PHM Appoints New Global Coordinator: Renewed Commitments and New Challenges Ahead

At its meeting in Morocco in February 2026, the Steering Committee of the People’s Health Movement (PHM) took an important decision regarding its Global Coordination — at a moment marked by intensifying global struggles for the right to health and its social, economic, and political determinants.

Aziz Rhali, Moroccan health activist, Vice President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), former President of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights, and member of the Board of Directors of the Global Sumud Flotilla, has been appointed Global Coordinator of PHM for a three-year term.

After four years of global coordination based in Latin America under the leadership of Colombian public health advocate Roman Vega, the movement’s coordination now transitions to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This marks the first time in PHM’s history that its Global Coordinator is based in the MENA region — a significant step reflecting the movement’s commitment to regional equity and global solidarity.

“In a world marked by escalating wars, deepening climate crises, recurring epidemics, and widening social inequalities, the call for genuine global health justice has never been more urgent.

We reaffirm the spirit of the Alma-Ata Declaration, which enshrined primary health care as the pathway to ‘Health for All.’

In the face of the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the systematic destruction of health infrastructure, we insist that the rights to life and health are universal and indivisible.

This moment demands renewed commitment to strong, public, equitable, inclusive, and sustainable health systems that place human dignity at the center of policy and uphold the primacy of international humanitarian law.” Mr. Rhali said when asked about his appointment and the challenges facing the right to health movement in the near future.

This transition represents a major evolution in the Movement’s global governance. The Global Secretariat will continue to operate as a collective, ensuring diverse regional representation while supporting the shift of coordination to the MENA region. It will also lead preparations for the Sixth People’s Health Assembly, to be held in Morocco in 2028.