Health Justice Highlights

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Health Justice Highlights

Hi John,

This year Health Poverty Action has a lot to celebrate; our teams have been hard at work across all four corners of the globe fighting for health justice. From trekking through the mountains in Myanmar for 39 days to deliver medical supplies, to helping arrange a women’s rights march with other NGO's in Sierra Leone, our teams have gone above and beyond to provide healthcare and stand alongside communities fighting for their rights.

It's a shame we've had to end the year with reports that 2020 could see the Department for International Development (DfID) merge into the Foreign Office [[link removed]]. If this goes ahead we believe the move will increase inequality further by using aid, and therefore the livelihoods of people around the world, as a bargaining chip for serving corporate and political interests. We will be monitoring the situation closely and joining efforts to advocate for an independent DfID.

In these difficult times our voices need to be heard, and those of us who share these concerns need to raise them together. With this in mind, we've highlighted below the work of some inspirational organisations fighting for justice against the corporate takeover of cannabis regulation - a policy and campaigns area we've also made significant strides in this year.

Next year, we will be launching a new campaign on drug policy and aid; progressing our education programme to teach the root causes of poverty in schools, and ramping up our advocacy on mental health. Watch this space!

We would also like to thank all of you who have donated to us this year, particularly during our ongoing UK Aid Match appeal [[link removed]] to provide nutrition support to families in Sierra Leone. We're excited to update you on the project as it begins in 2020.

Happy holidays to all!

Martin Drewry, Director of Health Poverty Action

Our colleagues reach their destination after a 39 day trek to deliver medicines to a remote community in the mountains bordering China.

The activists fighting the corporate takeover of Cannabis legalisation

Fields of Green for All [[link removed]] is a South African group who have published their own legal framework for Cannabis legalisation. Their framework includes repairing the damage done to the communities that have been targeted by the 'war on drugs'. It ensures that those who were most harmed by prohibition are able to benefit from the new market, rather than corporations and governments reaping the benefits alone.

This has been a big year for Mexico's drug reform after their Supreme Court ruled last year that the prohibition of growing and using cannabis was unconstitutional. Now, the Mexican legislature have until April 2020 to pass reform legislation [[link removed]]. There are some incredible groups campaigning to ensure these markets function in the interests of public health and social justice. These include Elementa [[link removed]] and MUC [[link removed]] D [[link removed]], who have recently criticised the government's draft framework for reform. Our Policy & Campaigns team will be watching how this unfolds next year, and hope their demands will be incorporated into the new legislation.

What we've been following

With many of our projects directly impacted or shaped by climate change, we were deeply saddened to see that recent UN climate talks had collapsed [[link removed]]. Reports state that countries in the Global North, the biggest emitters of greenhouse gasses, had blocked progress. Following this, a new study has also shown that depression and suicide are linked to air pollution [[link removed]]. With countries in the Global South most affected by the climate crisis, and with very little mental health support, this is yet another reason to fight for a safer climate. We also recognise that there has been exciting progress on climate action around the world this year, and we stand alongside and support those who have contributed to this.

Have some feedback for us? We want to hear from you! Please get in touch by replying to this email if you have any feedback on what you'd like to see more or less of from us next year.

Thanks for reading this month's highlights!

In Solidarity,

Sarah Cowen-Rivers

Media & Communications Manager

Donate Today [[link removed]] Health Poverty Action is a registered charity, number 290535.

Our postal address is Health Poverty Action, Ground Floor, 31-33 Bondway, London, SW8 1SJ.

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