Read on-line: http://www.world-psi.org/en/nurses-and-healthcare-workers-speak-out-against-trans-pacific-partnership-tpp
Nurses, midwives and healthcare workers from the
across the Pacific, Latin America and North America condemn the controversial
TPP trade deal.
In an open
letter to trade ministers and government leaders, 17 nurses' organisations say TPP poses too great a
threat to healthcare for them to remain silent.
“The principles of universal healthcare
are based on equitable access to affordable healthcare” says Rosa Pavanelli,
General Secretary of Public Services International (PSI). “The TPP undermines
those principles. Nurses, midwives and health workers know what happens
when profit is put before people in the health system.”
“In an age where governments around the
world are commenting about the increasing costs of healthcare, their trade
ministers are negotiating a deal that will see the cost of healthcare rise
purely to the benefit of multinational companies’ profit margins”.
The letter says that the TPP will see the
cost of medicines rise as access to generic medicines is delayed and
pharmaceutical manufacturers are given unprecedented access to government
decision-making bodies. The inclusion of Investor State Dispute Settlement
(ISDS) processes will prevent governments from making the kind of policy jumps
that save lives.
The letter also raises concerns about a
range of harmful effects such as limits on governments’ ability to regulate
healthcare providers, restrictions on adequate food labelling that enable
people to understand what they are eating and opening the way for more
influence of private healthcare multinationals to have greater influence on
health care policy.
“With the USA Fast Track legislation
debate highlighting the mainstream anger in the USA and around the world,
healthcare workers are desperately concerned that people’s health is being
pushed aside in the interests of profit and wider geopolitical manoeuvring”,
said Ms Pavanelli.
“The secrecy of this deal is hiding the
true impacts. This is why we call for a halt to negotiations, for the text to
be released and to allow qualified healthcare academics to make open
assessments of the impact. Healthcare decisions belong out in the open within
our democratic structures, not to be traded as if it is a shipment of wheat”.
An Australian based academic review found multiple
concerns about the impact of the TPP. This was based on the available knowledge of the TPP through leaks.
Assurances from trade ministers that the TPP poses no risk to healthcare needs
to be evidenced based, not based on blind trust.
For more information:
·
See PSI's work on Trade
agreements, TiSA and TPP