Poverty stands in the way of good health. Similarly, poor health pushes people into poverty. Wemos believes that strengthening health systems in developing countries is top priority. Donors and creditors must give their full support.

The situation

Many low-income countries lack the resources to improve their health systems. Strong health systems are needed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and realise people's right to health. High levels of debt repayments and strict economic conditions that are part of the loans and programmes of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) hinder the possibilities of governments to increase public expenditure on health and other social sectors. Initiatives to solve the debt problem and the introduction of national Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) as the basis for donor support, have so far failed to deliver tangible improvements for health.

Our goal

The primary objective of the Health and Poverty project is to influence policy makers and donors to support the development and implementation of poverty reduction strategies that help realising people’s right to health. Wemos believes that national governments, donors and international agencies have the duty to ensure that PRSP processes respect, protect and promote the right to health and reduce health inequities. We aim to help strengthen the role of civil society, especially health organizations, in national PRSP processes and hold donors and international agencies accountable for fulfilling their obligations.

Our activities

• Advocacy. Wemos targets the role of international agencies, such as the World Bank, IMF and World Health Organization (WHO), in national PRSP processes. We lobby Dutch policy makers at the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Finance, and the Dutch embassies in developing countries. We focus on the link between macroeconomic and health policies.
• Cooperation with southern partner organizations. Wemos collaborates with and supports the work of organizations in developing countries to strengthen their input in monitoring and advocacy. Our work in this area consists of:  
  -    A joint monitoring project with partner organizations in Asia, Latin America
       and Africa to look at the impact of the PRSP and PRSP process on the
       health sector.
  -    A collection of the experiences of civil society organizations that advocate for
       “healthy“ and participatory Poverty Reduction Strategies (“PRS in Practice“).
  -    Briefing notes to inform health organizations about a number of economic
       topics, aiming at demystifying the language of economics and indicating the
       linkages with health.
  -    A bi-monthly electronic newsletter with upcoming events, reports of recent
       events, activities, publications and other relevant resources.
  -    A library with resources on a wide variety of health and poverty related 
       subjects.   
  -    A draft checklist for “a healthy PRSP”.
• Campaigning in the Netherlands. Wemos wants to inform and mobilise health professionals to help build political will to change the international policies that stand in the way of health in developing countries. Activities include:
  -    Articles in medical and development press.
  -    Lectures for and workshops with medical students.
  -    Panels and discussions with other development and health organizations.
  -    Collecting signatures for policy change.

Themes

Why do PRSPs matter for health?
Why should health advocates bother about PRS? There is a strong link between health and poverty. Poor people have less access to health care, water, sanitation, housing, education and food, all important health determinants. The poor suffer more from ill-health and die earlier than the rich. Ill-health in turn is an important cause of poverty, not in the last place because of the costs of using health care.

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