Bulletin #69: Dehumanization of healthcare in Palestine a prelude to ethnic cleansing

This fortnight

Attacks against healthcare in the West Bank have reached unprecedented levels as masked Israeli soldiers infiltrated a hospital in Jenin and murdered three people. The event might be shocking, but it certainly doesn’t come as a surprise considering decades of undermining of the health infrastructure all over Palestine at the hands of the Israeli Occupying Forces.

Meanwhile, bombs and snipers continue to target health centers, hospitals, and health workers in the Gaza Strip. Healthcare in southern Gaza is collapsing, mirroring the fate of the North, amid sieges and ongoing obstructions of medical aid deliveries. Particularly affected is women’s and children’s health.

High-income countries’ governments may not be ready to sever ties with Big Pharma, at least judging from the most recent developments in the negotiations on the Pandemic Treaty. Yet, health activists in Europe are determined to push them in a different direction. A coalition of right-to-health groups and experts has announced a new initiative to build a network of public pharmaceutical resources across the region.

In Afghanistan, people are suffering from a double burden caused by decades of neglect of the public health sector during NATO occupation and attacks on women’s health services by the Taliban government.

At the same time, in Argentina, the Milei government is pushing for a set of policies that would significantly impact health services, including abortion.

The United States is experiencing a devastating period of healthcare desertification, particularly in rural and working-class communities. Maternity care deserts are endangering the health and lives of millions of women across the country, while the closure of pharmacies is denying many access to essential medicines.

In focus: Health in Palestine

Dehumanization of healthcare in the West Bank, a blueprint for ethnic cleansing

From direct attacks on hospitals to smear campaigns, health workers and facilities in the West Bank are facing a host of attacks by Israeli forces who seek to undermine the sense of trust that people have towards the healthcare system

Infections on the rise in Gaza as Israel impedes delivery of water, food

Shortages of food and water in the Gaza Strip are leading to increasing numbers of infections, while healthcare continues to suffer Israeli assaults. The Nasser Hospital and the Al-Amal Hospital, both key facilities, are under constant attack

Israel’s attacks continue to decimate ambulance and maternity services in southern Gaza

Israeli attacks on healthcare in the Gaza Strip continue, with violence increasing against health workers and patients in West Bank

Featured articles

Public pharma for Europe, a game-changer for access to medicines

A growing number of organizations in Europe is demanding a complete overhaul of regional pharma policies in order to protect people’s health over profits

Afghanistan faces multiple crises rooted in failure to build a robust health system

The health system in Afghanistan continues to struggle with a lack of funds and structure while pressures increase. Governmental policies and climate change and adding to the burden

Millions of women in the US are being left without essential healthcare

As maternity care deserts in the US expand, millions of women in rural areas of the US have been left without access to basic maternity care, including labor wards

Data speaks

Short reads

Right to abortion in Argentina under attack by government of libertarian Javier Milei

The discrepancies over Argentina’s new anti-abortion bill reveal the internal fissures in the right-wing block that has allied with Milei

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Public Pharma for Europe Conference - 15-16 March 2024 | People’s Health Movement

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Breastfeeding, first-food systems and corporate power: a case study on the market and political practices of the transnational baby food industry in Brazil - Globalization and Health

Background The exploitative marketing of commercial milk formula (CMF) reduces breastfeeding, and harms child and maternal health globally. Yet forty years after the International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes (The Code) was adopted by WHO member states, many countries are still to fully implement its provisions into national law. Furthermore, despite The Code, worldwide CMF markets have markedly expanded. In this paper, we adopt Brazil as a case study to understand the power of the baby food industry’s marketing and corporate political activity, and how this influences the country’s ‘first-food system’ in ways that promote and sustain CMF consumption. Methods We used a case study design, drawing data from from documents and key informant interviews (N = 10). Results Breastfeeding rates plummeted in Brazil to a historic low in the 1970s. A resurgence in breastfeeding from the mid-1980s onwards reflected strengthening political commitment for a national policy framework and breastfeeding protection law, resulting in-turn, from collective actions by breastfeeding coalitions, advocates, and mothers. Yet more recently, improvements in breastfeeding have plateaued in Brazil, while the industry grew CMF sales in Brazil by 750% between 2006 and 20. As regulations tightened, the industry has more aggressively promoted CMF for older infants and young children, as well as specialised formulas. The baby food industry is empowered through association with powerful industry groups, and employs lobbyists with good access to policymakers. The industry has captured the pediatric profession in Brazil through its long-standing association with the Brazilian Society of Pediatrics. Conclusion Brazil illustrates how the baby food industry uses marketing and political activity to promote and sustain CMF markets, to the detriment of breastfeeding. Our results demonstrate that this industry requires much greater scrutiny by regulators.

BioMed CentralCindy Alejandra Pachón Robles

Boston pharmacy desert due to capitalist competition, not theft

Roxbury is the heart of Boston’s Black community, and this marks the fourth in a recent series of closures throughout predominantly Black and brown working class neighborhoods of Boston.

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The Political Determinants of Health Inequity - Another End of the World is Possible - Centre for Development and the Environment

Ten years ago, The Lancet-UiO Commission on Global Governance for Health released a report on the political origins of health inequity. In this blog, Remco van de Pas takes stock of the commission’s main themes and recommendations, and suggests some alternative pathways.

Centre for Development and the EnvironmentRemco van de Pas