PHM-Exch> Fwd: Bulletin #10: Overcoming barriers to health justice

[Jyotsna Singh]

Bulletin #10: Overcoming barriers to health justice
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/bulletin-10-overcoming/>
By People's Health Dispatch – 08 Oct 2021 – View online →
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/bulletin-10-overcoming/>

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 staff in
healthcare systems. In September, nurses in Croatia
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/10/08/nurses-left-behind-by-croatian-government/>
decided to protest such actions by the government, while health workers in
Guinea-Bissau
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/10/07/guinea-bissau-health-workers-demand-to-be-valued/>
went on strike.

At the same time, health workers in Myanmar
<https://publicservices.international/resources/news/myanmar-healthcare-workers-determined-to-strike-on?lang=en&id=12189&showLogin=true>
continued to oppose the military government: you can find more on their
struggle in our *In case you missed it section*.

While front-line workers fight for fair working conditions and safe
staffing, inequities in access to Covid-19 medical products persist in
different communities. Refugees, migrants, and other displaced people
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/10/08/humans-without-rights-refugees-and-access-to-covid-19-vaccines/>
have been excluded from most national vaccination programs. In combination
with poor living conditions, this puts them at a significantly higher risk
of contracting severe forms of Covid-19.

Vaccination rates in poor countries continue to lag behind those of
high-income countries, and as news about possible Covid-19 treatments
begins to appear, there is a growing concern that vaccine inequity will
soon spread to drugs. We bring a report from a recent webinar on the
importance of the TRIPS waiver proposal in the context of ensuring fair
access to Covid-19 therapeutics
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/10/08/equitable-access-to-covid-19-diagnostics-and-therapeutics-is-key-to-ending-the-pandemic/>
and diagnostics.

Some lower and middle-income countries, however, have managed to strengthen
their vaccination campaigns - and right to health groups had a role in
this. In Tunisia
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/10/07/what-is-happening-with-covid-19-vaccination-in-tunisia/>,
the Association for the Defense of the Right to Health has pushed for
greater inclusion of primary health care in vaccine delivery, as this would
help reduce regional differences that have appeared.

One month after the introduction of the Texas abortion ban, people all over
the United States have come together for a weekend of protests, showing
their support for reproductive justice. For a video interview
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/10/08/what-does-texas-abortion-ban-mean-for-reproductive-rights-in-the-us/>,
People’s Health Dispatch met with Leigh Haynes, activist of People's Health
Movement North America, to hear more about the impact the ban might have on
women in Texas.

In *Data speaks*, we compare the deaths caused by Covid-19 and the 1918
influenza in India, the UK, and the US. It is worrisome that in the US, the
death count of the current pandemic has recently surpassed that of 1918.
------------------------------

*Nurses left behind by Croatian government*
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/10/08/nurses-left-behind-by-croatian-government/>

Nurses in Croatia have taken to the streets, protesting worsening working
conditions and lack of recognition of their work by the ministry of health

*Humans without rights: Refugees and access to COVID-19 vaccines
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/10/08/humans-without-rights-refugees-and-access-to-covid-19-vaccines/>*

Although the 1951 Refugee Convention grants refugees equal health rights as
host populations, this has not translated into practice when it comes to
Covid-19 vaccines

*What is happening with Covid-19 vaccination in Tunisia?
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/10/07/what-is-happening-with-covid-19-vaccination-in-tunisia/>*

A crisis of political governance has complicated the pandemic response in
Tunisia. Health activists are demanding that the country’s primary health
care network be utilized properly for ensuring greater vaccine coverage
------------------------------

*Equitable access to Covid-19 diagnostics and therapeutics is key to ending
the pandemic*
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/10/08/equitable-access-to-covid-19-diagnostics-and-therapeutics-is-key-to-ending-the-pandemic/>

One year has passed since the TRIPS waiver proposal was first tabled at the
World Trade Organization, and rich countries persevere in opposing it. This
has affected the availability of vaccines and is having an effect on access
to diagnostics and therapeutics too

*Guinea-Bissau health workers demand to be valued
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/10/07/guinea-bissau-health-workers-demand-to-be-valued/>*

Health workers in different regions of Guinea-Bissau went on strike at the
end of September to fight for improvements to the health system
------------------------------

*Video: What does Texas abortion ban mean for reproductive rights in the
US?
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/10/08/what-does-texas-abortion-ban-mean-for-reproductive-rights-in-the-us/>*

In the new edition of Peoples Health Dispatch, listen to Leigh Kamore
Haynes and Ana Vračar from the People’s Health Movement discuss these
developments and their implications
  <https://youtu.be/BKOIKkVrrPs>
------------------------------
Data speaks
------------------------------
In case you missed it
How the NHS Uses Precarity as a Weapon Against Worker Organising
Despite staff shortages, workers on different contracts in the NHS are
being pitted against each other for shifts – a tactic designed to prevent
them from organising effectively to improve conditions.
•Beauty Dhlamini
<https://tribunemag.co.uk/2021/10/how-the-nhs-uses-precarity-as-a-weapon-against-worker-organising>
COVID-19 vaccine beneficiaries were assigned unique health IDs without
their consent
The Caravan spoke to people who were issued UHIDs without their consent
while going through verification for their COVID-19 vaccinations.
The Caravan•Chahat Rana
<https://caravanmagazine.in/health/covid-19-vaccine-beneficiaries-were-assigned-unique-health-ids-without-their-consent>
Myanmar healthcare workers determined to strike on!
Public Services International is a Global Union Federation of more than 700
trade unions representing 30 million workers in 154 countries. We bring
their voices to the UN, ILO, WHO and other regional and global
organisations. We defend trade union and workers’ rights and fight for
universal access t…
Public Services International The global union federation of workers in
public services•Comms
<https://publicservices.international/resources/news/myanmar-healthcare-workers-determined-to-strike-on?lang=en&id=12189&showLogin=true>
What I Learned as a Health Care Reporter in Afghanistan
The small but dedicated medical community remaining in the country offer
the tiniest hope in a future that otherwise appears bleak.
Undark Magazine•Essays & Analysis
<https://undark.org/2021/09/29/what-i-learned-as-a-health-care-reporter-in-afghanistan/>
U.S. Sanctions Blamed as Venezuela Laments Frozen Order for Medicine
One of Portugal’s largest banks is holding up a $12.7 million order to fund
shipment of medical supplies and vaccines to Venezuela.
The Intercept•Cole Stangler
<https://theintercept.com/2021/09/29/vaccine-venezuela-sanctions-novo-banco/>
Chilean Chamber of Deputies approves bill to decriminalize abortion :
Peoples Dispatch
With 75 votes in favor, 68 votes against and 2 abstentions, the lower house
of the parliament endorsed the bill that decriminalizes voluntary
termination of pregnancy in Chile within the first fourteen weeks of
gestation
Peoples Dispatch•Tanya Wadhwa
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/09/29/chilean-chamber-of-deputies-approves-bill-to-decriminalize-abortion/>
WHO rocked by Ebola sex abuse scandal in Congo
The WHO knew of the allegations during the Ebola response in May 2019. So
why did it take more than a year to launch an independent investigation?
The New Humanitarian•Robert Flummerfelt
<https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2021/9/29/WHO-rocked-by-Ebola-sex-abuse-scandal-in-Congo>
*People’s Health Dispatch is an initiative of Peoples Dispatch and the
People's Health Movement*
Peoples Health Dispatch © 2021 – Unsubscribe
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