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Seamus Connolly, President.

EFCAM is a democratic and non-profit organization working to make complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) freely available and practiced by appropriately trained practitioners. It aims to achieve the legal rights of non-medically trained practitioners and ensure the market availability of regulated CAM medicines and products.

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Seamus Connolly, President.

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  1. European Federation for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, EFCAM Purpose, Organisation and Political Action Seamus Connolly, President. SC-EFCAM Pres FICTA June 25th, 2011

  2. EFCAM: FOUNDATION • EFCAM was founded in 2005 by ESF and ECCH. • Originally an informal network of several CAM actors including CAM doctors, researchers patients organisations and manufacturers • Formalised in 2008 with Statutes, membership rules, fees, aims, financial management and legally registered in the Netherlands. • . SC-EFCAM Pres FICTA June 25th, 2011

  3. EFCAM: MAIN OBJECTIVES • EFCAM’s main aim is to see all CAM freely available to all EU citizens and to be freely practised by all appropriately trained practitioners • No CAM discipline can achieve this aim on it’s own • EFCAM is working to achieve the legal right of non-medically trained practitioners to practise across Europe • EFCAM is working to ensure the market availability of all appropriately produced and regulated CAM medicines and products. SC-EFCAM Pres FICTA June 25th, 2011

  4. EFCAM: ORGANISATION • EFCAM is a democratic and non profit -making organisation • The members of EFCAM are European Federations of individual CAM methods and National Multidisciplinary CAM Umbrella organisations. • EFCAM is a formal membership organisation with membership rules, fees, and decision making protocols as distinct from a network. • Funding is exclusively by membership fees • Their purpose is to facilitate agreement on and adherence to common policies and actions, and to empower the EFCAM to act on these policies. SC-EFCAM Pres FICTA June 25th, 2011

  5. EFCAM: MEMBERSHIP 5 European Federations: • European General Council for Homeopathy ECCH • European Traditional Chinese Medicine Association, ETCMA • European Herbal & Traditional Medicine Association, EHTPA • Reflexology in Europe Network, RiEN • European Shiatsu Federation, ESF 1 National Umbrella Organisation: • Kroppsterapeuterna Yrkesforbund, KrY SC-EFCAM Pres FICTA June 25th, 2011

  6. WHY POLITICS 1 • Politics mediates power in Society • Politics governs rights and living and working conditions • Politicsdetermines distribution of wealth and poverty, supports and suppresses values, who is taken care of and who not • Democracy is the opportunity to self determine social power • Politics is not a fixed system but governed by degree of overt and covert participation SC-EFCAM Pres FICTA June 25th, 2011

  7. WHY POLITICS 2 • “ Those who take it get what’s going – Those who don’t get what’s left! “ • Openness and participation are the keys • Politics and politicians are expressions of ourselves. It is an illusion to think we are separate from them. • ThichNhat Han ……. • “I am the frog swimming happily in the clear pond, and I am also the grass-snake who, approaching in silence, feeds itself on the frog……. • Please call me by my true names, so I can hear all my cries and laughs at once, so I can see that my joy and pain are one. • Please call me by my true names, so I can wake up….” SC-EFCAM Pres FICTA June 25th, 2011

  8. Why EU Action 1. • Complementary therapies are used by millions of Europeans but available only to those who can afford them • Most CAM practices have no legal recognition and practitioners have at best a tenuous legal right to practise • CAM is often misunderstood, is attacked and is underdeveloped • Research evidence is selective, research funding poor, research methodology inappropriate • Professional training quality is very variable . Hard to make a living. • CAM s strengths are insufficiently marketed even if it delivers for many • There remains a political and practical division between CAM and conventional medicine • Freedom to practice across borders is not established • All of the above restrict practitioners and deprives the public SC-EFCAM Pres FICTA June 25th, 2011

  9. WHY EU ACTION 2 • The EU has established the rights of freedom of movement and freedom of establishment throughout the EU • The EU acts as a guarantor of rights throughout the EU, has enforceable powers where States are not compliant • Originator of new European policies, laws and freedoms based on above Treaty rights • Can promote and eventually enforce individual and group rights where unequally applied in Member States • Has overarching Public Health Policy policies and programmes crossing all borders that address the CAM agenda and provide cross border patients rights. • The “Lisbon Agenda” is focussed on promoting unrestricted trade, the longevity of workers and citizens and the reduction of healthcare costs • Europe has passed several restrictive laws relating to the practice of CAM. SC-EFCAM Pres FICTA June 25th, 2011

  10. Political Context 1 • EU public health strategy is: • to tackle the major lifestyle diseases, • to promote better health and healthy ageing, • to provide health information, • to reduce illness related work absence and loss of productivity • To address health inequalities SC-EFCAM Pres FICTA June 25th, 2011

  11. Political Context 2 • 160,000 doctors practising CAM • They have an effective lobby • Their strategy is to promote “evidence based CAM” which is code for CAM practised by doctors • Have strong relationships with researchers • Have the advantage of professional recognition already SC-EFCAM Pres FICTA June 25th, 2011

  12. Opportunity and Risk • The current EU public health strategy mirrors the essential features of CAM • An organised view, supported by research, is pushing the agenda towards medical practitioners of CAM • The EU door has now opened but • There is a drive for integrated CAM(medical CAM) • CAM practitioner lead research and harmonised training essential; may now be funded • CAM practises are more geared to the health priorities than medical practise • Strong Lobby more essential than ever SC-EFCAM Pres FICTA June 25th, 2011

  13. Political Work History 1 • Lannoye Report to the European Parliament 1997 • PROCOMED EPHA EFCAM • Health Open Forums • Bratislava conference, CAM Presentation • Met both the Health and Research Directorates • Focus of this work was legal recognition, right to practise and practice across borders and achieve equity of access for citizens SC-EFCAM Pres FICTA June 25th, 2011

  14. Political Work History 2 • CAM included, in both the current EU health and research programmes • CAM is coming slowly up the EU agenda • EFCAM the only CAM member of the EU Health Policy Forum, EUHPF. • EFCAM regular invitee to relevant EU events now • Member of the EU funded CAMbrella CAM research project. SC-EFCAM Pres FICTA June 25th, 2011

  15. CAM POLITICAL STRATEGY 1. • Shift, for the time being, from attempting to get European recognition legislation • to participation in EU programmes to show that CAM is a part of the daily life of citizens, that it can add value to EU programmes themselves e.g. health promotion, health literacy, healthy ageing, to the wellbeing of citizens, to productivity and to lower healthcare costs. • National, professional, legal and health administration recognition can be built on that SC-EFCAM Pres FICTA June 25th, 2011

  16. CAM POLITICAL STRATEGY 2 • Additionally, the evolution of EU health strategy is now towards prevention and cost savings, providing a new opening for us. • Being part of some EU programmes is a form of recognition in itself and will certainly help our case in each individual country. SC-EFCAM Pres FICTA June 25th, 2011

  17. CAM Political Strategy 3 • European level recognition gives us status, support and credibility thus positively raises national profile too • National Governments follow European developments • A level of European recognition helps neutralise those against us • We have formed EUROCAM with MDs, patients and manufacturers which strengthens everyone’s position and makes it harder for conventional medicine to attack us • Our strategy is distinguishing CAM from medicine and promoting it’s essential characteristics for health maintenance and promotion SC-EFCAM Pres FICTA June 25th, 2011

  18. EFCAM’S Role 1 • (1) Support the actions in each individual member country pertaining to the legal right to practice, to the availability of medicines and products and to achieveing excellence in professional competence • (2) Act at the European level: • to support action at the national level and to directly lobby all the relevant EU institutions • to network and undertake joint actions with compatible European organisations. SC-EFCAM Pres FICTA June 25th, 2011

  19. EFCAM’s ROLE 2 • To form the strongest possible lobby for non-medically trained practitioners at the European level • To lead the European political strategy for CAM • To neutralise the power of the CAM doctors • To be recognised as the representative body for non-medical CAM practitioners in the EU SC-EFCAM Pres FICTA June 25th, 2011

  20. EFCAM: POLITICAL ORGANISATION SC-EFCAM Pres FICTA June 25th, 2011

  21. Political Action Historic Event • Meeting with Mr. Robert Madelin Director General of DGSANCO (EU Health Directorate) March 2009. • Joint Stakeholders for the first time ever (doctors, practitioners, patients and manufacturers) • Joint Position Paper • Joint 12 point Requests • Joint Follow-up SC-EFCAM Pres FICTA June 25th, 2011

  22. Mr Madelin Meeting Results • that dealing with behaviour and lifestyle problems were at the core of EU public health policy • that if CAM can show how it can contribute to that agenda there will be an open door for it in DG SANCO ( Health Directorate) • the same would apply in relation to patient safety • that the promotion of CAM by dual trained doctors would be particularly helpful • as would making known the experiences of patients SC-EFCAM Pres FICTA June 25th, 2011

  23. Political Action Roadmap 1 Comprehensive Map of CAM in Europe: • the range of disciplines • the legal situation • the evidence • what CAM has to contribute now and in future • where it links with EU health policy • who uses it and why, • where it is particularly effective • and to address the controversies about it SC-EFCAM Pres FICTA June 25th, 2011

  24. Political Action Roadmap 2 • EU conference on CAM • CAM to participate in the specific DG SANCO platforms on obesity, alcohol, smoking, mental health and cancer • EU Health Portal: links to websites and special Newsletter edition. • Membership of EU Health Policy Forum • Formation of joint strategy and action plan with CAM doctors, patients and producers SC-EFCAM Pres FICTA June 25th, 2011

  25. EFCAM’s Achievements • European Map of CAM for the EU • The Only CAM member on the EU Health Policy Forum, the EU’s official consultative body on all health matters • EFCAM is now the official representative organisation for non-medical CAM in the EU. • Advisory Board member of CAMbrella, European wide research on all CAM practises • Founder of the European Parliament Interest Group for CAM • The non-medical CAM contact for the EU Health Portal SC-EFCAM Pres FICTA June 25th, 2011

  26. EFCAM’s Achievements 2. • Only official CAM participant in the AHAIP, Active and Healthy Ageing Innovation Partnership, the most significant current action on health by the EU • Organiser of campaign for a new EU Directive on herbal medicines • Official consultants for CAM on the new 5 year health and research programmes of the EU. • The link between non medical CAM practitioners and European patients organisations SC-EFCAM Pres FICTA June 25th, 2011

  27. CONTACTS • Seamus Connolly. 43 Whitehall Road, Churchtown, Dublin 14, Ireland. seamus_connolly@eircom.net 00353 1 2962839 • European Federation for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. www.efcam.eu SC-EFCAM Pres FICTA June 25th, 2011

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