ARROW
Arpita Das, on behalf of ARROW and the Post-2015 Women’s Coalition
We welcome the co-facilitator’s remark on ending poverty, inequality and promoting shared prosperity. This is a unique opportunity we have towards keeping the most marginalised at the centre of our discussions.
We are very concerned with the growing emphasis on private financing. Public private partnerships, although important, must be made accountable and subject to public scrutiny and regulatory frameworks of human rights, international labour laws and environmental standards. Equally, public sector reformation is necessary and we call for equitable, fair and non-discriminatory taxation, fighting tax evasion & combating corruption.
Specifically, we are concerned with the growing proportion of out-of-pocket expenditures and the impact it has on marginalised communities including women, young people, people with disabilities, and people of diverse genders and sexualities to access healthcare services including for sexual and reproductive health and rights. Asia Pacific is the costliest region to fall sick in due to a high level of out of pocket expenditures. Having worked as a social worker on gender-based violence, I am aware that such a situation gets magnified for a woman facing spousal violence with no recourse to income and often saddled with rearing her children. Or, in the case of a transgender person who has been rendered homeless and unemployed because of discrimination and prejudice. In addition to lack of empathy by health officials, or even outright refusal for treatment, high out-of-pocket expenditures often escalate their experience of violation.
We therefore request for an increase in public health expenditure and enhanced capacity building towards a skilled health workforce to reach out to such vulnerable populations. It is equally important to uphold Alma Ata’s principles of health equity, people-centred care and the call for a ‘Primary Healthcare Movement’ to tackle all political, social, and economically unacceptable health inequalities in all countries.
Above all, we call on all member states to pay special attention to the intersections of diversity and oppression, look beyond what the data and numbers say, pay special attention to the untold stories of exclusion and discrimination, and aim for a truly transformative and sustainable agenda for all people.
We welcome the co-facilitator’s remark on ending poverty, inequality and promoting shared prosperity. This is a unique opportunity we have towards keeping the most marginalised at the centre of our discussions.
We are very concerned with the growing emphasis on private financing. Public private partnerships, although important, must be made accountable and subject to public scrutiny and regulatory frameworks of human rights, international labour laws and environmental standards. Equally, public sector reformation is necessary and we call for equitable, fair and non-discriminatory taxation, fighting tax evasion & combating corruption.
Specifically, we are concerned with the growing proportion of out-of-pocket expenditures and the impact it has on marginalised communities including women, young people, people with disabilities, and people of diverse genders and sexualities to access healthcare services including for sexual and reproductive health and rights. Asia Pacific is the costliest region to fall sick in due to a high level of out of pocket expenditures. Having worked as a social worker on gender-based violence, I am aware that such a situation gets magnified for a woman facing spousal violence with no recourse to income and often saddled with rearing her children. Or, in the case of a transgender person who has been rendered homeless and unemployed because of discrimination and prejudice. In addition to lack of empathy by health officials, or even outright refusal for treatment, high out-of-pocket expenditures often escalate their experience of violation.
We therefore request for an increase in public health expenditure and enhanced capacity building towards a skilled health workforce to reach out to such vulnerable populations. It is equally important to uphold Alma Ata’s principles of health equity, people-centred care and the call for a ‘Primary Healthcare Movement’ to tackle all political, social, and economically unacceptable health inequalities in all countries.
Above all, we call on all member states to pay special attention to the intersections of diversity and oppression, look beyond what the data and numbers say, pay special attention to the untold stories of exclusion and discrimination, and aim for a truly transformative and sustainable agenda for all people.