Title: New “Trade and Public Health Working Group” Formed
Author:
Section/SPIG: Medical Care
Issue Date:
At the Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., last November, APHA Executive Director Georges Benjamin convened a meeting of several sections (Medical Care, Occupational Health and Safety, and International Health) to consider how APHA can address the public health issues arising in the numerous international trade and investment treaties currently in negotiation and already proposed. Benjamin asked the three sections present to take the lead in pulling together an informal working group on this issue. I am representing the Medical Care Section in the Working Group. Other participants include Garrett Brown and Tom Connor (Occupational Health and Safety), Donald Zeigler (Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs), Doug Farquhar (Environmental Health), William Wiist (PHEHP), Janet Gottschalk (Public Health Nursing), and Mary Anne Mercer, Sarah Shannon, Beth Rivin and Marty Makinen (International Health). Affiliate representatives include Kristen Smith (Southern California Public Health Association – also a Medical Care Section member), Larry Platt (California Public Health Association-North), Health Will (Florida), Karen Valenzuela (Washington State), and Karla Armenti (New Hampshire).
APHA has a policy resolution of trade issues from 2001 (Policy Resolution 2001-21), submitted by the Medical Care Section, and Immediate Past-President Virginia Caine has been outspoken in her concern about the adverse health effects of NAFTA and its successors. The January 2005 issue of the American Journal of Public Health has an article on the impact of trade agreements on global health, which I co-authored. It is also available on the Web site for the Center for Policy Analysis on Trade and Health at <www.cpath.org>. Occupational health-specific impacts of trade agreements have been analyzed by OHS Section members Linda Delp (www.labor.ucla.edu/publications/nafta.pdf) and Garrett Brown (www.igc.org/mhssn).
Since the Annual Meeting, there have been several monthly conference calls of the Working Group, and trade and health issues were discussed at the January meeting of the APHA Executive Board. Additional Sections and state affiliates are being contacted to join the effort.
The goals of the Working Group are to educate the APHA membership on the issue, to reach out to and involve more sections, affiliates and individual members, and to have APHA weigh in during the Congressional debates concerning the pending Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and the many other pacts now in negotiation. Longer-term goals include reaching out to other public health-related organizations for joint legislative and public education efforts.
Kristen Smith and Doug Farquhar (who works for the National Council of State Legislatures) reported on state legislation that has passed in Maryland, and is under consideration in several states including California. Here is the issue: Trade agreements can require states to open up their procurement processes to foreign companies, but the states must consent to be included. States often prefer to restrict some contracts and other purchases to local companies or companies that meet certain standards, and they could lose this right if the state is included in the trade pacts. Now, governors typically make the decision about including their states, without consulting with legislators or the public. The Maryland bill requires the governor to consult with the legislature, making the process more democratic and accountable to the public. APHA affiliates in other states may want to work with their representatives on similar proposals.
At the Working Group’s request, at the 2005 APHA Annual Meeting in New Orleans, one of the four large “plenary sessions” on Tuesday morning will address the theme of “Public Health Impacts of Trade Agreements.” There will also be a session jointly sponsored by Medical Care, OHS, ATOD, and Environmental Health on the various aspects of the issue, on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2005 at 4 p.m. (Marty Makinen of the International Health Section retracted the IH Section’s offer to co-sponsor); and an organizational/business meeting of the Working Group which will be open to all interested APHA members, on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2005 at 2 p.m.
Any and all interested Medical Care Section members are invited to join this effort by contacting Ellen Shaffer at <ershaffer@cpath.org>. Among the tasks that need volunteers from our Section are:
1) Contacting other APHA sections and state affiliates to involve more APHA members in the issue;
2) Mobilizing Medical Care Section members to contact Congress about CAFTA and other trade related issues; and
3) Providing outreach to other state, national and international health and medical groups.
This issue will be increasingly important during 2005. Please do not hesitate to contact me to get involved!