Session on "Health for the Urban Poor – The Way Forward" during WHO conference “Partners for Health in South-East Asia” March 16, 2011

On the inaugural day of the three-day conference, Partners for Health in South-East Asia, organized by the World Health Organization in New Delhi today a session was dedicated to deliberating upon health of the urban poor in light of the accelerated pace of urbanization and associated challenges, managing which is a key concern of the 21st century. Projections suggest that by the year 2030, six out of ten people all over the world will live in cities. By 2050 this proportion is likely to reach 70 per cent. Most of the growth in urban population will occur in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Currently, the urban population in South-East Asia is estimated to be about 600 million, of which about 150 million are estimated to be poor. In the wake of the often unplanned and unregulated urbanization, the urban poor face physical, environmental, social and psychological problems. These impose a heavy burden of disease and inequity on the urban poor. There is an urgent need to identify biological, socio-cultural and financial determinants of health inequity in the urban poor in order to mount a multisectoral effort to address the health concerns of this burgeoning disadvantaged section of the population. This session deliberated on various facets of the health of the urban poor including the health status and determinants of the health of the urban poor and discuss strategic actions to improve health and health care services for this segment of society. The discussions focused on healthy public policy; community education and empowerment; improving availability of and accessibility to health services for the urban poor, national health policy and plans; health information systems; and, operational research.

The conference held from March 16 to 18th, 2011, had participation from representatives of national governments, parliamentarians, academia, civil society, patients rights groups, NGOs, the private sector, professional organizations, bilateral and multilateral donors, global health partnerships, development partners, media and UN organizations attending the conference.

The session on "Health for the Urban Poor – The Way Forward" was chaired jointly by Mr Keshav Desiraju, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India and Dr Genevieve Begkoyian, Regional Advisor, Child Survival &

Development, UNICEF, Regional Office for South Asia, Nepal. The speakers were Dr Sattar Yoosuf, Assistant Regional Director, WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia on 'Health for the Urban Poor in the 21st Century: Challenges
and Opportunities' ; Dr M.H. Basyir Ahmad Syawie, Mayor of Pekalongan, Indonesia on 'Cities without Slums – Political Will can make it Happen' and Dr Siddharth Agarwal, Director, Urban Health Resource Centre, India on 'Improving Health of the Urban Poor: Experiences from the Field and Lessons Learned'

Improving Health of the Urban Poor: Experiences from the Field and Lessons