This fortnight In the closing days of 2023, the health spotlight continues to be on Palestine, particularly Gaza, where health workers find themselves under unrelenting pressure during the ongoing Israeli war on the Strip. For a continuous span of 84 days, midwives, nurses, doctors, ambulance drivers, and other health workers

This fortnight More and more hospitals in the Gaza Strip are shutting down operations as Israeli attacks persist for over 70 days. Health workers, patients, and those sheltering in the buildings face increased risks of the spread of infectious diseases, in addition to being exposed to constant bombardments and raids.

This fortnight Following Israel’s termination of a one-week truce in the relentless attack on the Gaza Strip on December 1, Palestine's healthcare system is still operating without sufficient medical supplies and fuel. Despite adversities, health workers in Palestine persist in protecting the people's right to

This fortnight As the Israeli war on Palestine persists for over a month, health workers worldwide have taken to the streets, urging their governments to support a ceasefire. Their goal is to protect nurses, midwives, doctors, paramedics, ambulance drivers, and other health workers currently working under relentless bombardment. While many

This fortnight On multiple occasions since the beginning of Israel's attacks on Gaza on October 7, healthcare institutions have found themselves in the line of fire. Targeting hospitals and other health infrastructure constitutes a breach of international law, which is even more deplorable given that tens of thousands

This fortnight The attack on Al-Ahli Arab Hospital and the refusal to allow sufficient food, water, and medical supplies into the besieged strip are among the latest incidents in a long series of Israeli attacks on the health of the people in Gaza. Thousands of children have never experienced life

This fortnight   This year's International Safe Abortion Day, commemorated worldwide on October 28, marked another year passing in the fight for access to safe and free sexual and reproductive health services. Around the world, from Asia to Latin America, feminist and health movements mobilized to emphasize the importance

This fortnight   Global North countries continue to treat health systems in the Global South as a pool for recruiting workers. At the same time, they neglect the workers who are already employed in hospital wards and health centers. This short-sighted approach is harmful for the Global South, where the health

This fortnight   Community health workers are the primary access point to health care for thousands of people. Predominantly composed of women, this workforce undertakes a wide range of responsibilities, encompassing everything from vaccination to health education. In many countries, their contributions to public health often go underappreciated. In a united

This fortnight   On August 21, the Mozambican Medical Association declared an extension of its strike for an additional three weeks, thereby prolonging the industrial action that was initiated in the first half of July. The doctors are advocating for improvements in their working conditions and increased investment in the public

This fortnight   One year into the Marcos Junior administration in the Philippines, the state of health care remains largely unchanged. Despite Bongbong Marcos' announcement that he would enhance the health insurance model to improve coverage, this promise has yet to materialize. Instead, the people in the Philippines face worsening

This fortnight Groups advocating for child and women’s health will mark World Breastfeeding Week from August 1 to 4. This year, their focus will be on issues related to supporting essential maternity protections. While continuing their fight for environments that are more supportive of breastfeeding, these groups will also

This fortnight   The governments in Colombia and Brazil have ambitious plans to introduce health reforms that could significantly expand health rights. These reforms are a response to long periods dominated by neoliberal, pro-commercialization policies in their health systems. During the last World Health Assembly, activists from the WHO Watch team

This fortnight   More than 4,000 delegates will participate in the 17th National Health Conference in Brasília from July 2 to 5. They will discuss strategies for strengthening the Unified Health System (SUS). President Lula and Health Minister Nísia Trindade will be in attendance, working together with the delegates to

This fortnight   Discussions in global health continue to center around decisions made in Geneva after the 76th World Health Assembly. The ongoing negotiations on the Pandemic Treaty raise doubts about whether the final draft will incorporate lessons from previous outbreaks. Francisco Viegas of the Médecins Sans Frontières Access campaign spoke

This fortnight   The World Health Organization recently concluded another World Health Assembly in May. Discussions at the WHA focused on the organization's role in health emergencies and its financing challenges. Some last-minute changes in the decision on strengthening WHO's flexible budget raised concerns among civil society

This fortnight   When the People's Health Dispatch was launched two years ago, the world was already reeling under the COVID-19 pandemic. The warnings from health activists, voiced long before the pandemic, quickly became a harsh reality. Health systems crumbled under the weight of the pandemic due to cost-cutting

This fortnight   The People's Health Movement is set to hold a new People's Health Assembly in Cali, Colombia, in late 2023. The assembly will bring together activists and organizations to establish strategies for achieving the right to health. Health workers and trade unions are expected to

This fortnight   Despite the critical role that health workers play in keeping communities healthy, the world is still grappling with a severe shortage of trained medical personnel. This problem has been particularly acute in the Global South, where underfunded healthcare systems and aggressive recruitment drives from high-income countries have contributed

This week   In a jubilee year for the World Health Organization, we are still far away from achieving Health for All. For the founders of the WHO, health was “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being”, not simply the absence of physical illness. Their vision did not translate

This fortnight   The number of cholera outbreaks in the world continues to grow, as does the number of infections and deaths. Cholera is a well known disease of poverty, and its spread can be contained in a very simple way: by ensuring access to clean water and sanitation. Still, there

This fortnight   Health workers’ protests continue as governments refuse to translate pandemic claps into concrete investment in health systems. In Croatia, physicians’ trade unions and associations organized a mass protest for the protection of the health system. In South Africa, health workers embarked on a ten-day long strike which led

This week   In this thematic edition of People's Health Dispatch, we look at the actions undertaken around the world on occasion of International Working Women's Day. The health of women is strongly intertwined with other aspects of their lives. Adsa Fatima from Sama - Resource Group

This fortnight   The Executive Board of the World Health Organization (WHO) closed another meeting with the outlook of continuing discussions on the International Health Regulations and the Pandemic Treaty. Jyotsna Singh from the People’s Health Movement talks about the ways in which the pandemic has influenced these discussions in

This fortnight   Health care delivery in the northwest of Syria remains under threat after the region was hit by two strong earthquakes on February 6. The damage caused by the earthquake adds to the burden accumulated in the health system after years of sanctions, armed conflict, and scarcity of essential