Health for all: civil society participation in global health governance

La participación social en la Governanza Global de Salud

Abstract

Social movements, fundamental elements in the struggle for the implementation and maintenance of universal health systems and in the defence of the right to health for all, have been expanded in the context of the global economic crisis. Globalization brings a challenge to civil society, in engaging actors in formulating outreach policies that go beyond the local scope. This paper analyzes the possibilities of the influence of civil society over the decision-making processes of global governance in the World Health Organization (WHO), through the case of the WHO Watch, an initiative of the People’s Health Movement (PHM) to stimulate the
democratization of WHO’s decision-making processes. The experiences of WHO Watch on three occasions are used as subsidy for reflection: the 67th World Health Assembly, the 53rd Meeting of the Directing Council o the Pan American Health Organization and the 136th Meeting of the WHO Executive Board. It is concluded that the social movements bring a critical view on the discussions carried out by these intergovernmental bodies, promoting the dissemination of these debates and their unfoldings beyond the governmental spaces.