Statement from the People's Health Movement (PHM)
Re: The 1st Health Systems Research Symposium,
November 2010, Montreux, Switzerland

We welcome the 1st Health Systems Research Symposium and the rich
presentations of research. But we would like to raise a number of
issues and suggestions for the future.

1. Some areas of relative neglect that may be rectified in the next
Symposium are:

a. the role of the health system in promoting primary health care,
including the involvement of communities and intersectoral action
(noting WHO's own definition of the health system, to wit, “all the
activities whose primary purpose is to promote, restore or
maintain health.”);

b. the place of people and participatory research in the field of
health systems research;

c. the challenge of achieving equity in balance with universal
coverage of basic services;

d. the role and importance of public financing and the
interrelationship of public financing and insurance. We detect a
tacit approval for the expansion of private financing
and insurance models.

2. We feel the while the importance of political and ideological
factors were mentioned several times, more discussion could be had to
discuss and determine the political, normative and ideological views
of the community of health systems researchers. This is important
because the community needs to engage in campaigning for health
systems strengthening, as well as conducting research. Health systems
policy should be informed by research; but it needs to be shaped by
normative principles and values first.

3. The Research Community is heavily influenced by the University /
Academic context and the publishing industry. But there was
inadequate discussion about the way the HSR is shaped by these
broader forces. In short, no discussion about the Political Economy
of HSR and the biases in the Research Agenda that exist.

4. We must not tolerate the Myth of scarce resources. This requires us
to give Equal focus and emphasis on the structural and Macro-economic
context of Health Systems.

Signed this 18th day of November 2010 at Montreux, Switzerland:
Abhay Shukla, India
Alexandre Nolen, USA
Anil Cherian, India
Ashraf Ryklief, South Africa
Daniel Lopez-Cevollos, USA
Dave McCoy, UK
David Sanders, South Africa
Dhanajay Kakde, India
Francoise Barten, Netherlands / El Salvador
Ivani Bursztyn, Brazil
Kabir Sheikh, India
Kayvan Bozorgmehr, Germany
Ligia Giovanella, Brazil
Maija Kagis, Canada
Prasanna Saligram, India
Ravi M. Ram, Kenya
Remco Van der Pas, Netherlands
Ronald Labonte, Canada
Sabine Gabrysch, Germany
Sundararaman T, India
Taufique Joarder, Bangladesh
Thelma Narayan, India
Verona Mathews, South Africa
Vinay Vishwanatha, USA

*** posted by ********************************
Dr Sam Lanfranco (Prof Emeritus) Econ, York U.
Toronto, Ontario, CANADA - M3J 1P3
email: [log in to unmask]   Skype: slanfranco
blog:  http://samlanfranco.blogspot.com
Phone: 613 476-0429 cell: 416-816-2852
**********************************************

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