UNITED HEALTH ASSOCIATION

An Independent Division of World Harmony Foundation “You never change things by fighting the existing reality.
To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
- Buckminster Fuller

UHA CHARTER

- Dedicated To Co-creating a Unified Health System -

PURPOSE

To establish an association of dedicated individuals and organisations that are concerned enough about humanity to constructively create a unified health system that is primarily focused on health rather than disease.

INTRODUCTION

In recent times there have been articles in major publications about “super-microbes” that can no longer be controlled with antibiotics. It is common knowledge that uncontrollable outbreaks of ‘golden staph’ in hospitals are becoming more prevalent. But what is not generally known is that more and more microbes are becoming more and more resistant to antibiotics, and organisms such as E. Coli that were not considered pathogenic (disease forming) two decades ago, now they are.

Although orthodox medicine has done a wonderful job, it is clear that its contemporary approach is losing its battle with many health problems... and the situation is getting worse in many areas, not better. Furthermore, many are actively suppressing any alternative attempts to resolve these problems. This would indicate a new approach might be required?
One such premise is to Focus on Health, rather than Disease.1 Focussing on health means working more closely with nature; studying it in more detail, mimicking it, and using its mechanisms, substances and essences in a more scientific and coordinated fashion for general health restoration purposes.

Many researchers and doctors who are already doing this have gained new insights and new answers to many of the health problems that society is facing. One such example has come from John R. Lee M.D. from the United States. Dr. Lee has written a book about the conclusions he derived from his twenty year medical practice and research, about the use of “progesterone” (a natural hormone found in the human body) in treating women’s health problems, such as osteoporosis, PMT and menopausal difficulties, with almost uniform successes.

Others have produced very promising results; some of which have been properly researched and documented, whilst most others haven’t. One of the main reasons comprehensive research into natural remedies and methodologies is so scant, is due to our patent laws that only allow the patenting of medicinal substances that are NOT found in nature. As a result, biochemists chemically “modify” natural substances so they can be patented. The very serious downside of this practice is that these modifications invariably cause “side-effects” that are sometimes more damaging than the condition that was being treated. What’s more, some of these side effects may cause long term effects that can be passed on to offspring, such as abnormal ovaries or testes. Another reason for insufficient research into natural methodologies is there is a lack of knowledge of how to commercially ‘present a case’ for research. The end result is there is a chronic lack of funding from both the commercial and public arenas. Last but not least is that there are vested interests that don’t want the status quo to change… in fact are actively suppressing anything that looks like it may be competitive to the treatments currently available.
The proposal below is designed to remedy these situations in a way where everyone benefits including investors, pharmaceutical companies, orthodox medical establishment as well as alternative health product manufacturers and practices, not to forget both federal and state governments. It briefly addresses how society’s health can be greatly improved and the cost of achieving a healthy nation can be substantially lowered.

PREAMBLE

There are a number of fundamentals (self-evident truths) that are the basis upon which the United Health Association is being founded. They are:

Human beings are coordinated whole beings not just a collection of parts; so should be viewed and treated as such.
Nature knows what it is doing and should therefore be worked with whenever possible.
Given the correct necessities and conditions, our bodies will heal themselves of almost any disease.
Orthodox and natural therapies can be mutually inclusive.
There is a need for a comprehensive Health Standards Register.
There is a need to publicise the factors that create health.
That current Patent Laws discourage the manufacture of natural remedies.
That natural medicinal products and practices often lack credibility because of insufficient and/or uncoordinated research, documentation and/or publicity.
There are a growing number of medical doctors and medical researchers who want to incorporate natural methodologies into their work but are discouraged or even forced not to.

THE CHARTER

To provide a Win-Win-Win service that addresses the needs of patients, practitioners, and commercial interests while raising public awareness of the various health choices that are available.

OBJECTIVES

To provide an Umbrella, under which UHA members may function and have a public voice.
To focus on Health Creation rather than Abolishing Disease.
To establish a UHA Standards Register of products and practices.
To Assess and Report on specific health products and practices.
To provide UHA Certification for health products and practices that meet UHA Standards.
To Initiate and/or Organise Unbiased Health Research Programs.
To ensure the Most Effective health products and practices are Made Accessible to the public.
To set up a Data Bases for members and non-members (public) via the Internet.
To broadly Publicise the pros and cons of various health products and practices.
To provide the means of Uniting and Using the best in orthodox and natural medicine.
To lobby the appropriate authorities to change the Patent Laws with the object of encouraging widespread usage of Natural Substances in lieu of synthetics.
To encourage Non Exclusive use of natural healing methods and products.
To Discourage the use of products that have detrimental side effects.

THE OBJECTIVES IN MORE DETAIL

1. To provide an umbrella, under which UHA members may function and have a public voice.
This is one of the most important objectives because the UHA will provide an ‘umbrella’ under which all the diverse practitioners and manufacturers can unite through their respective associations for the common purpose of creating a healthy nation in the most natural and appropriate ways possible.

UHA’s publicity programs will encourage the public to use UHA Certified products and services in-lieu of uncertified ones. In due course, this will encourage non-members to become members; bringing about further integration of the health industry.

The UHA will also be there to give its members a united public voice so that relevant and important information can be disseminated to government, the media and the public. With such a united voice it will be easier to gain credibility and support, and enable proven products, practices and information to be made available to the general public.

2. To focus on health rather than abolishing disease.
This objective comes from the second and third Fundamental above that “Nature knows what it is doing, etc.” and “Given the correct necessities and conditions our bodies will heal themselves of any disease”. It is understood that health is our natural state of being and that ill-health is a phenomenon that is created from denying or preventing the correct necessities and conditions of life from being available or used.

Knowing this, one only needs to find out and use what are the correct necessities and conditions to be able to restore health to anyone (providing it is not too late). This may be the removal or replacement of something. For example, it may be the removal of a toxic substance from ones diet or environment. Or it could be the supply of a trace element such as selenium that is lacking in one’s food. There are literally thousands, if not millions, of combinations of such remedies, and that is why it is so important that the health industry gets back to basics, to such things as eating healthy foods that contain all that our bodies need, without toxic contamination.

The concept of healthy food goes even further when one realises that healthy foods can only be produced from soils that contain all the minerals our bodies need to be healthy. Approximately sixty (60) minerals are removed from the soil by plants, while only three (3) (nitrogen phosphorus and potassium) are usually replaced in our current farming practices. Imagine what would happen to our bank accounts if we continued to take out 20 times more than we put back in? Yes, we would soon become bankrupt, and that is exactly what has happened to our soils; they are almost totally devoid of the minerals that we need to keep us healthy. There is abundant evidence that over 90% of all diseases can be traced to one or more mineral deficiencies as the actual cause of the disease, whereas the ‘symptom’ is often stated as the cause of death. For example, the stated cause of death may be a ‘heart attack’ when it was actually caused by a chronic ‘deficiency of magnesium’ which in turn, caused the heart attack.

Comparing a motor vehicle to the human body imagine what would happen if you tried to run your car on kerosene instead of petrol? The kerosene would cause ‘crankcase dilution’ of the oil which would cause rapid wear of the pistons, cylinders and bearings. A similar thing happens in our bodies when we don’t provide it with the correct requirements. Yet most people don’t think that drinking unhealthy water (containing chlorine and fluoride); eating mineral deficient foods; and breathing polluted air as being the cause of our bodies ‘wearing out’ (de-generative diseases) before our time.

The good news is that in many cases our bodies can be re-generated if the correct necessities and conditions are applied in time. Initially, this may take the form of using purified water along with food or mineral supplements, although in the long term it is envisaged that most of our health problems can be remedied by alternative water treatment, better farming practices, and reducing air pollution.

3. To establish UHA Standards Register of products and practices.
In recognition that society is becoming more and more unhealthy there is a worldwide movement towards using health food supplements in an effort to remedy the situation. There is also a flood of new multi-level marketing companies, health food stores and natural health practitioners who are marketing or dispensing these with varying degrees of success.

The point is; that although there is all this activity, there appears to be little or no general widespread co-ordination between participants. Accordingly, there is a great opportunity to develop some universal standards, not as a means of restricting the use of products and practices, but to make them more effective... and that’s the key word, effective!

What is being proposed is that the UHA establish a Standards Register that will provide guidelines for products and/or practices that have been proven to be “effective” as well as providing warnings about those that may be detrimental or harmful. This process will have to be very closely linked with past and present research findings (see No. 5 below). As this process develops, a growing confidence will become self-evident.

A Standards Register will also be valuable in providing the basis of UHA Certification of products and practices (see 4 below).

4. To assess and report on specific health products and practices
This activity is linked to 4, 6 and 8 below. It involves assessing research evidence by qualified experts, as to the suitability and effectiveness of specific products and practices claiming to be health giving. The findings will be reported to the claimant (if there is one), the UHA Certification Division (4 below) and if appropriate, the UHA Publicity Division (8 below). Part of this service is to make known the limitations and/or provide warnings of harmful or possible harmful effects, of any product or practice.

5. To provide UHA Certification for health products and practices that meet UHA standards.
It is proposed that, wherever possible, existing experts/authorities be commissioned to certify products, practices and/or personnel in their respective fields of expertise. Once UHA Certification is granted it may be used for promotional purposes of the product, practice or person. This will provide a Win-Win-Win benefit for all concerned, ie. it will increase UHA’s credibility; it will provide credibility for the certified product/practice/person and it will increase public confidence in each of these.

6. To initiate and/or organise unbiased health research programs.
One of the primary directives of the UHA will be to initiate and organise unbiased research programs that are designed to prove the effectiveness (or not) and show up any detrimental effects of products and practices. Funding of these research programs will come from various sources and will be the subject of a separate paper. However, it is envisaged that initially some funding will come from manufacturers of therapeutic products seeking UHA Certification (also see Strategies, below). Again, existing research establishments will be utilised when and where appropriate.

7. To ensure the most effective health products and practices are made accessible to the public.
The UHA will see that everything is done to ensure that this objective is achieved. Being accessible also means that it is affordable for everyone; so steps may be made to keep prices down by encouraging supplier competition (also see 8 below).

8. To set up databases for members and non-members (public) via the Internet.
Several different databases will be set up for different purposes. For example, one will be to supply practitioner’s information about their specific type of practice. Another could be for the general public to guide them in professional choices they have in relation to a particular complaint they may have or what they may use to treat themselves. It is envisaged that eventually UHA Data Banks from different countries will be integrated to form a much more comprehensive service.

9. To broadly publicise the pros and cons of various health products and practices.
It is proposed that UHA supplies information to watchdog organisations such as Choice Magazine and similar publications. However, the UHA may produce its own publication, especially if it is found that the information is not being effectively or truthfully disseminated by others. This information will also be made available through the Internet as part of the database mentioned (7) above.

10. To provide the means of uniting and using the best in orthodox and natural medicine.
There are a growing number of medical doctors who are wishing to utilise treatments that originate from outside the usual orthodox medical sources. Some doctors use these treatments even though it is often frowned upon by the medical hierarchy and their peers. In some cases they have been given ultimatums to desist in mixing practices or be deregistered.

It is noteworthy that in a recent survey conducted by a hospital in Victoria people of the district overwhelmingly voted in favour of having natural medicine included as part of the service they were offering. Here is a case in point where the two methodologies could be integrated to give patients a more comprehensive service than is currently being made available.

11. To lobby the appropriate authorities to change the patent laws with the object of encouraging widespread usage of natural substances in lieu of synthetics.
It is the view of the UHA that many of the problems associated with drug side effects have come about because the patent laws only give protection to unnatural substances. Currently, a therapeutic substance that is found in nature cannot be patented even if its chemical make-up was previously unknown. Because of this, many commercial enterprises are only interested in manufacturing and/or marketing chemicals that are not found in nature - hence the preponderance of synthetic drugs. A full patent gives twenty years protection (effectively barring competition for that time) in contrast a ‘petty patent’ that provides only six years. Six years is considered more than enough time for a marketing company to gain a significant market share before others are allowed to compete. The UHA proposes that the patent laws be changed to allow patenting of newly discovered natural substances perhaps, under the Petty Patent category or some newly formed category, to encourage pharmaceutical companies to manufacture natural remedies rather than synthetics.

12. To encourage non-exclusive use of natural healing methods and products.
The intention here is to ensure the best products and services are always made available to the public at an affordable price. This is difficult to do with the current medical / pharmaceutical monopoly situation. Therefore, the policy of the UHA would be to encourage and promote the widespread use of the most effective treatments available, through its certification and publicity programs, to speed-up the healing process, thus reduce costs.

12. To discourage the use of products that have detrimental side effects.
A product that has harmful or possible harmful side effects will not receive UHA Certification unless there is no alternative product available, in which case it will be given Provisional Certification (temporary) along with warnings of the possible side effects. Practitioners using Provisionally Certified products will be obliged (as part of their membership agreement) to inform their clients/patients of possible dangers.

STRATEGIES

1. To approach and survey potentially interested parties that may wish to become involved in establishing the UHA in whatever way is appropriate for them. They may wish to simply provide some feedback about the concept, attend meetings, be part of the executive committee or express their interest in becoming a Founding Member. This activity is already being conducted on a limited basis and some of the constructive suggestions that were offered have now been incorporated into the above material. Several people have expressed their desire to promote this information through their own networks and a well-known national magazine has asked to publish a story about the concept when we are ready.

2. An executive committee to be formed for the primary reason of writing the UHA Constitution from which the UHA will become incorporated. It will then apply for non-profit and tax exempt status with the Australian Taxation Office and also plans to become a bone-fide research and development organisation. In due course this would provide an opportunity to attract funds from individuals and/or companies who could claim the donation/investment as a tax deduction.

3. The primary objective of the UHA is to recruit health industry associations as members. As such, the UHA would become an “Association of Associations” in a similar way that the ACTU became the umbrella organisation for the union movement in Australia. Other types of membership would be Manufacturers; Educators, Researchers; Certifying establishments; Laboratories; Publishers; Media; Organic Growers associations, etc. Membership fees would vary according to the type of membership.

4. Following incorporation, a nation-wide campaign would be launched to attract members, especially from other associations and commercially viable organisations that concur with the above objectives. It is envisaged that UHA memberships would become so beneficial that recruitment would self-perpetuate. i.e. who in the health industry could afford not to join?

5. It is also envisaged that much of what is being proposed in the above objectives could be achieved by linking and coordinating with individuals and organisations that are already performing one or more of the tasks discussed. For example, an organisation that teaches and/or certifies acupuncturists could become an authorised UHA Acupuncture Certifying Agent.
6. In due course, as the UHA becomes operative, similar associations can be established in other countries as part of an international health association that can work together for the health and well being of all humankind.

- COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS ARE WELCOMED –

Trevor Osborne - Founder - 9 April, 2006