FIMITIC

Today: World Health Day 2006 “Working together for health”

Budapest April 07, 2006

Good and fair health systems for the entire population have not yet been implemented everywhere, even in the industrialised countries. FIMITIC, the International Federation of Persons with a Physical Disability, is fighting for the provision of appropriate medical services accessible to the entire population, in all countries.

New medical insights and methods of treatment must not be reserved for the industrialised nations due to the commercial or economic interests of the pharmaceutical industry. They must be distributed worldwide and offered to everyone at affordable conditions. More direct investment, training and support of health workers is needed now.

FIMITIC sees it as one of the fundamental conditions of an open structure of society based on solidarity, that medical progress benefits the broad mass of the population and that equality of opportunity of access to medical services prevails in every country. Strategies to promote health inside and outside of orthodox medicine should be designed so that they serve the entire population.

FIMITIC demands that decisions about allocation be disclosed where the availability of the top medical products and treatments hits economic limits. In every health system of whatever type, such decisions must be predictable and comprehensible for everyone through the clear assignment of tasks and competencies. Implicit restrictions on medical services must be rejected as they undermine fairness and equality of opportunity in health systems.

Disabled and chronically ill people are particularly dependent on appropriate medical services. Their interests and needs must thus be clarified in advance when developing transparent decisions about allocations. Only in this way can equality of opportunity be maintained and unjustified differences avoided when accessing medical services.

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The International Federation of Persons with Physical Disabilities (FIMITIC) created in 1953 is a Non Governmental human rights umbrella federation of representative national organisations throughout Europe. FIMITIC does focus it’s activities on ensuring equalization of opportunities and full participation of persons with physical disabilities. FIMITIC has advisory status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, the Council of Europe and is registered on the International Labour Office Special List. FIMITIC is a full member of the European Disability Forum (EDF)