Isabelle quoted a piece from the executive summary of the WHO Commission on
Social Determinants of Health. Here's the English translation:

"As community members, grassroots advocates, service and programme
providers, and performance monitors, civil society actors from the global to
the local level constitute a vital bridge between policies and plans and the
reality of change and improvement in the lives of all. Helping to organize
and promote diverse voices across different communities, civil society can
be a powerful champion of health equity" (p33).


Source: http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2008/WHO_IER_CSDH_08.1_eng.pdf


When WISE was still operating (we were a group and national movement of, for
and by low-income women), the key message Daphne and I worked to get across
was that inclusion, empowerment and respect for their voices were
overwhelmingly more important to WISE women than food, shelter, and other
items intended to address their physical needs. We hammered that message
home at every opportunity we got.


On any issues affecting the target population, at least 50 percent of the
people sitting at the policy-making table should be representative members
of that population. Merely to "consult" us at town halls or have us present
at conferences or at HoC standing committees doesn't cut it; such
consultations are meaningless, since our advice can always be ignored and
we're not in a position of power to effect policy change.


As Daphne and I toured BC consulting with other low-income women, we found
the sense of disempowerment to be HUGE and far more significant than
physical deprivation. To these women, the temporary fixes of a shelter or a
meal or a warm blanket were pretty much meaningless. The women wanted to be
seen as human beings and full, participating members of their communities,
not just bodies to be housed or fed.


Ocean
--
Book: Policies of Exclusion, Poverty & Health: Stories from the front
Podcast Channel: http://bcseawalker.podbean.com/
Blog: Challenging the Commonplace - and other irreverent activities
http://challengingthecommonplace.blogspot.com/

If you live in BC, help promote the May 12 referendum on electoral reform -
visit http://www.stv.ca/



On Wed, Jan 28, 2009 at 8:29 PM, Isabelle Goupil-Sormany <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I agree Click4hp should stay independent from "partisan" politics. But
> Click4hp is also about trying to do health promotion differently.
>
> Let me point out that, earlier this year, the Commission on Social
> Determinants of Health gave us some directions in line with what Ocean and
> Daphne expressed.
>
> May I point out also that the civil society (in other word US when we
> express our concern) is also a part of the third recommendation about
> "Measuring and understanding the problem"?
>
> "Membres de la communauté, militants locaux, prestataires de services et de
> programmes, agents chargés de mesurer la performance – les acteurs de la
> société civile, depuis le niveau local jusqu'au niveau mondial, font le
> trait d'union entre les politiques et les plans, d'un côté, et, de l'autre,
> les changements concrets et l'amélioration de la vie de tous. En aidant
> différents protagonistes au sein des communautés à s'organiser et à faire
> entendre leur voix, la société civile peut défendre avec force la cause de
> l'équité en santé." (OMS, Commission des Déterminants sociaux de la Santé,
> Combler le fossé en une génération, Résumé exécutif, 2008, page 37) (The
> English version bugged on my computer!)
>
> I know we all share some preoccupations about social inequities... but I'm
> also concerned by the fact that we don't talk that much about it...
> Inequities in health are not only a Research Agenda, articles in journals,
> thematic conferences and specific meetings.
>
> And could Click4hp be more then only promoting those events?
>
> In a time where knowledge transfers are so critical... why not rethinking
> our purpose?
>
> Isabelle Goupil-Sormany, MD
> Sadly Social Inactivist!

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