March 2002 - Embracing Amartya Sen's prerequisites for equal development and freedom - the socioeconomic imperative, the path to peace, political freedom, community conciliation and cooperative community action - since October of 2000 FWB is achieving this through health care, education and related issues - to optimize the function of health care and its delivery, to form a partnership of the essential purveyors of community health and education in what is presently an unequal, inefficient and unaffordable system.

The 'Community Health Care Team' - specifically, the recruitment of medical teaching institutions in a student exchange between the U.S. and Ireland - funding for U.S. students to be obtained through the Fogarty Grant system. For the students from abroad, the engagement of the pharmaceutical and medical supply companies, initially, in an equivalent sponsorship role - each group of students contributing in an ongoing evaluation of community health from different aspects, its disparities and needs.

Prior to leaving Ireland October of 2000 initial communications were established, meetings achieved, with the NI Department of Health, Dr. Etta Campbell, with the Dean of the Medical School at Queen's University, Professor Robert Stout and political representative on health issues, Dr. Joe Hendron and the Offices of Minister of Education, Martin McGuinness and Bairbre De Brun. Significant interest was expressed from each in the proposed partnership between the two communities, Baltimore to Belfast - in the student program, also involving Hopkins International, medical consulting services. On returning to the U.S., FWB participated in meetings of the Hispanic Community Health Care project, also with teaching staff at the medical institutions at Johns Hopkins, the University of Maryland, with Hopkins Applied Physics Lab. in patient communications systems, with Steve Thompson of the Hopkins International Services and with the School of Public Health, Professor Bob Lawrence. FWB exchanged with each on the existing disparities in NI, the EU and between different ethnic groups in the Baltimore community.

In 2001 we have had meetings with U.S. organizers of the student exchange program from Baltimore US to Belfast NI - from the Director of the Fogarty Grant system, University of Maryland, NIH, and further discussions with Johns Hopkins. Statistics were obtained in exchanges with the Baltimore, Maryland and U.S. Departments of Health. Comparative values were also obtained, examining NI health inequities with those from other communities, UK, EU, Hong Kong, Taiwan, mainland China, and from recent studies done in Columbia, with other values, in 'income versus outcome' in Health Care Services on the broad international scale. Data on these figures were also obtained from the Irish Department of Health.

What became apparent was the escalating cost, both of services and of pharmaceuticals. The cost of medications in the US has increased 20% in the past two years - now, a staggering bill of 170 billion dollars a year. This, with the increasing elder population, increased single parent families, the rising incidence of drug abuse and AIDS, an increasing uninsured population - little short of sixty million at this point - unaffordable, especially at a time of other priorities in the national budget expenditures. The role and image of pharmaceutical companies offers room for change. FWB proposed their participation in the community health care program, where they would act as sponsors in the student exchange program, and ultimately assume a role of investment in the infrastructure of community health, with appropriate tax concession. This has been discussed with the medical teaching institutions, Queen's University, to University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins, and with supporting political figures, and is now being promoted.

FWB will be present at the World Trade Center Embassy Day Fair on April 26, 2002, to further community health as the focus of re-empowerment, the potential role for the pharmaceutical companies and to represent the ongoing program of the Fogarty Grant system, MIRT.

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