FOR THE RIGHT OF ALL THE PEOPLE, TO FREE AND QUALITY PUBLIC HEALTH CARE!
"Physical Distancing, Yes; Social Isolation, Never! Collective care to
prevent the virus spread, Yes; Demobilized and Silent, Never".
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(HARARE, FEBRUARY 2021): We are more than a year into the crisis caused
by the COVID19 pandemic around the world. This health crisis has caused
the death of approximately two million people, and, according to
official reports, more than 77 million have been infected so far.
However, taking into account unofficial figures, this number could be
even higher. Those infected face the possibility of lifelong physical
and mental health consequences.
The set of simultaneous economic, political, health and environmental
crises that our societies are undergoing has led to a profound social
crisis - with severe setbacks in rights, unemployment, corruption,
misery, hunger, and violence throughout the world; more so in the
economically disadvantaged countries.
Though necessary, the pandemic-related lockdown with its suddenness and
lack of proper planning had grave consequences for the working class.
Few countries have responded to the issues their people faced with
economic and social support policies. In most countries, workers were
laid off, others saw their wages halved. A vast majority of those who
depend on informal work to earn an income and support their families, be
they migrant workers in the fields, peasant families on their plots or
fishers in their territories, had to bear the brunt of this crisis
without complementary income policies that would enable their families
to stay at home. Neglect of rural areas continued. Agricultural workers
- forced to work under dangerous conditions to survive - and despite
being the ones who feed the world, have no policy to protect them from
the virus or provide them with decent access to health care.
Some governments, especially those with authoritarian and pro-Corporate
leanings, have even adopted measures that allow big businesses to work
with minor restrictions. Doing this has significantly put at risk the
health of workers.
RIGHT TO FREE AND PUBLIC HEALTH – INCLUDING PREVENTION, VACCINATION AND
LONG-TERM TREATMENT!
As La Via Campesina, we demand the Right to public and free health care
for all peoples, including the processes of prevention, vaccination and
long-term treatment.
We fight for health to be recognized as a human right, especially in
this global crisis.
We demand that governments honour their obligation to protect their
populations and ensure that everyone has access to preventive, curative
and quality health care. This is also recognized by the Article 23 of
the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants (UNDROP),
adopted by governments in 2018, which states the Right to have access in
rural areas to health services and necessary treatment.
However, most of the treatments and vaccines are under the control of
large companies and states, which in a non-transparent way, with a lot
of corruption, speculate with life and seek to increase profits. They
are distributing the available vaccines mainly among rich countries,
leading to competition between these governments, making the vaccine
available to the highest bidder. Likewise, some rich governments are
hoarding vaccines, buying doses up to five times their population, while
in dozens of poor and exploited countries, vaccines have not yet
arrived.
The commodification and politicization of vaccines will create a huge
gap between the populations of rich countries and those of poor
countries who cannot afford them. These people are entirely dependent on
the availability of the market and the willingness and ability of
governments to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies. These are the
same multinational companies that dominate the markets and have the
technology to manufacture vaccines; they control the market for
equipment, medical supplies and the logistics for vaccine
transportation, storage and distribution.
AS LA VIA CAMPESINA WE AFFIRM THAT SCIENCE MUST BE AT THE SERVICE OF
HUMANITY
All members of society must have access to information and be able to
evaluate the treatments offered. We also demand the recognition of
intercultural and popular health, ancestral knowledge present in our
societies, that has a holistic view of health and has sustained
communities during the pandemic. We affirm that health care must begin
with a healthy, sustainable diet that strengthens the immune system, as
proposed by Food Sovereignty, a way of caring for the well-being of both
people and the environment.
It is unacceptable that vaccines are patented, leaving them under the
control of large transnational corporations and the market with its
constant attempts to commodify life. We demand an end to patents and to
reinstate the Right to information and public control.
Today the pandemic is a global problem, and all societies must mobilize
so that the UN, through the WHO (World Health Organization), and the
governments guarantee free public vaccination for the entire world
population. As La Via Campesina, we affirm the Right to free public
health and timely access to prevention, vaccination and treatment in
every country in the world.
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LET'S FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT TO A DIGNIFIED AND HEALTHY LIFE! GLOBALIZE THE
STRUGGLE, GLOBALIZE HOPE!
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