Activities of Judith SARGENTINI related to 2014/2204(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the Ebola crisis: the long-term lessons and how to strengthen health systems in developing countries to prevent future crises PDF (204 KB) DOC (168 KB)
Amendments (19)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
– having regard to the statement of the WHO on the 9th of May 2015 on the end of the epidemic of the Ebola virus in Liberia;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas there are structural shortcomings in the health and education systems, in particular in the area of health education, in the three countries affected by the epidemic (Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea), which are also among those at the bottom of the UNDP's human development index, with around 80% of the countries' citizens living in extreme poverty; and whereas inequality is undermining health care and health;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas in a large number of African countries, the health and education systems have deteriorated throughout the Structural Adjustment Programmes imposed by the IMF and World Bank, which required budget cuts in the public sector;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has shown that local and national health systems in low income countries do not have the means or resilience to respond to an infectious disease outbreak like Ebola; whereas strengthening global health systems has therefore become an integral part of global health governance;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas the magnitude of the catastrophe can be attributed to several factors, among which: the political failure of the affected countries to sound the alarm; the ill-adapted response of the international community, the shattering effects of closure of borders and restrictions on people; the ineffectiveness of the surveillance and alert mechanisms; the slow and poorly adapted response, once aid was eventually mobilised; the stark absence of leadership from the WHO; the lack of research and development into drugs, diagnostics and vaccines;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
Db. whereas nearly 500 healthcare workers have died of Ebola in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, in countries suffering already from a serious shortfall of staff before the outbreak of the Ebola crisis;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D c (new)
Recital D c (new)
Dc. whereas the need to ensure that medical care remains available for people with illnesses and conditions other than Ebola (malaria, chronic diseases, obstetrics care, etc.) implies to implement stringent policies to protect health facilities and health workers, particularly in areas where they might come into contact with patients;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas there is a need to integrate epidemiology, public health and social science to draw appropriate lessons from the Ebola outbreak;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)
Recital K a (new)
Ka. whereas the IMF structural adjustment policies bear some responsibility for the collapse of West African health care systems;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N
Recital N
N. whereas it isthe trauma of Ebola has left people distrustful of health facilities and health workers fearful of resuming services and has left communities impoverished and suspicious, whereas the basic relaunching of health services is urgent; and whereas it is equally essential to set up robust health systems in all developing countries, which also implies solid training of the local medical staff;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the heads of international organisations to learn from this situation, including the negative impacts of the conditionalities of IMF and the World Bank of the Structural Adjustment Facilities on the health sectors in developing countries, and to develop effective means of dealing with international health crises;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Takes the view that, once emergency assistance is no longer required, the EU response should focus first on development assistance, which will need to include investment in the health and other sectors, domestic governance and state-building and then on the assistance that is essential in order to get the three countries' economies back on their feet;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Reminds also of the importance of conflict prevention as conflicts and fragility have a very negative impact on health systems;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Urges the Commission to help the three countries affected to develop their own health systems in order for them to be able to meet basic healthcare needs and to build up the infrastructure required to ensure that all their citizens have access to healthcare; Deplores that past adjustments and reforms implemented as part of aid conditionalities have contributed to the weakening of governments in their capacity to deliver effective public services, including health systems, in the most affected countries; deplores equally that legacies of inequitable development policies and practises have contributed to pervasive atmospheres of mistrust; Urges the Commission to help the three countries affected to develop their own health systems in order for them to be able to meet basic healthcare needs and to build up the infrastructure required to ensure that all their citizens have access to healthcare; in particular, takes the view that building a resilient health system over the long term requires among others: (i) investing resources in basic public health services, with the aim to strengthen disease surveillance and reduce the risk of transmission of infections; (ii) ensuring safe and quality care by increasing resources to train, supervise and pay health workers adequately as well as by giving access to safe drugs; (iii) engaging local stakeholders and communities in crisis response and development planning, with the aim to rebuild trust in the health sector;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Supports the introduction of universal health cover based on partnerships that will result in sustainable health systemstresses upon the need to tackle social inequality to build a resilient sustainable health system; to this end, Supports the introduction of publicly-funded universal health coverage;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Highlights that the Ebola crisis proves once more that health is a global public good; calls on the EU to develop a flexible approach to intellectual property towards developing countries regarding health and access to medicine; in particular, acknowledges the right of developing countries to use the full TRIPS flexibilities, including compulsory licencing, by which a government allows a third party to produce, import or sell a patented product or process without the consent of the right holder, in exchange for the payment of a royalty;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14b. Urges the EU not to restrain the scope or the use of TRIPS flexibilities through bilateral and multilateral trade or investment agreements with developing countries; reasserts equally that governments and parliaments of developing countries must retain the right to regulate private investment, including the right to impose conditions on technology transfer that support the country's development;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Stresses that the EU shall promote effective and fair financing of research that benefits the health of all and ensures that innovations and interventions lead to affordable and accessible solutions; in particular, reiterates that models that dissociate costs of Research and Development and the prices of medicines should be explored including the opportunities for technology transfer to developing countries;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Reiterates the need to invest in neglected diseases; Calls accordingly on the Commission to step up the discussions on this issue and to make arrangements for wide-ranging cooperation between the public and private sectors, aiming at reinforcing national health systems and facilitating transfers of results to the population concerned ;