PHM-Exch> Fwd: Bulletin #62: Healthcare in Palestine in the line of fire

[Health PD]

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 of people are seeking shelter in these
buildings at the moment, and stocks of fuel and medical supplies remain
critically low. Among these hospitals is the Indonesian Hospital in

Bulletin #62: Healthcare in Palestine in the line of fire
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/32137703?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>
By People's Health Dispatch • 5 Nov 2023 View in browser
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/13941466?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>
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This fortnight

On multiple occasions since the beginning of Israel's attacks on Gaza
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/85f9c8a0?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>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 of people are seeking shelter in these buildings at the
moment, and stocks of fuel and medical supplies remain critically low.

Among these hospitals is the Indonesian Hospital
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/c8a18c3f?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>
in northern Gaza, established as a symbol of friendship between the people
of Indonesia and Palestine. We met with Arief Rachman from the Medical
Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C), the Indonesian organization that
initiated the construction of the hospital, to discuss the current
situation and expectations for the coming days.

In addition to the physical attacks on healthcare in Palestine, Israel is
also conducting a campaign to undermine various aspects of the right to
health movement. In a video interview
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/b7956fcc?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>,
Layth Hanbali, a health worker from Palestine, sheds light on the
connections between settler colonialism and the state of health.

Beyond Palestine, health is under threat due to attempts to implement new
austerity measures and pressures coming from the corporate sector. In the
United States, migrants are being relocated from certain southern states to
Chicago
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/b1cab1ec?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>,
where they lack access to adequate housing and health services. This
situation is increasing the risk of the spread of communicable diseases,
including COVID-19.

Meanwhile, in France
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/a2022db9?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>,
the government is planning a series of cuts to social security and
healthcare in 2024. In recent weeks, local groups and trade unions have
mobilized to oppose the new Social Security Funding Bill and establish an
alternative set of priorities for the upcoming period.

New scientific evidence continues to emerge regarding the health risks
associated with the consumption of ultra-processed food. A recent report on
the growing consumption of junk food in India
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/42a3a49b?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>
analyzes the role that marketing plays in this trend and provides
recommendations for better industry regulation.
------------------------------

*Video: End to the occupation needed to fulfil right to health in Palestine*
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/35a47566?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>

Palestinian health worker Layth Hanbali speaks about how Israel’s siege has
devastated Gaza’s health system which was already struggling due to the
blockade

<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/b5d1143f?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>
------------------------------
In focus: Health in Palestine

*The Indonesian Hospital in Gaza bears proof of the friendship between
Indonesian and Palestinian people*
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/cde9e57e?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>

Amid Israeli attacks and fuel shortages, the Indonesian Hospital in
northern Gaza stands as a beacon of international solidarity

*As attacks on hospitals in Gaza intensify, health workers remain steadfast*
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/5cd82c49?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>

Three major hospitals in northern Gaza face attacks by the Israeli
occupying forces as generators stop functioning
------------------------------
Featured articles

*Migrant health in Chicago suffers due to lack of planning and support*
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/3c3b4ef5?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>

As migrants continue to arrive in Chicago, the city struggles to provide
adequate shelter and health care for the new arrivals

*The Junk Push: ultra-processed food industry gains ground in India*
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/2790e43e?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>

A recent report details how aggressive marketing strategies are influencing
Indians to consume more ultra-processed food (UPF), colloquially known as
junk food, and therefore undermining the health of thousands

*Social Security Funding Bill to deal new blow to healthcare in France*
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/4f70e9c6?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>

Health groups in France continue to mobilize for alternatives to Macron’s
plans to further slash health and social security budget
------------------------------
Data speaks

Civil society organizations are urgently appealing
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/0bf97b75?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>to
the co-chairs of the Bureau of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body to
ensure a more balanced negotiating text for the pandemic prevention and
response instrument. The organizations express deep concerns about the
current draft text, which appears to favor the Global North and lacks
legally binding commitments related to equity, particularly in terms of
equitable access to pandemic-related medical products.

The organizations highlight the stark disparities in access to essential
medical goods during the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing that a fair and
inclusive process is needed to address these issues effectively. They urge
the Bureau to allow WHO Member States to contribute their textual
suggestions before formal negotiations begin and insist that proposals from
developing countries be addressed in formal sessions. This call for equity
and fairness is an essential step toward bridging the inequalities in
pandemic prevention and response.
Source: Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN),
https://dawnnet.org/
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/3ed42096?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>
------------------------------
In case you missed it
Polluted Air has Severe Costs, Needs a Systemic Response | NewsClick
D Raghunandan of the Delhi Science Forum and All India Peoples Science
Network says in this interview with NewsClick that the toxic air that
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Newsclick •Pragya Singh
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/14c55936?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>
Violence in Palestine demands immediate resolution of its settler colonial
root causes
The latest escalation of more than 100 years of violence in occupied
Palestine has caused phenomenal levels of yet more suffering. This violence
must end. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs reports that at least 3785 people are known to have been killed in
besiege…
BMJ Global Health •1
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/b1ab7751?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>
Attacking Hospitals a Grave Violation of International Law | NewsClick
Accountability is a cornerstone of legal regimes and must be followed in
the bombing of Al-Ahli Hospital and other such sites in the Israel-Hamas
conflict.
Newsclick •Sudeep Sudhakaran
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/5f8b2f7d?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>
Syrian health sector infrastructure suffered significant damage as a result
of the war
As of 2020, 110 health units out of the 1,864 affiliated with the Ministry
of Health were completely destroyed; a rate of 5.9%.
Al Mayadeen English •Sara Salloum
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/c08f2a7b?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>
Toward a national campaign to prevent weight-related chronic disease - Food
Politics by Marion Nestle
Jerry Mande, a co-founder of Nourish Science wrote me to urge support for a
national action plan to reduce obesity—and the chronic diseases for which
it raises risks. (Note: he also has an op-ed in The Hill on NIH research
and leadership needs). Here is what we should do. It’s time for a new
federal…
Food Politics by Marion Nestle •Marion
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/17f41a9f?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>
Health system in Gaza collapsing as fuel and medicine run out : Peoples
Dispatch
The number of hospitals in Gaza shutting down operations is increasing, as
Israeli attacks and limits on aid stop fuel, medicines, and supplies from
reaching health workers
Peoples Dispatch •Peoples Health Dispatch
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/834db42f?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>
*People’s Health Dispatch is an initiative of Peoples Dispatch and the
People's Health Movement*
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