Rio Declaration

The main theme was “Public Health in a Globalized World: Breaking Down Social, Economic and Political Barriers.”

After five days of intensive work and productive debates involving local and international leaders, we have come to the conclusion that globalization, which has a potential to break down such barriers, has unfortunately produced a vicious cycle, where inequity between and within nations has increased, leading in turn to increased poverty and exclusion, worse living conditions and finally, over poor health. This places an increased burden on the underprivileged, furthering the inequities and repeating the whole cycle. In particular, this threatens the fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals.

There are many paths that could lead to breaking this cycle and instating instead a new model of development, where the whole of humanity benefits from global prosperity, including living in better health. Expressing the thinking and desires of the participants of this Congress, representing 26 nations, we reaffirm that:

• Access to effective health care is a fundamental human right and a precondition to social and economic development
• All social inequities in access to health care should be eliminated
• Further research to understand better the “causes of the causes” of disease and the social determinants of health, and assess policy and interventions is needed
• The results of research should be publicly available and taken into account in the formulation of public policy and health interventions; those, in turn, should have health promotion as an integral part of their design
• Stronger inter-sectoral links between health and other public policies and effective links with governmental, non-governmental and civil society initiatives are needed.
• The public health workforce has to be developed and strengthened
• The development of health systems needs to be rooted in the communities, ensuring popular support and accountability to the people they serve.
• The United Nations agencies should have the necessary means and engage in better responsive actions
• Global solidarity and responsibility are essential to meet the enormous challenge of assuring that every human being can live their lives with respect and dignity, thereby creating a better future for the next generations.

WFPHA General Assembly

Rio de Janeiro, BRAZIL

26 August 2006