‘Struggle for People’s Health: An Integral Part of People’s Resistance Against Imperialist Plunder and War’
The United States and other allied imperialist countries have resorted to wars and global and politico-military muscle to recover and enforce their economic interests that have been on the decline brought about by the capitalist crisis of overproduction. In the guise of war on terror waged after Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. has launched wars of aggression that have caused innumerable deaths and post-war adverse health illnesses. These have exacerbated the worsening health conditions in countries all over the world wrought by economic and social disparities. The disastrous impact of wars and globalization on people’s health has been felt by all, especially workers and peasants, worldwide.
Since 1945, the U.S., its allies and puppets have intervened 67 times in countries around the world causing 12 million deaths. Among these are U.S genocide of 3 million Vietnamese, mostly women and children; the U.S. -sponsored war in El Salvador from 1980-89 that killed about 75,000, the contra war in Nicaragua since 1981 that killed 30,000 and the U.S. wars against the Afghanistan since 2001 that killed 5,000.
Oil-rich Iraq has been a target of imperialist countries for the past decades. Iraq, which has lost two wars since 1991 and was under UN sanctions for over a decade, lost the most ground of any nation. Mortality of children under 5 years in Iraq has doubled to one in 10 in 2002 while in 1990 the rate was one in 20. The economic embargo, instigated by the United States, after Operation Desert Storm in 1991 has killed more than 1.6 million people because of severe lack of food, medicines and medical care supplies. U.S. aggression of Iraq has caused millions of deaths to civilians and destroyed office buildings, schools, marketplaces and social infrastructure, including hospitals, water and power systems that are vital to public health. Depleted uranium ammunitions that were fired have afflicted numerous civilians with various types of illnesses ranging from cancers, neurological disorders, abortions, kidney failure, to post-traumatic stress disorders related to the war even long after hostilities have ceased.
Health has been abused by imperialists to serve their agenda. Civilian medical health personnel have been harassed. Ambulances and hospitals have deliberately been fired upon by U.S. troops. Prisoners have been tortured with the participation of medical personnel. In addition, health and relief work have become another weapon in the armory of U.S. intervention. There are only some of disturbing incidents on the violation of bio-ethics and international humanitarian laws governing the conduct of war.
U.S. and allied imperialist countries have been pushing for “globalization” as a solution to their economic crisis. They have set out for the re-colonialization of the South and control of oil and other strategic resources in the region to the interest of their corporations and investors. U.S. is pushing for increasing liberalization through the World Trade Organization, regional free trade agreements like the FTAA and NAFTA and bilateral “free trade” accords. These agreements guarantee industrialized countries to have unbridled access to the Southern markets, eliminating all barriers to the repatriation of profits and control over oil, water, minerals and other key resources through privatization.
Imperialist globalization is causing untold illness and suffering to peoples all over the globe. People’s health is affected by diverting much-needed financial resources away from health and other basic needs. Other imperialist-dictated agreements promote the commodification of health care and deprive the people of these basic health services. Monopoly pricing through the agreement on TRIPS (Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) and other insidious mechanisms make essential and much-needed medicines and medical technology beyond the reach of the majority of the world’s population. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) that allows the unrestricted entry of transnational corporation in the delivery of health care for profit spells the death of public health care system worldwide.
Each year, over 12 million children die from preventable diseases. Undernutrition is a contributing factor in more than half of these deaths due to extreme poverty. Chronic degenerative diseases and ‘diseases of poverty’, mostly infectious diseases, and are on the increase. There is the resurgence of ‘old diseases’ such as tuberculosis, malaria and vaccine-preventable diseases, as well as the emergence of ‘new diseases’, foremost among them HIV-AIDS.
Famine is the silent killer where more men, women and children have died of hunger and preventable or curable diseases every three years than all the people killed by bullets during the six years of World War II. Imperialism uses a whole range of economic, political and military devices to dominate the world causes. Imperialist plunder and wars of aggression have caused even more ill health, disease and death. But there are countries and peoples that have remained to be anti-imperialist and refused to embrace the U.S.- dominated capitalist world system. Thousands of people from Cuba, Democratic Peoples of Korea, Iraq and other parts of the globe continue to wage resistance against U.S. drive for war and imperialist globalization. Hundreds of thousands of Latin Americans in Argentina and Ecuador have marched to the streets against the growing imperialist policies of the government that plunged their countries in crisis. From Angola to Zambia in Africa, from India to Korea, millions of workers are resisting the dictates of the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, World Bank and other multilateral agencies. Workers mounted political general strikes in France , Italy, Germany and Greece amidst resurgent industrial militancy.
People’s struggles against imperialism in the forms of people’s war, revolutionary armed struggles and armed people’s resistance in India, Nepal, Peru, Philippines, Turkey, Columbia, Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan continue to grow.
All health advocates and social activists need to join in the struggle against imperialism. There is no other option but to take side with the masses and join the people’s resistance to imperialist plunder and war. Struggling for people’s health is an integral part of the struggle for food and freedom, land and liberty, jobs and justice. Health for the people can only be attained if fundamental social change is achieved. Let us add our strength to the broad national and international people’s movements that oppose imperialist globalization and impositions and condemn the U.S.-led wars of aggression being fought worldwide.
Health workers must not only be sentries of people’s well being but must be a potent force for social change. We must go beyond fulfilling our humanitarian functions. Let us organize and join in the militant struggle using all and various forms available to end imperialist globalization and its anti-health policies
We thereby resolve to:
Uphold health as a basic human right. Health is not a commodity for trade. It can be attained only through genuine economic development of the people which can be realized upon the abrogation of unfair and exploitative economic trade agreements and oppressive political structures. WTO out of health. Abolish “free” trade agreements. Rein in the big pharmaceutical TNCs that are raking in monopoly profits at the expense of people’s health. Resist privatization, liberalization and deregulation of health services. Promote relevant, rational, scientific health education. Make universal, quality health services affordable and accessible to all!
Demand governments to uphold health care as a fundamental state responsibility. Prioritize health in the budget and end the re-channeling of government budgets for debt service and militarization. Increase the health budget significantly.
Uphold trade union rights of all health workers. Secure their job satisfaction and security to enable them to render effective health services. Stop mass lay-off and contractualization. Provide rightful wages and benefits and safe working conditions for all health workers.
End wars of aggression. Assert the health and human rights of civilians in areas where there is armed conflict. Stop foreign occupation and military intervention. Resist food, medical and economic blockades and sanctions that cause widespread malnutrition and illnesses. Oppose the destruction of infrastructure that are vital to public health. Condemn the use of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, DU ammunitions and cluster bombs.
Demand the protection of health workers in areas of armed conflict. Respect and protect the rights of civilian medical personnel. Demand the free-passage and protection of health workers.
Expose and resist the abuse of health and relief work as instruments of imperialist plunder and wars of aggression. Struggle against the use of medicine for torture. #