[WSIS CS-Plenary] RE: [WSIS-CT] [THETHA] South African WSIS Civil Society Statement

[Elizabeth Carll, PhD]

Dear Sylvia,

Point of clarification:  the paragraph recommended for the South African
WSIS CS Statement did not refer to the paragraph on disability, but was a
separate paragraph on physical and mental health, IN ADDITION TO the
existing separate paragraph which referred to disability.

Rationale: One of the critical issues in telecommunications policy for
public health in developing countries is the need to integrate access to
mental health information in all health policy development to form a
seamless delivery of information and services.  Unfortunately in many
developing countries mental health is not typically viewed as part of health
services and policy.  This results in unnecessarily limited services and is
also a disservice to the people in developing countries.

Even in the US, one of the wealthiest nations in the world,  there is no
parity between access to physical and mental health services.  It would be
especially unfortunate if this major public health flaw would also exist
with ICT utilization and access to information.

The recommendation for access to physical and mental health services has
also been previously included in the WSIS CS Declaration.

Hopefully, this has helped clarify the recommendation.   Thank you for your
comments.

Elizabeth

Dr. Elizabeth Carll
International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies;
Communications Coordination Committee for the United Nations;
NGO Committee on Mental Health
New York, USA
Tel: 1631-754-2424
Fax: 1631-754-5032
ecarll at optonline.net



-----Original Message-----
From: plenary-admin at wsis-cs.org [mailto:plenary-admin at wsis-cs.org]On
Behalf Of Sylvia Caras
Sent: Sunday, September 11, 2005 5:14 PM
To: plenary at wsis-cs.org
Subject: Re: [WSIS CS-Plenary] RE: [WSIS-CT] [THETHA] South African WSIS
Civil Society Statement


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Recommended deletion is in parenthesis

>[Access to (Physical and Mental) Health Information - Priority be given to
>access for all people to all forms of (physical and mental) health
>information.  This access must be a two way flow of information and
>communication and include input from communities, organizations, and
>individuals, and take into consideration cultural/regional issues.]

The UN Convention on Human Rights and Disability also has language about
access to information, for all people with disabilities, not separating out
any particular disability.  Here we are talking more broadly, but I am not
comfortable separating out kinds of health.  Health is seamless, composed
of biological, psychological, sociological, spiritual and vocational
well-being.  I think it does a disservice to carve it into separate buckets.

Sylvia

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