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PRESS STATEMENT | April 7, 2024

2024 World Health Day:
Struggle for a Free, Comprehensive, State-Funded Health Care! Resist Foreign Impositions on Health! Demand for State Responsibility in People’s Health!

Mar Del Plata, Argentina — On the occasion of World Health Day 2024, and the opening of the 5th Peoples’ Health Assembly in Mar del Plata, Argentina, People’s Health Movement (PHM) – Philippines calls on the Filipino people and people of the world to stand up for people’s collective right to health. Let us resist imperialist impositions in health and demand for state responsibility as we struggle for a free, comprehensive, and state-funded health care.

Seventy-six years since WHO was established, the people’s right to health in different parts of the world is under attack. WHO reported that at least 140 countries recognize health as a human right in their constitution. Yet countries are not putting into practice or pass laws to make health free and accessible to the people. At least 4.5 billion people, or more than half of the world’s population, were not fully covered by essential health services in 2021. The World Health Day 2024 theme, “My health, my right” focuses only on individual right to health and glosses over state responsibility in ensuring the people’s collective right to health.

While the COVID-19 public health emergency was globally ended in 2023, poor people in various parts of the world continue to suffer from illnesses and deaths as a result of poverty and inaccessible, inadequate, expensive health care, and imperialist-supported war like in Gaza. US Imperialism and its lackeys in government were never made accountable for exploiting the pandemic to satiate its greed and politically repress the people.

Foreign impositions are being pushed in poor and developing countries by imperialist powers through multilateral and bilateral trade agreements and foreign aid. Decades of state neglect of people’s rights and welfare and implementation of neoliberal policies of privatization, deregulation and liberalization only aggravate the economic crisis and underdevelopment. Poor people became poorer, health services more expensive and inaccessible as big foreign monopoly capitalists squeeze out more superprofit.

Imperialists-instigated wars and armed conflict displace the people and destroy people’s health and lives as in the US-Israel’s war of occupation in Gaza. Violations of the people’s economic and political rights including right to health are on the rise. Health workers and health advocates standing up for peoples’ rights and serving the people are red-tagged, harassed or killed as in the Philippines.

We should not allow these to continue.

On World Health Day 2024, PHM-Philippines renews our commitment to people’s right to health as we link up our organized voices and actions with the struggling peoples of the world. Together let us stand up to oppose imperialist impositions and demand state responsibility in health and build a healthy, truly free and democratic world.