Campaign: Fair Medical Trade

September 5, 2010 by tim.rittman

Fair medical trade is the focus of Almamata's advocacy for the next 2 months. So read on and get involved!

Fair trade in general has attained an increasing degree of importance over the past 10 years or so. Since the publication of an article in the BMJ in 2006 (see references) there has been growing awareness that the principles of fair medical trade should be applied to procurement in the NHS.

The website Fair Medical Trade has highlighted this issue with case studies from Pakistan, Mexico and Malaysia http://mfetg.wordpress.com/case-studies/. These examples show how surgical instruments, gloves and uniforms are manufactured for medical suppliers in sweat-shop conditions. European companies buy these goods and sell them on to hospitals and other health institutions around the world. Workers lack protection from health and safety regulations, work long hours 7 days a week and are housed in poor conditions. Child labour is still used by some of these manufacturers. Pictures can be seen via the BMA's flickr site.

The BMA has taken steps towards making things better by setting up a Medical Fair and Ethical Trade Group.

Procurement is increasingly left to individual foundation trusts and GP coalitions. The NHS produced guidelines in 2008 on ethical procurement through the NHS purchasing and supply agency. However, this arm of the NHS provided guidance rather than hard and fast rules and in the latest round of government cuts has been disbanded altogether.

Therefore, now is a good time to remind the people in charge that fair trade in medical goods are important!

To get involved, choose one of the following options. Option 1 is quick and easy; something everyone can do. Option 2 is for you if you have a bit more time. Option 3 is for you if this issue really grabs you and makes you want to make a bigger change.

The almamatanetwork twitter account will be updated over the next 2 months with more information about fair medical trade.

Option 1: join the Fair Medical Trade facebook group by clicking here.

Option 2: write to your chief executive if you are in a hospital, or the person in charge of procurement within your organisation. Use the case studies above and make points about:

• health and safety

• child labour

• the procurement of surgical instruments in particular, but also gloves and uniforms

• the lack of cost difference between ethical and non-ethical procurement

• the need for moral leaderhip

Use further information from the references below if you need to.

Option 3: start a medical fair trade group at your place of work to share ideas and make a bigger difference.

Go and get started!

References:

Bhutta, MF, Fair Trade for surgical instruments, BMJ 2006. www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1526950&tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract

Fair Medical Trade website: www.fairmedtrade.org.uk/

BMA's Fair Medical Trade group: www.bma.org.uk/international/international_development/fairtrade/

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