Position Paper ANRSP on access to health care

Preambule

The Asian Network on the Right to Social Protection (ANRSP) is composed out of various trade unions and social movements in Asia, supported by the Belgian organisation World Solidarity (WSM). All these social movements strive in their own way for social protection, job creation and decent work, which are essential for sustainable and inclusive development. The ANRSP focuses on promoting the right to social protection on a regional, continental and global level, as part of the efforts for Decent Wages and Work worldwide. It is currently discussing this position paper regarding the access to health in Asia. Health care is only one element to ensure the general health condition of a population, with other social determinants which are often linked to the lack of a dignified life. This includes unsafe working conditions, inadequate housing, lack of income etc., which the network also tackles.

The ANRSP demands that health care should cover all, and special efforts made to include workers and populations currently not covered by social security systems, such as the young, garment workers, construction workers, health workers, migrant workers and people living below the poverty threshold. Work is urgently needed to make the right to health a reality for all.

The process of commercialising health which is being seen in many countries to varying degrees is one of the processes which, in many ways, run counter to achieving this right. Health cannot be left in the hands of commercial health companies. They do indeed pursue profitable activities first and foremost and do not, as States do, have an obligation to ensure a population’s right to health.

In view of these observations, States have to guarantee universal health coverage and therefore the availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of health care and medicines. As a result, we call upon States to:

1. Ensure an adequate regulatory framework guaranteeing universal health coverage:

1. Develop, implement and monitor the UHC policy through an overarching regulatory body from a rights-based approach and with due consideration of the life cycle approach (elderly, women and youth);
2. Guarantee a sufficient supply of accessible high quality public health services, distributed equitably across the country.
3. Guarantee sufficient public financing for health care. All governments should allocate at least 5% of their Gross Domestic Product as budget for public hospitals, research and services. 
4. States should ensure health care is affordable to all by eliminating as much as possible direct payments imposed on users and by looking for the most adequate financing mechanism (including public and private financing sources). 
5. Ensure Private Health Care providers are strictly accredited before providing services and ensure they comply with all relevant regulation applying to the public health sector.

2. Involve representative civil society organisations structurally when developing, implementing and monitoring the regulatory framework guaranteeing UHC:
Establish and maintain a structural dialogue with all representative civil society organisations, including health mutual funds and other health stakeholders when defining, managing, implementing and monitoring universal health coverage policies.

3. Invest in the health workforce as a pillar of any functional public health system:

1. Guarantee quality education and sufficient life-long learning and training for health care workers in the public health system.
2. Recruit an adequate number of health care workers for the public health system, in accordance with the relevant recommendations of the WHO.
3. Provide decent working conditions, job security and living wages for health care workers, and avoid the negative brain drain impacts of trained health workers.
4. Apply the WHO Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel and defend financial compensation for health care personnel’s countries of origin when they are low or medium income countries, in line with the WHO Agenda Workforce 2030.

4. Ensure trade policies are coherent with the human right to health:

1. Ensure that future international trade agreements:
1. Protect public health services and prevent privatization in the health sector
2. Promote the access to essential health services for all; and
3. Favour making medicines available to more people over patent protection.

1. Refuse to ratify international trade agreements that do not meet the aforementioned criteria.
2. Implement the recommendations of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines in order to ensure that all people have access to affordable quality medicines.

5. Calls upon international community to:

1. Comply with international commitments to allocate 0,7% of GDP to international cooperation;
2. Allocate a sufficient percentage of budgets for international cooperation for universal health coverage worldwide;
3. Capacity building through sharing of best practices and Support the training of health care personnel by financing educational programmes or grants for foreign students.