PHM-Exch> Fwd: Bulletin #66: 2023's end sees health struggles in Palestine, South Korea, Brazil

[Health PD]

 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 in Palestine have tirelessly responded to the
call, providing crucial care and comfort to thousands of people. Amidst
these circumstances, the health workers face not only

Bulletin #66: 2023's end sees health struggles in Palestine, South Korea,
Brazil
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/c488276c?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>
By People's Health Dispatch • 30 Dec 2023 View in browser
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This fortnight

In the closing days of 2023, the health spotlight continues to be on
Palestine, particularly Gaza
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/41d2d743?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>,
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 in
Palestine have tirelessly responded to the call, providing crucial care and
comfort to thousands of people. Amidst these circumstances
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/a9dded61?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>,
the health workers face not only the scarcity of essential supplies but
also alarming rates of arrest and disappearance of health staff, including
the director of the Al-Awda Hospital in Jabalya, Ahmed Muhanna
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/9deea1d5?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>
.

All are compelled to work in a situation where there are no medical
supplies available, including the most essential medicines needed during
times of war and peace. The Israeli attacks on health in Palestine began
long before October 7, 2023, and assumed various forms. One of these forms
is the limits imposed on the local production of medicines
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/9fb34f80?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>,
a situation that has resulted in millions in profits for Israeli
pharmaceutical companies.

As the year began, the spotlight was on a different kind of health workers'
struggle. Nurses, junior doctors, and other health workers in the United
Kingdom
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/7803291e?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>
came together to protect the National Health Service and their workplaces.
Despite a year-long battle for improved conditions, the fight is still on,
marked by a recent strike by junior doctors who criticized the Ministry of
Health for avoiding meaningful negotiations.

Industrial action by health workers is ongoing in South Korea
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/42d53cd3?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>
as well. The Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union, following
mobilizations in July, successfully secured funding for public hospitals in
2024 thanks to a renewed wave of action in December. As the new year is
about to unfold, the union has announced it would broaden the actions'
scope, aligning with the people in a collective pursuit of a stronger
public health system.

Without actions like those of health workers in the UK and South Korea,
which bring together the needs of medical staff and the working class, the
health of all is at risk. In the Philippines
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/01769fda?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>,
informal transportation workers face a worsening mental health crisis due
to increased economic precarity during the COVID-19 lockdown.

In Brazil
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/eada454a?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>,
positive transformations in health policies were achieved since the Lula
government took office. Influenced by mobilizations within the health
movement and the empathetic approach of the current Minister of Health,
Nísia Trindade, the landscape began to shift. While challenges remain on
the path to strengthening the Unified Health System and ensuring equitable
working conditions for all, the outlook appears more navigable compared to
the one put in place by the previous administration, as reported by Outra
Saúde in an interview with Rosana Onocko-Campos from the Brazilian
Association of Collective Health (Abrasco).
------------------------------
In focus: Health in Palestine

*The pharmaceutical landscape in occupied Palestine*
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/0bc9e551?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>

Israeli pharmaceutical companies have long been complicit in attacks on the
health of the people in Palestine

*Palestinian and international networks demand Israel release hospital
director Dr. Ahmed Muhanna*
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/3bd3701e?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>

Al Awda Association and the People’s Health Movement launched a campaign
for the release of Dr. Ahmed Muhanna, director of Al-Awda Hospital in
northern Gaza

*Gaza’s health situation worsens amidst relentless Israeli assaults*
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/45f9b083?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>

Israel targets health infrastructure in central and southern Gaza,
worsening the already grim state of healthcare delivery

*World faces days of “moral decay” as Israel bulldozes hospital grounds,
detains more doctors*
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/4761ed63?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>

Israel carries out unprecedented attacks against health workers and
infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, bulldozing hospital grounds and detaining
doctors
------------------------------
Photo gallery: Gaza's health workers

Source: AWDA Health and Community Association
------------------------------
Featured articles

*Challenges lie ahead for health in Brazil*
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/f5f64ae5?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>

Progress in protecting public healthcare under the Lula government in 2023,
yet challenges loom ahead

*Health workers in South Korea announce new actions in 2024*
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/55acea99?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>

The Korean Health and Medical Workers’ Union secures government support of
public COVID-19 hospitals as plans to expand health workforce continue

*Silent pandemic: Mental health issues among informal transport workers in
the Philippines*
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/2549d1ec?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>

Workers in the informal transportation sector in the Philippines faced an
upsurge in mental health issues due to increased economic precarity during
the COVID-19 lockdown

*Junior doctors’ strike in the UK strike for pay restoration*
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/3b3d770a?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>

A new wave of industrial action has been launched by junior doctors in the
UK to fight for pay restoration
------------------------------
In case you missed it
Ceasefire “the only remaining hope” for Gazans, says UNRWA : Peoples
Dispatch
Most aid agencies have decried the non-implementation of last week’s UNSC
resolution asking for increased humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
Peoples Dispatch •Abdul Rahman
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/67d93ece?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>
Dr. Ahmed Muhanna, Palestine | People’s Health Movement
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<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/10f214b2?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>
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<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/66dfa3c7?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>
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<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/r/6174f542?m=7fbe802b-41b0-46c0-a257-5e71e0284f0a>
PHA5 Individual registration process is now open for international
participants | People’s Health Movement
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People's Health Movement*
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