European Public Health Alliance March 2011 Newsletter
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March was a month full of excitement and hustle and bustle, for all the Brussels stakeholders as well as for the EPHA office. On 8 March, it was International Women`s Day, which highlighted how around the world, girls, youth and women continue to experience barriers in life related to fear, stigma, violence, and discrimination, which in turn has a negative impact on their health and well-being. There are many sociocultural factors that prevent women and girls from accessing quality health services and reaching their full health potential, such as unequal power relationships, employment opportunities, physical, sexual and emotional violence, as well as an exclusive focus on women’s reproductive roles. In addition, challenges such as poverty have a strong gender dimension. This day raises awareness of these issues, and is an opportunity for citizens and policy makers to take action to make change.
By happenchance on the same day the European Parliament voted in its plenary sitting in Strasbourg on its own-initiative report “Reducing health inequalities in the EU : Solidarity in health” drafted by Edite Estrela MEP (S&D, Portugal). This report highlighted the dramatic differences in the health status of people living in Europe, which is linked to socio-economic status. The report highlighted the role of poverty, social exclusion and discrimination in creating poorer levels of health and increasing inequalities. What people eat, whether they drink or smoke is determined by their social conditions. The report draws attention to the gender aspect of health inequaities and recognises violence against women as a public health issue, reaffirms sexual and reproductive rights and has a paragraph supporting the inclusion of health status of women in gender mainstreaming and the use of gender budgeting in health policies, programmes and research.
The adoption of the report also coincides with the increased realisation that the main drivers of health inequalities lie outside the sectors and participation from the non-health sector such as employment, social, agricultural or environmental is necessary to achieve change. For this reason, EPHA has recently launched the European Charter for Health Equity in order to show that health inequalities are everybody’s business. The Charter will be presented to the European Commissioner for Health, John Dalli at the EPHA Annual Conference on14 April 2011, The conference will take a look at the Europe 2020 Strategy, the Roadmap to achieving a smart, sustainable and inclusive in Europe. The event gathers experts from across Europe to discuss the impact of specific EU 2020 policies on equality within our societies and the effects across the social gradient. Participants will disucss the Europe 2020 will be able to acheive better health outcomes or if it threatens to increase health inequalities.
The Annual Conference coincides with the EPHA Annual General Assembly, which the EPHA Secretariat is busy preparing. Members can find more information here The month of April already promises to be a busy month, with work continuing on the Financial Perspectives, eHealth, Research and Innovation and making agriculture healthy. The public health community will be diligent in ensuring that health is not forgotten and that citizens are at the centre of these discussions.
Finally, I would like to say a temporary ’goodbye’ as I will be on maternity leave from the end of April returning in September, therefore the editorial will be written by Anne Hoel, EPHA’s Programmes and Communication Manager.
Monika Kosinska
Secretary General
Brussels
Read all the online articles from our March 2011 Newsletter.
4th Apr. 2011