[en] Please refer to phmovement.org for public health issues brought about by trade and war.

[en] On behalf of the millions of ordinary civilians in the Middle East, the People's Health Movement calls for an immediate cessation of the Israeli offensive, withdrawal from Gaza and lifting of the blockade and for immediate UN intervention in the conflict.

[en] In the afternoon of Friday 9 June 2006 an Israeli naval boat stationed off the coast of Gaza fired seven successive artillery shells at civilians on the beach in the Waha area, north of Beit Lahya. The shells landed on the beach, which had been crowded with civilian men, women and children at the time. Seven civilians from the same family (father, mother and five children) were killed. A further thirty-two civilians, including thirteen children, were injured. Mona Elfarra, a mother and doctor, reflects on the carnage.

[en] Access to health care is rapidly deteriorating in Iraq due to escalating violence. Also the government's curfew is preventing access to health care. Doctors are urging the government to tackle the issue of the lack of medicines and medical supplies. Meanwhile infant mortality is on the rise and children's mental health is affected by insecurity.

[en] The United States and Thailand are negotiating a proposed Free Trade Agreement that includes a U.S. proposal to dramatically increase intellectual property protections for pharmaceutical products. Meanwhile, the recent agreement of the 6th WTO ministerial meeting in Hong Kong includes provisions that could have devastating effects on peoples' lives, denying them access to fundamental resources.

[en] HDIP has made a new report on the separation Wall and its effects on Palestinian health care services. According to the report the Wall will affect even villages that seem far from the Wall because of the network of settler-only roads that Palestinians cannot use. 80,000 Palestinians have difficulty accessing emergency care and curative medical services, a further 80,000 have trouble reaching hospitals, and 35,000 lack sufficient health care services. A further 6,000 suffer deficiency in vaccination programs, availability of general practitioner, preventive dentistry, and labs. Four communities in the Qalqiliya/Salfit area, Al-Za’im and Qalandia villages in Jerusalem, and Al-Walaja village in Bethlehem, 5,300 people in all, have no medical services whatsoever.

[en] From July 17 to 23, 2005, the city of Cuenca in Ecuador hosted the second People's Health Assembly. Health activists from all over the world reiterated the call for Health for All Now and gave a new impetus to the Health NOW! campaign.

[en] From April, 2004 through January, 2005, Dahr Jamail surveyed 13 hospitals in Iraq in order to research how the healthcare system was faring under the US-led occupation. The report documents the desperate supply shortages facing hospitals, the disastrous effect that the lack of basic services like water and electricity have on hospitals and the disruption of medical services at Iraqi hospitals by US military forces.

[fr] D'avril 2004 à janvier 2005, le journaliste américain Dahr Jamail a fait des recherches dans 13 hôpitaux irakiens afin d'étudier la situation du système de santé en Irak sous l'occupation américaine. Le rapport documente le manque terrible de matériel auquel sont confrontés les hôpitaux, les effets désastreux du manque de services de base tels que la distribution d'eau potable et d'électricité dans les hôpitaux, et les perturbations des services médicaux dans les hôpitaux irakiens par les forces militaires américaines.

[en] Belgian artist Marc Jambers made a flash animation especially for Health NOW!. This short animation tells the story of Vimalla, a girl who dreams about getting healthy, and her mother, who knows what is to be done to achieve health for all.

View the animation: for broadband internet (2.7 MB) or the 'light' version for dial-up connections (2 x 900 kB). En español