ACTIONS

WE MET WITH THE UN'S SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON EXTREME POVERTY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Continuing with the UN accountability processes, in February we attended a meeting with the UN's Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, when organisations from the sector were able to give their first-hand impressions of the current situations of poverty and human rights in our country, the actions of organisations in different fields and/or groups, as well as the ways in which they can be addressed. The final UN report included Reder's report into the persistence of situations of exclusion, as well as EAPN information and data regarding access to health for vulnerable groups.

WE MET WITH THE HEALTH MINISTER

In response to the letter we sent in October, we were invited in December to a meeting with Health Minister Salvador Illa, in which he made it clear that the government is committed to restoring universal health care.

WE LAUNCHED THE "DESPUÉS DE APLAUDIR" (AFTER CLAPPING) CAMPAIGN

In June, we designed and launched a communication campaign under the name of "Después de Aplaudir (After Clapping)" on the importance of strengthening the public health system and not returning to the terrible situation in which the Covid-19 pandemic had left us.

WE MET WITH MPS

In June and July, we had the opportunity to meet with MPs from PSOE and Podemos and heard their position during the Committee and explained to them what the Alliance thought was needed in order to rebuild and strengthen the national health system, with special attention to the restoring universality.

WE SENT A LETTER TO SEVERAL GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS

Once the committee was closed, we sent a letter to the Departments of Health, Finance and Territorial Policies and the vice-president of social affairs, in which we expressed our concern that almost three months later, no significant progress had been made on aspects that were best developed as conclusions and which represented urgent and necessary measures given the second wave of the pandemic that was about to hit.

LETTER TO THE VICE-PRESIDENT FOR SOCIAL AFFAIRS AND AGENDA 2030

In June, together with Yo Si Sanidad Universal and Amnesty International, we sent a letter to the Department of Health and the vice-president for social affairs and Agenda 2030. In this letter, we proposed a number of specific legal changes that would go a long way towards resolving the situations of health exclusion that persist today.

WE SENT A LETTER TO THE MINISTER OF HEALTH

In October, we again wrote a letter addressed to the Department of Health, and the vice-president for social affairs and Agenda 2030, welcoming the promising announcement made by the Department of Health to open a period of public consultation for preparing a preliminary draft law on measures of equity, universality and cohesion within the National Health System. The objectives included making the relevant amendments to RDL 7/2018 in order to guarantee fully the right to health protection and ensure consistent application in the validity of the right to healthcare protection. We also expressed our intention to contribute to that public process.

WE ORGANISED AN EVENT ON UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE IN SPAIN

In December 2020, we organised "The road to universal health in Spain" - an event involving Health Secretary Silvia Calzón, doctor Javier Padilla, as well as a round table with Patricia Lacruz, director general of the basic portfolio of services of the National Health System and Pharmacy; Blanca Gispert, from the semFYC working group on health inequalities and international health; and José Félix Hoyo, member of the board of directors of Doctors of the World. The roundtable was moderated by Cadena Ser journalist, Nicolas Castellano.

WE PREPARED A DOCUMENT WITH PROPOSALS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

We put together a policy document that includes context, arguments and 12 key demands for the strengthening of our health system and provide cover for all, leaving no one out. This included input from a number of organisations with the expertise to meet all the demands.

WE LAUNCHED THE "DA LA CARA" (STAND UP) CAMPAIGN

After the summer, we launched the campaign "Da la Cara por la Sanidad" (Stand Up For Healthcare). The campaign included videos with testimonies of different patients and professionals who have been victims of Covid-19 and called for more investment in public health.

WE MET WITH THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF PHARMACY

In response to our letter sent at the beginning of June, we were invited to a meeting at the Department of Health, where we had the opportunity to express, once again, our concerns about the situations of exclusion that persist and to offer information about possible solutions to overcome the weaknesses within the Royal Decree.

WE PREPARED A DOCUMENT WITH RECOMMENDATIONS

Following this announcement, we worked hard to develop a document in line with the public process launched by the Department of Health. In the document, we provide up-to-date information on situations of exclusion, as well as possible mechanisms to resolve the existing gaps that prevent our health system from being truly universal.

MÁS SANIDAD ALLIANCE

In view of this extraordinary context and the size of the Reconstruction Committee's opportunity created during the pandemic, we decided to broaden our focus. Working with Doctors of the World, semFYC and FADSP, we launched an advocacy and communication campaign to contribute to the debate on strengthening and rebuilding our national health system, including the need to remove administrative barriers for migrants trying to access medical care.

WE PARTICIPATED IN THE RECONSTRUCTION COMMITTEE

Alliance organisations took part in the Reconstruction Committee, which was open to organisations from civil society, and we had the opportunity to explain the importance of our demands. At the start of June, we sent our document to Parliament's Reconstruction Committee as well as to MPs with responsibility for health issues within their groups.

WE ASSESSED THE RECONSTRUCTION COMMITTEE'S FINDINGS

In mid-July, the Committee issued a document containing the conclusions and agreements reached after months of work. Together with the other alliance organisations, we analysed the committee's document and conducted an assessment of the commitments, paying special attention to those related to strengthening the health system and the universality of health coverage.
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CAN EXERCISE THEIR RIGHT TO HEALTH.