Israel expands war on health from Gaza to Lebanon and Syria
This fortnight at the People's Health Dispatch
Israeli attacks on healthcare in Palestine, particularly in Gaza, amount to crimes against humanity, according to UN experts. Since Israel’s intensified strikes on hospitals and other civilian infrastructure in northern Gaza, the already dire situation has worsened, leaving more medics killed, injured, and deprived of critical supplies. Hundreds of patients at Indonesian, Kamal Adwan, and Al-Awda hospitals are now without essential care. As a result of the incessant violence, WHO and partners were forced to suspend the second phase of a polio vaccination campaign in northern Gaza, leaving nearly 120,000 young children without a second vaccine dose.
The UK Labour government is considering expanding private sector involvement in healthcare to reduce waiting times. Health activists warn this move could deepen NHS debt and further destabilize the public system.
Health workers also face the strain of privatization and austerity across Europe. A new report from the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) highlights an acute crisis among care workers in Central and Eastern Europe due to underfunding, a crisis that may worsen if workplace improvements remain unmet.
In South Africa, the People’s Health Movement organized a picket on World Food Day, protesting the high prices of healthy food that have left much of the population reliant on ultra-processed foods linked to poor health and noncommunicable diseases.
In focus: Health in Palestine and Lebanon
Final phase of polio vaccination in Gaza suspended amid Israeli attacks
The final stage of Gaza’s polio vaccination campaign has been suspended due to Israeli assaults on northern regions, leaving nearly 120,000 children without their second dose
Northern Gaza hospitals suffer a night of Israeli attacks
All three major hospitals in northern Gaza sustained heavy damage from Israeli forces’ overnight attacks
Israeli attacks on Palestinian healthcare amount to crime against humanity, UN inquiry warns
A new UN report confirms that Israel’s targeting of Gaza’s healthcare amounts to crime of extermination, as hospitals in Palestine and Lebanon continue to face relentless attacks
Featured articles
Labour considers expanding private sector role in NHS, undermining the already fragile public health system
The UK Labour government is considering increasing the role of private healthcare providers, weakening NHS capacities
Care crisis in Central and Eastern Europe at risk of deepening further, trade unions warn
A report from the European Federation of Public Service Unions points to the widening gap between rising care demands and limited resources in Central and Eastern Europe, leaving care workers overwhelmed
Short reads
Health activists picket against high cost of nutritious food on World Food Day
On World Food Day, activists from PHM South Africa held a picket, protesting soaring prices of healthy food
