publics (CGSP)-ALR, Centrale Nationale des Employés (CNE), LBC-NVK (Vakbond voor bedienden en kaderleden), Conseil Bruxellois de Coordination Sociopolitique (CBCS), Fédération des Maisons Médicales, M3M, Médecins du Monde Belgique, Médecine pour le Peuple, Memisa, Plate-forme d’action Santé et Solidarité
Γαλλία: Act-Up Paris, Act-Up Toulouse, Association nationale des centre d’IVG (ANCIC), ATTAC, CADTM, Collectif national pour le droit des femmes (CNDF), Collectif 20° Tenon, Coordination nationale des associations pour le droit à l’avortement et à la contraception (CADAC), Convergence des collectifs de défense et de développement des services publics, Coordination de défense et de promotion des centres de santé, Coordination nationale des comités de défense des hôpitaux et maternités de proximité, COSS 33 – Coordination santé solidarité Gironde, Ensemble pour une santé solidaire , La santé n’est pas une marchandise, Résistance sociale, SERPSY, Union nationale des Groupements Mutualistes Solidaires, Fédération SUD Protection Sociale, Fédération SUD Santé Sociaux, Hôpital Debout, Syndicat de la médecine générale (SMG), Union nationale de la psychiatrie (USP), Union syndicale Solidaires, Ensemble!, Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste, Parti Communiste français, Parti de Gauche, Psy soins accueil
Iταλία: Rete Sostenibilità e Salute, Medicina Democratica Onlus, Forum Salute Italia, CUB sanità, Coordinamento Nazionale Unitario Pensionati di Oggi e di Domani (CoNUP), Illuminiamo la Salute – Libera Società Italiana di Medicina delle Migrazioni (SIMM), No Grazie, Grup-pa – Rete PHM Italia, Rete italiana per l’insegnamento della salute globale (RIISG), Comitato Toscano Sanità, Comitato Veneto, Sensibilità Chimica, SIAL Cobas, Osservatorio Molisano sul Diritto Alla Salute, Presidio di Salute Solidale – Napoli, Rete per il Diritto alla Salute – Napoli, Forum per il diritto alla salute – Roma e Lazio, Gruppo Welfare Coalizione Civica per Bologna, Associazione Explore, Comitato Collaborazione Medica, Torino, Periodico Lavoro e Salute, #buongiornoLivorno, Io faccio la mia parte Onlus Napoli, Gruppo Prometeo – Bologna, Movimento per i diritti del malato – Brescia, Nessuno escluso – Modena, Collettivo Autogestito Casarossa40, ACLI Gallarate, ADL Varese, Legambiente Gallarate, Centro per la salute G.A. Maccaro Catellanza, Gallarate in movimento, Casa delle Donne “Anna Andriulo”Gallarate, Sinistra Italiana Gallarate e Busto Arsizio, Rifondazione Comunista Gallarate, Busto a Sinistra, Rete per il diritto alla salute Milano e Lombardia, PCI provincia di Varese, Individualità e Singoli attivisti di Busto e Gallarate
Ισπανία: Coordinadora Mareas Blancas estatales
Ελλάδα:
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7 avril: Journée Mondiale de la Santé δans les rues de Bruxelles et à travers l’Europe contre la commercialisation de la Santé
Différents réseaux de syndicats, collectifs citoyens, ONGs et mouvements sociaux organisent une série d’actions dans plusieurs villes européennes pour la Journée Mondiale de la Santé (vendredi 7 avril 2017). Un cri de ralliement se fera entendre à Madrid, Barcelone, Saragosse, Paris, Nice, Bruxelles, Milan, Florence, Bologne et encore d’autres villes à travers l’Europe (voir carte des actions). Notre message est simple: les gouvernements doivent plus investir dans des soins de santé de qualité et arrêter de considérer la santé comme une marchandise. NOTRE SANTÉ N’EST PAS À VENDRE!
Nous voulons envoyer un message ferme aux institutions européennes et à ses États membres, mettant en lumière:
les conséquences négatives d’une austérité prolongée sur la qualité et l’accessibilité aux soins de santé;
les politiques intérieures, fiscales et commerciales qui favorisent la croissance des assurances et services commerciaux dans le secteur de la santé qui renforcent encore plus les inégalités de santé.
Nous exigeons que ces politiques soit stoppées à cause de leurs conséquences très négative pour la santé des populations.
“Partout en Europe, des millions de personnes expérimentent une diminution de l’accès aux soins de santé, des listes d’attentes plus longues, la fermeture et la privatisation des services de santé, une diminution des remboursements des médicaments… Les institutions européennes et les gouvernements nationaux font payer aux gens la facture de la crise économique. Ces politiques ont et auront des effets catastrophiques sur la santé des personnes!” avertit Sebastian Franco, coordinateur du Réseau européen contre la commercialisation de la Santé.
Plusieus manifestations au mois de mars s’inscrivent dans l’esprit du 7 avril:
le 4 mars au Royaume-Uni, marche en soutien du NHS contre sa privatisation
le 7 mars en France, les travailleur.euses de la santé ont fait grève
le 21 mars en Belgique, travailleur.euses et usagers.ères ont manifesté contre les politiques de la Ministre de la santé.
ACTIONS
Plus de 50 actions sont prévues en Europe et dans le Monde, exprimant une inquiétude croissante et une convergence des organisations sociales contre la commercialisation de la santé. Partout, nous appelons la citoyenneté à montrer son soutien en faisant pendre de sa fenêtre un drap blanc avec un message s’inscrivant en soutien à #health4all.
A Bruxelles, deux événements sont prévus:
Rassemblement à 11h devant le SPF Santé, Bd du Jardin Botanique 20 à Bruxelles
Une table rond à 14h, Auditorium International, Av du Roi Albert II no 5 “Conséquences de la commercialisation de la santé sur les conditions de travail et la qualité des soins de santé
CONTACTS
Contact in Brussels
Sebastian Franco, European Network against Health commercialisation
Alexis Benos, IAHPE, People’ s Health Movement Greece
abenos@gmail.com ; +30 6985 02 02 40
Les organisations suivantes soutiennent la mobilisation:
Europe : European network against health commercialisation, European federation of Public service Unions (EPSU), People’s Health Movement Europe, Alter Summit
Belgium: Centrale générale des services publics (CGSP)-ALR, Centrale Nationale des Employés (CNE), LBC-NVK (Vakbond voor bedienden en kaderleden), Conseil Bruxellois de Coordination Sociopolitique (CBCS), Fédération des Maisons Médicales, M3M, Médecins du Monde Belgique, Médecine pour le Peuple, Memisa, Plate-forme d’action Santé et Solidarité
France: Act-Up Paris, Act-Up Toulouse, Association nationale des centre d’IVG (ANCIC), ATTAC, CADTM, Collectif national pour le droit des femmes (CNDF), Collectif 20° Tenon, Coordination nationale des associations pour le droit à l’avortement et à la contraception (CADAC), Convergence des collectifs de défense et de développement des services publics, Coordination de défense et de promotion des centres de santé, Coordination nationale des comités de défense des hôpitaux et maternités de proximité, COSS 33 – Coordination santé solidarité Gironde, Ensemble pour une santé solidaire , La santé n’est pas une marchandise, Résistance sociale, SERPSY, Union nationale des Groupements Mutualistes Solidaires, Fédération SUD Protection Sociale, Fédération SUD Santé Sociaux, Hôpital Debout, Syndicat de la médecine générale (SMG), Union nationale de la psychiatrie (USP), Union syndicale Solidaires, Ensemble!, Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste, Parti Communiste français, Parti de Gauche, Psy soins accueil
Italy: Rete Sostenibilità e Salute, Medicina Democratica Onlus, Forum Salute Italia, CUB sanità, Coordinamento Nazionale Unitario Pensionati di Oggi e di Domani (CoNUP), Illuminiamo la Salute – Libera Società Italiana di Medicina delle Migrazioni (SIMM), No Grazie, Grup-pa – Rete PHM Italia, Rete italiana per l’insegnamento della salute globale (RIISG), Comitato Toscano Sanità, Comitato Veneto, Sensibilità Chimica, SIAL Cobas, Osservatorio Molisano sul Diritto Alla Salute, Presidio di Salute Solidale – Napoli, Rete per il Diritto alla Salute – Napoli, Forum per il diritto alla salute – Roma e Lazio, Gruppo Welfare Coalizione Civica per Bologna, Associazione Explore, Comitato Collaborazione Medica, Torino, Periodico Lavoro e Salute, #buongiornoLivorno, Io faccio la mia parte Onlus Napoli, Gruppo Prometeo – Bologna, Movimento per i diritti del malato – Brescia, Nessuno escluso – Modena, Collettivo Autogestito Casarossa40,ACLI Gallarate, ADL Varese, Legambiente Gallarate, Centro per la salute G.A. Maccaro Catellanza, Gallarate in movimento, Casa delle Donne “Anna Andriulo”Gallarate, Sinistra Italiana Gallarate e Busto Arsizio, Rifondazione Comunista Gallarate, Busto a Sinistra, Rete per il diritto alla salute Milano e Lombardia, PCI provincia di Varese, Individualità e Singoli attivisti di Busto e Gallarate
Spain: Coordinadora Mareas Blancas estatales
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7 April: Wereldgezondheidsdag in de Brusselse straten en in heel Europa tegen de commercialisering van de gezondheid
Verschillende netwerken van vakbondsmensen, burgercollectieven, NGO’s en sociale bewegingen hebben een reeks acties gepland in verschillende Europese steden op Wereldgezondheidsdag (vrijdag 7 april 2017). Activisten laten samen hun stem horen in Madrid, Barcelona, Saragossa, Parijs, Nice, Brussel, Milaan, Firenze, Bologna en vele andere steden over heel Europa (zie de actiekaart). Onze boodschap is eenvoudig: regeringen moeten meer investeren in een kwaliteitsvolle gezondheidszorg voor iedereen, en ermee ophouden gezondheid te beschouwen als een koopwaar. ONZE GEZONDHEID IS NIET TE KOOP!
We willen een sterke boodschap sturen naar de Europese instellingen en de Lidstaten, waarin we het volgende benadrukken:
de negatieve gevolgen van een langdurig soberheidsbeleid op de kwaliteit en toegankelijkheid van de gezondheidszorg;
het EU-beleid op gebied van handel, begroting en eenheidsmarkt is gericht op de versterking van winstgerichte privé-verzekeringen en dienstverleners in de gezondheidssector, met negatieve gevolgen voor de nu reeds toenemende ongelijkheid in de gezondheid.
We willen dat het beleid onmiddellijk verandert, omwille van de negatieve gevolgen voor de volksgezondheid.
«Overal in Europa ondervinden miljoenen mensen een moeilijkere toegang tot de gezondheidszorg, langere wachtlijsten, sluiting en privatisering van gezondheidsdiensten, niet-terugbetaling van geneesmiddelen… De EU-instellingen en Europese regeringen doen de mensen betalen voor de crisis. Een dergelijk beleid heeft catastrofale gevolgen voor de gezondheid!», waarschuwt Sebastian Franco, coordinator van het Europees netwerk tegen de commercialisering van de gezondheidszorg.
Reeds in maart waren er verschillende nationale betogingen in het kader van de Wereldgezondheidsdag:
op 4 maart was er een demonstratie in het Verenigd Koninkrijk tegen de privatisering van de National Health Service;
op 7 maart gingen de Franse gezondheidswerkers in staking ;
op 21 maart werd er in België betoogd tegen het beleid van de minister van gezondheid.
ACTIES
Verspreid over Europa en de wereld zullen er meer dan 50 acties zijn als uiting van de groeiende bezorgdheid en de toenemende eensgezindheid van sociale organisaties tegen de commercialisering van de gezondheid. We roepen overal de burgers op om hun steun te betuigen door een wit laken uit het venster te hangen met een boodschap ter ondersteuning van #health4all.
In Brussel zijn er twee acties gepland:
Een bijeenkomst te 11u voor het federaal ministerie van gezondheid,
Kruidtuinlaan, 50, 1000 Brussel.
Een rondetafel te 14u, Internationaal Auditorium, Albert II laan, 5, «Gevolgen van de commercialisering van de gezondheid op de arbeidsomstandigheden en de kwaliteit van de gezondheidszorg».
CONTACTEN
Contact in Brussel
Sebastian Franco, Europees Netwerk tegen de commercialisering van de gezondheid,
Alexis Benos, IAHPE, People’ s Health Movement Greece
abenos@gmail.com ; +30 6985 02 02 40
De volgende organisaties ondersteunen de mobilisatie:
Europa: European network against health commercialisation, European federation of Public service Unions (EPSU), People’s Health Movement Europe, Alter Summit
België: Centrale générale des services publics (CGSP)-ALR, Centrale Nationale des Employés (CNE), LBC-NVK (Vakbond voor bedienden en kaderleden), Conseil Bruxellois de Coordination Sociopolitique (CBCS), Fédération des Maisons Médicales, M3M, Médecins du Monde Belgique, Médecine pour le Peuple, Memisa, Plate-forme d’action Santé et Solidarité
Frankrijk: Act-Up Paris, Act-Up Toulouse, Association nationale des centre d’IVG (ANCIC), ATTAC, CADTM, Collectif national pour le droit des femmes (CNDF), Collectif 20° Tenon, Coordination nationale des associations pour le droit à l’avortement et à la contraception (CADAC), Convergence des collectifs de défense et de développement des services publics, Coordination de défense et de promotion des centres de santé, Coordination nationale des comités de défense des hôpitaux et maternités de proximité, COSS 33 – Coordination santé solidarité Gironde, Ensemble pour une santé solidaire , La santé n’est pas une marchandise, Résistance sociale, SERPSY, Union nationale des Groupements Mutualistes Solidaires, Fédération SUD Protection Sociale, Fédération SUD Santé Sociaux, Hôpital Debout, Syndicat de la médecine générale (SMG), Union nationale de la psychiatrie (USP), Union syndicale Solidaires, Ensemble!, Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste, Parti Communiste français, Parti de Gauche, Psy soins accueil
Italië: Rete Sostenibilità e Salute, Medicina Democratica Onlus, Forum Salute Italia, CUB sanità, Coordinamento Nazionale Unitario Pensionati di Oggi e di Domani (CoNUP), Illuminiamo la Salute – Libera Società Italiana di Medicina delle Migrazioni (SIMM), No Grazie, Grup-pa – Rete PHM Italia, Rete italiana per l’insegnamento della salute globale (RIISG), Comitato Toscano Sanità, Comitato Veneto, Sensibilità Chimica, SIAL Cobas, Osservatorio Molisano sul Diritto Alla Salute, Presidio di Salute Solidale – Napoli, Rete per il Diritto alla Salute – Napoli, Forum per il diritto alla salute – Roma e Lazio, Gruppo Welfare Coalizione Civica per Bologna, Associazione Explore, Comitato Collaborazione Medica, Torino, Periodico Lavoro e Salute, #buongiornoLivorno, Io faccio la mia parte Onlus Napoli, Gruppo Prometeo – Bologna, Movimento per i diritti del malato – Brescia, Nessuno escluso – Modena, Collettivo Autogestito Casarossa40, ACLI Gallarate, ADL Varese, Legambiente Gallarate, Centro per la salute G.A. Maccaro Catellanza, Gallarate in movimento, Casa delle Donne “Anna Andriulo”Gallarate, Sinistra Italiana Gallarate e Busto Arsizio, Rifondazione Comunista Gallarate, Busto a Sinistra, Rete per il diritto alla salute Milano e Lombardia, PCI provincia di Varese, Individualità e Singoli attivisti di Busto e Gallarate
The South Centre is pleased to announce the publication of Policy Brief No. 37 entitled “The Need to Avoid “TRIPS-Plus” Patent Clauses in Trade Agreements”by Martin Khor, Executive Director of the South Centre.
A recent article in a prestigious journal reminds us of how the intellectual property chapter of free trade agreements can prevent the sick from getting treatment. This article also critiques the TPP clauses and warns that they should not be translated to national laws or copied into other FTAs being negotiated.
Today we live in a society where everything from air to water becomes for sale and produced for profit. From health to education and from shelter to water almost every product and/or service we know for years as “public” and as a “right” has been marketized for a long time and sold for a certain price.
What we have been experiencing for years clearly shows that the increasing tendency of commodification, which is an important aspect of neoliberalism, leads to a series of important social costs, from the unemployment to the destruction of nature, despite claims on increase of wealth. Moreover these social costs are paid by the working class constituting the majority of the population. It is critically important to understand the dynamics behind the tendency toward commodification and the conditions in which today’s capitalism is in, so that the struggles that arise against it can be successfully accomplished.
The aim of this study is to put forth that the increasing tendency of marketization in the production of public goods and services today is closely related to the tendecies of the development of capitalist mode of production in general, as well as to the structural crisis that marked the last 25-30 years of capitalism in particular.
“Public” goods and social rights in capitalism
While evaluating public goods and social rights, my starting point will be three basic premises which I will try to justify in the next section:
1- No commodity should be required intrinsically as a public good.
Social rights (education, health, shelter, etc.) are not given, but “vested” rights.
3- When interpreting the history of capitalism, market-state antinomy is far from being explanatory.
The fact that the original source of wealth in a capitalist society lies in the sphere of production is the result of the dual character of a commodity in capitalist production. Every commodity, including labor power, has a contradictory nature. A commodity is produced both to meet a need (use value) and to be sold (exchange value). However in such a society where the means of production are privately owned and labor is for sale, creating exchange values (not only to sell but beyond that to sell for making profit) gets ahead of creating use values.
It is the dynamic of class struggle that fosters continously this contradiction, which is peculiar to capitalist societies. For on the one hand, the working class wants to keep the use values as much as possible under the name of “public utiliy” and on the other hand the capitalist class wants to convert these use values into exchange value as much as possible by distroying them.
We can argue that in the light of these determinations, no good or service (software program, seed, health etc.) is intrinsically public, as long as capitalist production conditions persist. Because the legitimacy of a need in bourgeois society and the widely acceptance of a need (its recognition as a right) are two separate matters. More specifically: On the one hand, capital in general needs a “healthy” labor force to work (which also serves the legitimacy of this system), on the other hand, each individual capital wants to spend less to keep workers healthy. At the same time, the capitalist’s need is to provide cheap labor, while the laborer’s need is to obtain a viable wage income. Both needs are equally legitimate in capitalism! In such an exchange relation realized on the basis of equal rights, both capital is indifferent to the reproduction of the workers (for health situation etc.) and also only to compromise with the struggle. Which side’s need will be recognized as a “right” depends on the political and class power balances in the country. In the section that reveals that the determination of normal working day is a result of intense struggles, Marx expresses the capitalists’ indifference to the labor force as follows:
In every stockjobbing swindle every one knows that some time or other the crash must come, but every one hopes that it may fall on the head of his neighbour, after he himself has caught the shower of gold and placed it in safety. Après moi le déluge![After me, the flood]is the watchword of every capitalist and of every capitalist nation. Hence Capital is reckless of the health or length of life of the labourer, unless under compulsion from society.[2]
Marx explains in the section where he discusses the factors determining the limits of a workday, that there is no limit of the workday and therefore of the surplus labour, because of its nature based on commodity exchange and that it is power that will be determinant between equal rights:
We see then, that, apart from extremely elastic bounds, the nature of the exchange of commodities itself imposes no limit to the working-day, no limit to surplus-labour. The capitalist maintains his rights as a purchaser when he tries to make the working-day as long as possible, and to make, whenever possible, two working-days out of one. On the other hand, the peculiar nature of the commodity sold implies a limit to its consumption by the purchaser, and the labourer maintains his right as seller when he wishes to reduce the working-day to one of definite normal duration. There is here, therefore, an antinomy, right against right, both equally bearing the seal of the law of exchanges. Between equal rights force decides. Hence is it that in the history of capitalist production, the determination of what is a working-day, presents itself as the result of a struggle, a struggle between collective capital, i.e.,the class of capitalists, and collective labour, i.e.,the working-class.[3]
If we are to gather up our thoughts up to the present: We can assert that under the capitalist mode of production, in a given country and in a certain period, the basic factors determining whether a good or service has a “public” character and implies a “social right” and to what extent it is subject to commodification, are: 1) the requirements of capital accumulation (profitability of the conditions of production) and 2) power balance of class struggles.
The result we have is that it is class struggle that determines whether a product or service could be considered as “public”; and a “social right” is not intrinsically a “right”; actually they are vested rights. In other words, we state that the assumption that a society has general, common, and public interests, and accordingly demand for a minimum human need/right which all classes will accept and define it as legitimate, does not coincide with the capitalist reality.
On the other hand, it should be noted that almost all rights (education, health, shelter, etc.) defined as “social rights” are ultimately part of the costs of reproduction of the labor force. This point, that is, the existing social rights, in fact, are derived from the “right to work” and getting a job, being employed is the precondition of all other social rights. Because, as we shall see in the future, under the conditions when capital accumulation loses its vitality and profitability of production diminishes, structural unemployment would tend to increase. It is clear that the pressure on existing “social rights” (wage erosion, the state’s rising debts, etc.) will increase.
The main function of the state in a capitalist society is not to abolish the structural contradiction between labor and capital but rather to intervene in the direction of its existence and its continuity. In other words, it aims to “manage” the accumulation of capital in favor of profitable conditions of production; not to provide a “social consensus”. Countries (and states) themselves are embedded in capitalist economic relations. Government and state officials in a country have strong reasons to follow policies that support capital accumulation. In this respect, the understanding of capitalism on the basis of market-state dualism, which is also common today, is not realistic because it is based on the assumption that the state is independent of capital accumulation, neutral and can protect “public interest”, but actually “there is no state above the classes”. We can say that the function of the state in a capitalist economy is not being a “referre” in the context of capitalist production relations but rather being a “guard” of the system based on the basis of the private ownership of the means of production and the wage-labor-capital relation.
2 – What is neoliberalism?
The view that neoliberalism is the product of an ideology/mentality among the various left circles and currents is very common and it is also argued that its main aim is the withdrawal of the state from the economy (due to the “financial crisis” of the state). From this point of view, public expenditure is on the rise due to the high social expenditures and social wages, and the budget deficits that are caused by them are deterring private sector investments. We are convinced that neoliberalism is not a false mentality or the product of politics, and that the important historical transformations behind neoliberal transformation in world capitalism lay behind it. Before addressing this view, we would like to touch on the historical background and dynamics of the period from 1945 to 1970 when the practices of the “welfare state” were more common on the world scale. This period was historically quite a product of specific conditions and factors.
We can summarize these conditions and factors as follows:
The Great Depression has become is a threat to the capitalist world.
In particular, the widespread massive workers’ struggles, especially in the European countries, which followed the Second World War against the world economic crisis, which began in 1929 and deepened in many countries in Europe, were intensified.
The increase of the influence and hegemony of the Soviet Union on the world working class as a positive experiment of the post-October Revolution of 1917.
The revival of capital accumulation on the world scale in the wake of World War II.
The “welfare state” practices under these conditions and factors were the result of the international bourgeoisie having to make concessions in the face of the relative superiority of the working class in the political power balance. Let us emphasize in particular: These practices were not often the result of a policy of providing a kind of “social consensus” between social classes with the aim of stimulating demand, in the direction of continuing the existence of capital accumulation, as claimed. And even though it was not against it. Because, despite a growing public sector, capital accumulation did not slow down. A new period in which profitable production conditions prevailed (but only after the Second World War!) but also the increase in public expenditures was largely financed by taxes paid by laborers. In other words, this “concession” (increased social spending, social state practices) met the bourgeoisie not from its own pocket, but to a large extent from the taxes paid by laborers.
In summary, the period in which the state functions as a “collective insurer” was the product of specific historical conditions; It would be more appropriate to endure it as shift in the balance of forces of the class struggles during the period in favor of the laborers. As a matter of fact, in the post-1970 deepening economic crisis and under the changing conditions of power balance that have been deteriorated against the laborers, this tolerance has shifted to an immediate and brutal attack. For us, the true meaning of neoliberalism lies in the fact that the international bourgeoisie has not been able to produce a solution to the long-term crisis of the ongoing world economy since 1970s and has adopted a new strategy of attack on the working class. It is also necessary to add that the balance of power between the classes led by the collapse of the Soviet Union since the early 1990s has turned against the working class.
What is the purpose of neoliberalism?
We have noted that capitalism is going through a structural long-term crisis that has arisen as a result of the tendency of declining rate of profit, and as a consequence, the state’s “insurer” function has become a burden for capital. Although various Keynesian methods were followed, it was not possible to get out of the crisis and the international bourgeoisie had utilized neoliberal strategy as an attack to labour since the 1980s. The main goal in neoliberalism is to clean up the obstacles in front of capital accumulation so that the capitalists can make more profitable production. In other words, the aim is to eliminate the unprofitable units of the capital and to direct them to new investment areas that may be more profitable. The way to bring this strategy into life in order to eliminate all the obstacles in front of the capital logic is to atomize and discipline the world working class. For this reason, the attack against all the vested “rights” that the laborers had in the past was initiated.
In particular, it is worth emphasizing: Neoliberalism does not mean that the state has less intervention in the economy. The most important point is not the downsizing of the state, nor the strengthening of the markets against the states. One of the main tendencies of capitalist development is continuing growth of the state. As a matter of fact, in the last 25-30 years, the state (public expenditures, etc.) continued to grow. What is changing is not the function of the state in the capitalist economy (to ensure the continuity of capital accumulation), but rather the way it intervenes to the economy.
We observe that the neoliberal policies that were practiced for about 30 years since 1980s led to the following social consequences around the world:
The state has grown rather than to shrink (public expenditures, social expenditures).
Real wages tend to fall.
The angle between labor productivity and real wages (which approximately indicates that the exploitation rate is tendentially increasşng)
Fixed capital investments realized by the private sector are gradually slowing down.
Average profit rates continue to decline in many key sectors that are leading the global economy.
Unemployment rate is increasing.
Income distribution is deteriorating.
Working conditions (increasing workload, working hours, precarity, subcontracting, de-unionization) are worsening.
Borrowing is increasing in almost every sector from households to corporations and governments.
The meaning of neoliberalism for the health sector
Based on our findings on neoliberalism, we want to reach some conclusions about the health sector in Turkey. First of all, it is worth mentioning that health services have previously included some practices in commodification. In the past, when the stae was fully controlling the health sector many services (such as referral paper, health card, health insurance, drugs from pharmacy, sending patients to private health center for inspection etc.) Today, some of the goods and services produced in public enterprises are also preserving their commodity character. With neoliberalism commodification is more increasing, these servises are more encircled with market relations. This is one dimension of neoliberal politics in health.
The other dimension is the course of health expenditures. The share of health expenditures within national income or within the state budget does at least not decrease by years and public health expenditures are on the rise! However, when we look at who finances these public expenditures, we see the recognize the real meaning of neoliberalism much better. While the burden on public and private employers is reduced in health expenditures, the so-called private households, consiting highly from working class, are responsible for these expenditures.
There is another dimension that we particularly want to highlight. The ultimate goal of the neoliberal policies in the health sector is to open a new door of exploitation for capital through privatizations. In the first part of the article we tried to mention. The ultimate goal of commodification (marketization) is to increase the surplus value, in other words to maximize profit, not to increase productivity and/or reduce labor costs (for reasons of “savings”, “performance” criteria etc) as claimed.
This means that in the present-day capitalism under the influence of neoliberalism, the main purpose is to control the labor process (“subsumption of the capital”) to create more surplus value, by opening the public services to market relations and privatizations step by step. We can concretize these determinations through the health sector as follows: In the sphere of circulation (hospital construction via public-private-partnerships, transfer of health care services to contractors, subcontracting practices, lower wages/salaries etc. for health workers, pricing of health services, opening of private hospitals, subcontracting workers, employing imported doctors, etc.). growing commodification practices are important. These practices, on the one hand, contribute to the deterioration of the income distribution against the laborers, and on the other hand they function as a kind of “Trojan horse” of privatization. But what is more important for the capital logic is to get whole control over the labor process (diagnosis, treatments, etc.), especially in the sphere of production in order to get more surpus value from wage labour. Turning the hospital from a commercial enterprise to a large factory aims to make private sector investments profitable for medical device manufacturers, drug companies, private hospital owners. In other words, the basic strategy of neoliberal policies focused on privatization, which is called “transformation in health”, is to bring health workers as well as labourers in all public services to the real subsumption of the capital in the production/labor process. An important consequence of this transformation is increasing proletarianization of doctors and resemblance of their working conditions to the working class.
3- How to struggle?
Throughout this article we have put forward two basic views. The first is that the rights and needs have a opposite and contradictory character in bourgeois society, that rights and needs can vary according to class interests, and that the state is not above social classes and independent in defining them. Moving from here we have the following conclusion: It is not correct to define a need as a right from the beginning and lay claim to use value (to bring out a useful product in the labor process) while objecting or revolting against the exchange value (the sale of the product as a commodity). Because in capitalism, two are intertwined and form a contradictory unity and contain different class interests. To view one side of the contradiction as a “natural” right and to see the other one, that is the exchange relation, as the source of social inequality is to ignore the essence of the capitalist relations of production (that the labor power itself is for sale therefore open to exploitation in the production process).
A correct approach should try to find a solution transcending this contradiction. This is a contradiction (between use value and exchange value) which is specific to the capitalist mode of production. The political implication of such an appraoch is that a discourse based on the slogan “health is a right” or “health is not a commodity” will not be sufficient to win the struggle. By shifting the axes of the struggle between capital and labor to the problem of between individual and state, rights-based struggles aim at reducing or removing the poverty resulting from this contradiction, rather than to abolish the capital-wage labor contradiction itself. Likewise, we believe that gains from rights struggle will be limited if they only try to rectify distribution in the sphere of circulation as a strategy to expand first the state and/or “public” sphere (by “surrounding” it, trying to democratize it) without aiming to transform production relations. If a right will be defended, it would be more appropriate to struggle over a political line that defends first the right to work (job security and removal of unemployment) and everyone else’s livable wage income.
Secondly we have tried to set forth that neoliberalism is not a failure of a certain political regime of capitalism, but rather a manifestation of and a reaction to the overaccumulation and profitability crisis deepening for a longer time. It is an expression of the crisis of the capitalist system itself. This means that policies that states are following, are not a consequence of false, “unfair” politics, which also favour financial markets. They are a part of the attack strategy to labour to open the way for the capital accumulation in crisis. We emphasized that in contemporary capitalism the real problem lies not in the state (in the policies it follows) but in the crisis of the capital. In that case, it is not possible for us to win in a struggle that only takes the state as interlocutor, does not battle against the capital and can not become independent from the capital, especially under conditions of crisis when class interests come face to face so sharply. The struggle for a health system to be shaped on the basis of social needs should be built around demands that include the right to work and job security, livable income, worker’s control, and the prohibition of subcontracting. Realizing these demands will be possible to the extent if it could be a part of a general expropriation strategy that takes possession of existing firms in public ownership, re-debates private property and aims to de-commodificate labour power.
[2]https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch10.htm. Chapter 10, section 5. The footnote to this proposition also reveals that capital’s attitude towards workers is not unique to the neoliberal period: “But though the health of a population is so important a fact of the national capital, we are afraid it must be said that the class of employers of labour have not been the most forward to guard and cherish this treasure…. The consideration of the health of the operatives was forced upon the mill-owners.” (Times, November 5th, 1861.)
For a look at how the balance between public and private responsibility has shifted, and what this means in the real world in terms of adherence to international standards and norms, one needs to look no further than the United Nations itself. A new Global Policy Forum Report—Fit for Whose Purpose? Private funding and corporate influence in the United Nations—details how private corporations and corporate philanthropic organizations are increasingly paying to play there. Why are corporate-led solutions to global problems seen as the way forward? How is it that measures poorly aligned with UN values receive the UN stamp of approval?
See here the full 144-Page 2015 Publication by Barbara Adams and Jens Martens
See here the excellent short blog summarizing this in Global Policy Forum
International Association of Health Policy 