This fortnightBy mid-October, 60% of the population of Cuba had been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. The results of the vaccination campaign on this Caribbean island have surpassed those of the USA and of Australia, for example, although immunization in Cuba began later than in these high income countries. The current

This fortnight For the past year and a half, health workers in the Global South and the Global North have shouldered most of the burden of the pandemic response. They have done so in workplaces that were previously decimated by budget cuts and austerity measures, which reduced the number of

This fortnight Months of campaigns for a fair distribution of Covid-19 vaccines seem to have made little impression on rich countries. Their governments still refuse to see how the hoarding of doses and dismissal of the needs of the Global South are prolonging the pandemic, in addition to endangering the

This fortnight  One hundred years ago, insulin was discovered. Scientists sold the patent for 1 USD, hoping that their discovery will ensure basic health care for millions of people around the world. Today, three pharmaceutical companies control the insulin market and are making use of patent privileges to keep the

This fortnightAs the US-led NATO forces started to retreat from Afghanistan, they are leaving behind a health system dependent on international NGOs and incapable of responding to local needs. As many organizations leave after August 15, access to care will become even more difficult, especially for the most vulnerable. We

This fortnightInequities persist in the global pandemic response as rich countries continue to prefer nationalism over solidarity. Testing for Covid-19 staggers in low and middle income countries, in great measure because of issues with procurement and distribution, coordinated by the ACT-A diagnostics pillar. Underfunded and perceived to be less interesting

This fortnightFor over two months, Bolivia has been waiting for the Canadian government to grant a compulsory license to the Canada-based drug manufacturer Biolyse for the production of Covid-19 vaccines. In May this year, Bolivia and Biolyse reached an agreement that would allow the import of 15 million doses of

This fortnight   Shatha Odeh, a nurse and health activist from the organization Health Work Committees (HWC), was detained along with 9 other Palestinian activists by the Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) on 7 July, 2021. Her arrest comes a month after raids on HWC headquarters by the IOF. HWC’s role

This fortnight   Near the end of June, we celebrated the 113th birth anniversary of Salvador Allende, whose efforts to build a strong public health system in Chile remain an important contribution in the global struggle for the right to health. Allende’s idea of a comprehensive health system included accessible

This fortnightOn 14 June, we marked the birth anniversary of Ernesto Che Guevara, whose vision guided the development of the Cuban healthcare system. Today, healthcare in Cuba remains rooted in the ideals of social and revolutionary medicine fought for by Che. They are an inspiration in the current times of

This fortnightOne year after the COVID-19 pandemic started spreading havoc worldwide, health ministers are once again gathering online for the 74th World Health Assembly (WHA74). WHA74 is being held in the midst of an erratic global vaccine rollout, in which rich countries have elbowed their way to most of the

People’s Health Dispatch is a fortnightly bulletin published by Peoples Dispatch and People's Health Movement, focusing on the politics of health and the struggle for the right to health, including actions organised by workers in the sector. We aim to highlight people’s resistance to the commodification of health

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