Global South reiterates support for Palestine at World Health Assembly

The Left Chapter
2 days ago
3 min read

At the 78th World Health Assembly, Palestinian representatives called on member states to halt arms deliveries to Israel and review ties with the occupying power.

Screenshot of the Palestinian delagate at the World Health Assembly via the UN

By Peoples Health Dispatch, People's Dispatch

During its annual discussions on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) monitoring and engagement in health support for Palestine, the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA78) once again confronted the devastating impact of Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip. While many Global South countries issued statements in solidarity with Palestine and called for decisive international action to halt the genocide, the Global North once again failed to sever its alignment with the occupying power.

One of the WHA78 discussions resulted in the endorsement of a draft decision seeking accountability for attacks on healthcare and demanding free deliveries of humanitarian support, among other things. The decision was supported by 104 countries; four voted against, and 19 abstained. Over 50 member states were absent during the vote, health activists in Geneva noted.

A summary of the WHO Director-General’s report offered another glimpse into the health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territories. “Forced displacements, overcrowding, and deteriorating sanitation have further escalated the risk of disease outbreaks, including diarrheal infections and other communicable diseases,” the report noted in reference to Gaza. “In the West Bank, access to healthcare has been significantly hindered by movement restrictions, violence, and disruptions in essential services, with urgent needs for medicines, trauma care, and maternal health services.”

European countries fail to break with Israel

The lived reality across Palestine is, of course, far more grave than what can be conveyed in a technical document. Still, the scale of the crisis came through in sections detailing the prioritization of life-saving amputations over limb-saving procedures, the destruction of health infrastructure amounting to USD 1.3 billion in damage, and the killing and imprisonment of hundreds of healthcare workers. These facts were echoed in speeches by high-ranking WHO officials who, once again, called for an immediate ceasefire.

The urgency of these calls was reinforced by the report’s figures: 2 million Palestinians in need of mental health support, at least 29,900 with life-altering injuries, and tens of thousands killed by Israeli forces. While Israel’s representatives repeated familiar accusations of bias in the report, this year’s dynamic at the Assembly was somewhat different due to the absence of the United States. Support for Israel’s “right to self-defense” was voiced by European states, although they also signaled some concern about the scale and humanitarian impact of the attacks.

According to the WHO Watch team from the People’s Health Movement (PHM), the first statements from France, the Netherlands, and the UK, while expressing concern about “Gaza’s collapse” and supporting humanitarian access, remained marked by inaction. “They abstained from the vote, citing concerns over ‘politicization,’” PHM reported.

Global South wants more than a ceasefire

In contrast, countries that have shown support for Palestine in other international forums were more direct about the occupation’s roots and consequences. “Beyond the immediate need for a ceasefire, we too must address the root causes, chief among them Israel’s continued impunity and its denial of the Palestinian’s right to self-determination,” South Africa’s representatives stated. “Unless and until we bring an end to Israel’s unlawful occupation, the suffering of the Palestinians will continue.”

The South African delegation emphasized that the figures published in WHO’s documents “are not mere statistics: they are flesh and blood who have been robbed of their right to life simply because they were born Palestinian.”

Similarly, Iran warned: “The failure of the international community to put an end to the illegal occupation and the brutalities perpetrated by the Israeli regime against the Palestinian people remains the primary reason why we are still witnessing this tragic situation today and why innocent lives continue to be lost.” Cuba, Colombia, Malaysia, the Maldives, and other Global South countries also voiced support for Palestine, either by demanding a ceasefire or condemning Israel’s violence.

To give these calls for justice shape, Palestine urged the international community to match moral clarity with concrete action. “Halt arms exports to Israel, and urgently review all economic and trade relations,” the delegation demanded, according to WHO Watch.

People’s Health Dispatch is a fortnightly bulletin published by the People’s Health Movement and Peoples Dispatch. For more articles and to subscribe to People’s Health Dispatch, click here.