Confronting Capitalism and Imperialism in the Struggle for Health

The purpose of this Paper is to present some key ideas regarding the role of capitalism and imperialism in reproducing the global health crisis. The Paper is conceived as a ‘discussion resource’ that is intended to inform the discussions at PHA5, including around the proposed Call to Action (CTA).

It is hoped that PHA5 participants will find this paper useful during discussions in plenaries, sub plenaries and workshops as well as during informal discussions.

In 6 chapters the paper reviews:

the broken promises of Health for All,
the barriers arising, from capitalism and imperialism, to achieving Health for All,
the commitments PHM has made in previous People’s Health Assemblies to confronting capitalism and imperialism, as barriers to HFA,
key elements of the contemporary world order; what has to change,
possible futures, from the current disastrous trajectory to more hopeful scenarios and possibilities, and
forms of action;
how PHM might best prepare for the next period of struggle.