Brussels, 10/09/2003 (Agence Europe) - Last week in Strasbourg, the European Parliament adopted the report by John Bowis (EPP-ED, United Kingdom) on health and the fight against poverty in developing countries. Noting that 3 million people die each year from water-related diseases, MEPs invite the Commission and Member Sates to increase their contribution to achieve one of the goals of the millennium which is to reduce by half, by 2015, the number of people worldwide who do not have lasting access to drinking water. They call for the EUR 10 billion not spent from the European Development Fund for the ACP countries (Africa, Caribbean, Pacific) to be allocated to support measures in the field of public health. They also insist on the need to step up health protection, to guarantee universal access to healthcare, develop palliative care for those suffering from fatal diseases (AIDS/HIV, tuberculosis, cancer) and to include the gender (men/women) dimension in public health policies, in the knowledge that women in developing countries are the first victims of these deficient policies.