Education for activism and the struggle for health: The experience of the International People's Health University

The active involvement of communities in the struggle for health (access to health care and action on the determinants of health) was an important part of the vision of Alma-Ata but has been ignored in the various versions of selective Primary Health Care (PHC), in particular, UNICEF’s GOBI FFF and the World Bank’s packages of cost effective interventions,  which have overshadowed PHC since 1978. The People’s Health Movement (PHM), a global network of community based organisations involved in health issues, sees action through civil society as a critical influence on health care quality and access and on the social determinants of health.  PHM is committed to supporting the action of communities for health, building international solidarity around specific struggles and cooperating in relation to the shared challenges for people’s health which arise from neo-liberal globalisation. The International People’s Health University (IPHU), which is part of PHM, seeks to contribute to the struggle for health by organising opportunities for learning, sharing and planning for health activists, particularly for activists from Third World countries.  Since the first course (Cuenca, 2005), eight IPHU short courses have been held in different parts of the world (Bhopal, Vancouver, Atlanta, Savar, Cairo, Jaipur and Porto Alegre) and future courses are scheduled. Education for activism presents particular challenges in terms of curriculum and pedagogy as well as delivery arrangements and financing and short term and medium term evaluations have been undertaken with a view to improving the relevance and quality of the programs offered. The evaluation data collected from participants provide a unique insight into the circumstances in which the people’s struggle for health is advanced and the practical challenges facing health activists in engaging in this struggle.  A description and analysis of these settings and challenges will be presented with some reflections on the educational implications.