Fifty-first Regional Committee for Europe: Madrid, 10–13 September 2001: draft resolution: poverty and health: evidence and action in WHO's European Region

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION REGIONAL OFFICE FOR EUROPE COPENHAGEN REGIONAL COMMITTEE FOR EUROPE Fifty-first session, Madrid, JO- 13 September 2001 DRAFT RESOLUTION EUR/RC5 l/Conf.Doc./6 16 July 2001 10270M ORIGINAL: ENGLISH POVERTY AND HEALTH- EVIDENCE AND ACTION IN WHO'S EUROPEAN REGION The Regional Committee. Recalling resolution WHA5 I. 7, by which the World Health Assembly recognized the report Health for all in the twenty-first century (document AS 1/5) as a framework for the development of future policy and adopted the World Health Declaration; Reaffirming resolution EUR/RC48/R5 on the health for all policy framework for the European Region for the twenty-first century; Having considered the contents and recommendations of document EUR/RCS l/8 (Poverty and health - evidence and action in WHO ·s European Region); Recognizing the importance of ensuring that evidence surrounding the issue of poverty and health is better known to all those in Europe who play a role in the field of health; Being aware of the need to increase efforts in making progress in the area of poverty reduction and health development in all Member States; l. THANKS the Regional Director for proposing that the subject of poverty and health should be included on the agenda of the present session; EUR/RC5 l/Conf.Doc./6 page 2 2. ENDORSES the Regional Director's efforts to address the public health issues related to poverty and health, regarding them as a European contribution to global initiatives such as the Massive Effort against Diseases of Poverty. the current work of the Commission on Macroeconomics and Health, follow-up activities to the 1995 World Summit for Social Development, the United Nations Millennium Declaration of September 2000. and the work of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development on guidelines for poverty reduction, as well as the work of other international agencies in this area; 3. APPRECIATES that all European Member States are facing complex challenges in the area of poverty and health and are committed to cooperating with WHO in order to make progress at country. regional and local levels; 4. ACKNOWLEDGES that the issue of poverty and health is becoming a central concern both of WHO headquarters and of its regional offices; 5. WELCOMES the establishment of the WHO European Office for Investment for Health and Development, based in Venice. Italy, with its emphasis of working on the social and economic determinants of health that are crucial for addressing the issue of poverty and health; 6. URGES Member States: (a) to accelerate the formulation or further development of actions to ensure that programmes related to poverty and health become a priority in as many sectors as possible; (b) to cooperate actively with the Regional Office for Europe on developing a programme of action on poverty and to provide the Regional Office with information on actions taken; 7. REQUESTS the Regional Director: (a) to raise awareness in Europe of the central importance of health in the fight against poverty; (b) to help countries make progress in the reduction and control of the adverse health impacts associated with poverty by improving access to health care services and addressing the most important diseases and determinants linked to poverty; EUR/RC5 l/Conf.Doc./6 page 3 (c) to improve the information base and the data available to support policy development and monitoring, with special reference to the most vulnerable population groups, such as the unemployed, the homeless, women, children and the elderly; (d) to encourage the international community to invest resources for research on the most effective strategies for poverty reduction; (e) to develop a process to gather, analyse and disseminate knowledge on effective action adopted by Member States for poverty reduction; (f) to make use of the resources available through the establishment of the WHO European Office for Investment for Health and Development in Venice and to mobilize additional resources in order to carry out activities on poverty and health in the Region in collaboration with all other existing EURO programmes within a coherent regional framework; (g) to present to the Regional Committee, at its fifty-second session, an analysis of case studies and of action taken by Member States.