On World Health Day 2025 PHM launches the introductory chapter of the 7th edition of the Global Health Watch: From a Political Economy of Disease to a Political Economy for Wellbeing
Under the title: From a political economy of disease to a political economy of well-being, the People's Health Movement (PHM), together with allied organizations and the publishing house Daraja Press, are launching the introductory chapter of the seventh edition of its flagship publication, the Global Health Watch.
This chapter critiques capitalism as the root cause of global crises, including inequality, environmental collapse, and mass displacement. It highlights how neoliberal and financialized capitalism exacerbate these issues, with wealth concentrated among a few while austerity measures burden the majority. The text explores alternatives like degrowth, which advocates reducing excessive consumption in wealthy nations, and the “wellbeing economy,” prioritizing equitable resource distribution within planetary limits. It also revisits the New International Economic Order (NIEO) as a framework for Global South solidarity. Despite challenges, the chapter calls for progressive taxation, labor rights, and ecosocialism to dismantle exploitative systems. Emphasizing activism and policy shifts, it underscores the urgency of transforming economic paradigms to achieve health justice and ecological sustainability. The chapter concludes with a Gramscian reflection on the struggle to birth a new, equitable world amid capitalist decline.