In the 86th issue of People’s Health Dispatch, we reflect on a year of Israel's relentless attacks on Gaza’s healthcare system—targeting hospitals, and disappearing health workers. We also dive into Indonesia's new patent law and its potential impact on medicine access, plus a deep look at the growing global mental health crisis.
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On September 13, the Argentine legislature proposed a law updating the amount of money to be received by public universities following the rampant inflation the country has been suffering for years.

Under his neoliberal plan to drastically reduce the state, Milei completely vetoed the law on October 3. However, it remained to be seen whether or not the veto would be ratified by the Senate.

📲 Read the full article on our website.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/10/10/argentine-chamber-of-deputies-ratifies-mileis-veto-of-university-funding-law/

🚩Red Salute G N Saibaba.

Today, the human rights defender and literature professor G N Saibaba passed away. For the last decade, Saibaba has been facing ferocious political persecution due to his defense of the excluded and marginalized in India. He was first arrested in 2014 accused of ties to Maoist groups in India. In 2017, he was convicted of conspiring to wage war against India and under India’s draconian anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and sentenced to life in prison. Despite suffering multiple, serious medical ailments which needed urgent treatment and being 90% paralyzed, Saibaba was repeatedly denied bail. In March of this year, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court acquitted him and he was released shortly after.

In 2016, he told The Hindu, “It looks like they [government and police] wanted to silently kill me with my own ailments. They may not have shot me down but they wanted to kill me like this."

“They are scared of my activism. They have repeatedly told me that because of my campaigns, particularly on adivasi [Indigenous tribal peoples] issues, the government was suffering embarrassment. I was warned about it several times even before my arrest. I was told clearly that I would be arrested if I don’t stop.”

The United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) stated on Friday, October 11, that two of its personnel were injured from explosions that occurred close to an observation tower within its headquarters in Naqoura in southern Lebanon.

The incident was the second attack by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on UNIFIL and its personnel in 48 hours.

📲 Read the full article on our website.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/10/12/israel-targets-un-peacekeepers-in-lebanon/

A number of Palestinians were burned alive and dozens of others injured after Israel targeted tents of displaced people inside the premises of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah city with incendiary bombs in the early hours of Monday, October 14.

The images of displaced Palestinians being burned alive by Israeli attacks sparked outrage across the world as Israel appears to be no closer to heeding international calls for a ceasefire.

📲 Read the full article on our website.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/10/14/israel-burns-displaced-palestinians-alive-in-central-gaza/

🇵🇸British rapper, journalist, and activist Lowkey spoke in Newcastle, UK at the "A Year of Resistance in the Face of Genocide" event.

Lowkey underscored the legal basis of people's right to resist occupation and Israel's genocidal war and the need for the peoples of the world to stand with Palestine and speak out against imperialist propaganda, which seeks to justify Israeli-US crimes in West Asia.

British rapper, journalist, and activist Lowkey spoke in Newcastle, UK at the “A Year of Resistance in the Face of Genocide” event.

📲 Watch the full video on our website:
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/10/15/british-rapper-lowkey-on-resistance-to-israels-genocide/

The Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah launched a series of strikes with a squadron of drones on Sunday, October 13, on a training camp affiliated with Israel’s Golani Brigade in Binyamina, south of Haifa.

The drone strikes are part of “the Khaybar operations”, which Hezbollah began on October 1, announcing that they will encompass a series of attacks and strikes in response of the “targeting of civilians and the massacres committed by the enemy, and in answer to the call ‘Labbeik ya Nasrallah’ [Here I am, at your service O Nasrallah]”.
📲 Read the full article on our website.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/10/15/hezbollah-inflicts-more-losses-on-israel-with-drone-attack-in-haifa/

🇦🇷 Argentina's right-wing and "anarcho-capitalist" President Javier Milei tries to present himself as a new alternative and against the political class (the "casta"), but he uses the oldest and most washed-up neoliberal policies in the book.

Far from targeting the ruling class, his policies have widened the gaps between rich and poor, to benefit rich people, destroy the middle class, and further plunge the poor people further into oppression. Poverty now stands at 53% of the population, the highest figure in two decades.

We discussed Milei's attacks on workers and his economic and political model with Nicolás Caropresi of the @MTE on our latest episode of #DisputarElAlba.

☀️#DisputarElALBA is a program brought to you by @deraiz, @barricadatv and Peoples Dispatch every Monday at 19h Mexico and 22h Argentina. Tune in!

Thousands marched in Havana to denounce Israeli genocide in a demonstration organized by the Young Communist League of Cuba.

“We have come here today to show our strong rejection of the actions that Israel is carrying out against that nation,” stated the UCJ. “Enough of death and suffering!”

📲 Read the full article on our website.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/10/15/cuban-president-miguel-diaz-canel-joins-march-in-support-of-palestine/

The remarkable resilience of Palestinians is a powerful example of human courage and dignity in the face of terrible violence.
📲 Read Vijay Prashad's full article on our website:https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/10/15/when-children-are-murdered-what-is-there-to-celebrate/

“Migrants are not a threat to working people anywhere… The real threats are the Republican Party, the Democrats, and the ruling class they serve.”

We spoke to socialist presidential candidate Claudia De la Cruz on the left perspective on one of the most controversial topics of this US election season: immigration.

#PeoplesVictory | Samsung workers in India achieved their demands after a 37-day strike!!

Members of the Samsung India Workers Union (SIWU) went on strike for 37 days to demand better working conditions, wages, and recognition of their union. The 1500 workers challenged the extreme exploitation of the company and the government repression, and won.

Police in Pakistan’s Sindh province attacked a peaceful protest gathering called the Sindh Rawadari March in Karachi and arrested several activists and leaders of left parties, women rights groups and other civil society members.
📲 Read the full article on our website.https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/10/16/pakistani-security-forces-attack-protesters-demanding-justice-in-case-of-extrajudicial-killing/

Next Sunday, October 27, the people of Uruguay will elect their president and parliamentarians. For now, none of the political forces have a big enough difference in the polls that would indicate a clear winner in the first round of the election.

Two political forces, one a right-wing coalition and the other, a center-left, will presumably get the most votes.

In any case, a potential presidential runoff does not work as a simple mathematical sum. Hence, the two major Uruguayan political tendencies are already looking ahead to the second round and are therefore working on possible alliances and strategies to add the necessary votes to obtain the coveted presidency of Uruguay.

📲 Read the full article on our website.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/10/16/uruguay-prepares-for-general-elections/

University students and professors in Argentina are taking over dozens of university buildings and administrative offices in protest of right-wing President Javier Milei’s veto of the University Financing Law (which was intended to adjust the amount of money received by universities given the rampant inflation). His veto was ratified by the Chamber of Deputies last week.
📲 Read the full article on our website.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/10/17/students-take-over-university-buildings-in-argentina-to-demand-funding-for-education/

The 37 day strike of the workers of the Samsung India’s Sriperumbudur plant near Chennai in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu was called off on Wednesday, October 16 after an agreement was reached with the management.

📲 Read the full article on our website.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/10/17/samsung-workers-strike-in-indias-tamil-nadu-ends-after-37-days-workers-claim-victory/