PHM-Exch> [PHM NEWS]from Justice and Health Group

[Claudio Schuftan]

*Greetings from the Gender  Justice and Health  Group!*

You have been in our thoughts in these challenging times as our people,
countries and regions grapple with the struggles and injustices exacerbated
by Covid-19.

Social, global solidarity and gender justice has probably never been more
relevant than at this moment when physical distancing, isolation and lock
downs are the norms in many of our countries and regions. And the
deep-seated structures of inequality, the failures of neo-liberal political
leadership stare at us in this time of intersecting crisis as well as
responses to them. Most critically, the inherent relationships of these
political, economic and social structures to the health and well-being of
the people are being witnessed everyday across countries and regions.

While we as individuals, experts, activists, feminists, thinkers, families,
partners, peers, communities, countries, regions and the world witness and
face this crisis in similar and varying ways,  it is critical to reflect,
recognize and prioritise the needs and experiences  of the most vulnerable
communities across the globe. In India, we find ourselves in lockdowns and
quarantine situations now as preventive/control measure to check Covid-19
spread- we simultaneously witness deeply disturbing scenarios of
discrimination, lost livelihoods, poor  access to food, shelter,
information, and health care  being faced by a large number of the socially
and economically vulnerable communities - daily wage workers, homeless, sex
workers, migrants, persons with disabilities and mental health issues, etc.

As the gender justice and health circle, there is also need to understand
and visibilise the gendered impact of COVID-19 and State responses to the
pandemic. We draw attention particularly to the issues of domestic
violence, especially in the current context of lockdowns and isolation.
Issues of violence against frontline health workers, a majority of whom in
India for example are women, is extremely critical. The current context is
also a tremendous challenge for mental health; distress due to social,
economic loss and physical isolation, the burden of labour as health
workers, or reproductive work, etc. are being witnessed
increasingly. Further, the burden of the gendered nature of care work
within homes including household work in situations of lock-down is
exacerbated, with serious impact on physical and psychosocial
health. Access to information is another concern for girls, women - with a
substantial number not having access to sources of information, or due to
limited literacy skills. Statements on COVID from disability rights groups
have also iterated the lack of multiple formats in which information is
disseminated, which is essential for persons with disability particularly.
This impact is  disproportionate when gender and disability intersect

A pro-people mandate that prioritises health of all people over profits,
the dismantling of local and global inequities as necessary for health and
health care is a long standing demand by the PHM and resonates even more
emphatically in the current context. The impact of poorly resourced and
governed public health systems, privatization, the lack of adequate
attention to health care workers’ s particularly the front line workers
rights and safety a looming shortage of PPE, ventilators  are being
experienced more deeply and wider scale now. Access to essential health
services, include continued access to maternal health services, safe
abortion services, contraception d NCD drugs, access to anti-tubercular and
anti-retroviral drugs, access to dialysis services, cancer chemotherapy to
name a few.

PHM-India is consistently engaged in policy advocacy and community / public
engagement on the issue; *HERE* is the link for a brief summary update on
PHM India’s response to the situation.

Some of the issues raised therein may resonate with the contexts in several
regions and countries represented in this group.

The demand and struggle for Health for All assumes even more significance
now. Our collective voices for health rights and justice must be amplified.


We urge you to write and share your experiences; about the situation, the
challenges and responses in your parts of the world. particularly how it is
affecting women, persons with disability, sex workers, indegenous
communities, dalit communities, migrants, homeless and other vulnerable
groups including women in prisons  Please do write if there is a need for
information resources in this context and if you have information and
materials to share.

We firmly believe that as the gender justice health group of PHM,
 reflections of the diverse contexts that we live in and particularly on
the gendered impact of the situation would be critical.  These reflections
are also necessary to iterate that while COVID 19 is a current challenge,
our vision must be one of a just, inclusive and healthy world.

We are exploring the possibilities of virtual discussion through a webinar
and will revert with details. Any further ideas or suggestions for the
group to engage collectively in addition to email exchanges, are most
welcome.

We, once again, express our solidarity with all your struggles. These
isolated conditions have also reminded some of us about the potential of
virtual connections and communications and we wish to stay connected as a
group on a more regular basis.



Look forward to collectively reflecting, sharing and strategizing.



We look forward to hearing from you.



With all of you in our thoughts, with warm wishes.



Stay safe, take care.

In Solidarity,

Sarojini N

Coordinator of Gender, Justice  & Health Thematic Group, People’s Health
Movement(PHM)

Deepa & Adsa from Sama Resource Group for Women and Health
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://phm.phmovement.org/pipermail/phm-exchange-phmovement.org/attachments/20200401/71bf084c/attachment.html>