Nel Van Slijpe is active in the youth section of the CSC. In 2015, he travelled to the Philippines with other Belgian trade union activists. We asked him about the health situation in the Philippines and why he supports the European citizens« initiative »No profit on the pandemic".
What is access to healthcare and vaccines like in the Philippines?
«It's a society that is particularly unequal and violent, with a very repressive state, and where the private sector has taken control of absolutely every area of life, including what we know here: the economy, agriculture, etc. But also what we call public services. But also what we call public services, which are virtually non-existent over there. So, health care, education, transport, etc., are almost non-existent. As a result, Filipinos have virtually no access to quality public services and the only way to get access is to pay large sums of money, which they don't have. The overwhelming majority of Filipinos live on very little money, very little salary and yet work very hard.
So, when it comes to the vaccine and access to healthcare, I can only wonder how the Filipinos are going to be able to have mass access to quality care in the face of the health crisis.»
Are there any alternatives? And what is the role of social movements?
«There are somewhat parallel health care systems being set up, particularly in the countryside and especially on the island of Mindanao, where progressive organisations are trying to establish medical centres as close to the people as possible. In the countryside, access to healthcare is even more difficult, but there are a huge number of organisations, particularly trade unions but not only, working to ensure that healthcare is accessible even in the most remote parts of the country. I know that they are setting up community health centres, accessible in the villages, and this would undoubtedly be one way of improving health security, and perhaps access to vaccines for the majority of Filipinos.»
What needs to be done to improve the health situation?
«Today, healthcare is reserved for a very small privileged section of Philippine society. Massive public investment in healthcare and strategic thinking about how we are going to reach the people and meet their healthcare needs, both in terms of the current epidemic and their day-to-day needs.
Massive public investment is needed so that as many Filipinos as possible can have access to healthcare without having to pay out crazy sums of money, as is the case today. At the same time, we need to ensure that this access is also available at a local level, by reaching out to the people and not waiting for them to move to the big cities, where the majority of the population is not concentrated.»
That's why I'm supporting the European Citizens» Initiative in favour of a vaccine for everyone. What about you?"
Interview and video: Logan Danhier
