Global Health Cluster position papers
The position papers developed by the GHC Policy and Strategy team aim to provide guidance to policy makers and other health actors in humanitarian crises. The first GHC position paper 'User Fees in Humanitarian Situations' was finalized in the beginning of March, 2010 and the development of a second paper exploring 'Civil Military Cooperation' has begun.
The foundation for the position paper on user fees are the Humanitarian Principles which states that humanitarian interventions should be provided 'based on needs alone', should be accessible without discrimination and should be affordable to all. Therefore, access to Primary Health Care needs to be provided to the most vulnerable and excluded groups. The position paper - on User Fees - provides guidance for the removal of user fees for the provision of primary health care services during humanitarian crises.
The Global Health Cluster partners have jointly prepared the position paper and it will be available shortly.
The next position paper will explore civil-military coordination in humanitarian situations, a recurrent issue that is of great importance today. The GHC Policy and Strategy team aims to provide insight to the problematic situation that many partners face while working at country level and to provide guidance on how to coordinate with military actors in a humanitarian health response.
The position paper on civil-military coordination will be finalized in time for the Global Health Cluster meeting 10-11 June 2010.