The Right to Food Campaign held a press conference in Delhi on October 21, 2022 highlighting the situation of hunger in India and the inadequate policy response of the government. All the speakers drew attention to the plight of people facing loss of livelihoods, low wages, inflation and hunger.

The Global Hunger Report 2022 ranks India at 107 among 121 countries. Each year since the report has been released in 2006 India has ranked extremely poorly highlighting that hunger and malnutrition remains a serious concern in the country. The current situation post-covid is even worse and is not entirely reflected in the report as the data are not available.

High levels of child malnutrition (stunting and wasting) in India are a reflection of food insecurity in households, poor dietary diversity, lack of maternal and child care services, low status of women and inadequate access to health and sanitation. 

It is indeed a matter of concern that over 35% of children in the country are stunted (low height for age) and 19% children are wasted (low weight for height) according to the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-2021). The WHO prevalence cut-off values for public health significance state that stunting above 30% and wasting above 15% is “very high”.

 All evidence points to increasing inequality and poverty in the country. 

Right To Food Campaign Flags The Alarming Situation Of Hunger In The Country| Countercurrents

 Representatives of the United States’ major freight rail companies, the National Carriers’ Conference Committee,  rejected a proposal from the third largest rail workers union which called for just seven days of paid sick leave per year.

The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division (BMWED) requested the addition of paid sick days — modeled on a system used for federal workers in which employees accrue one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked — last week as its members voted against a proposed contract. That contract included unpaid days off for medical care, but no paid sick days.

Clark Ballew, for the BMWED, noted that having reported more than $10 billion in stock buybacks and dividends in the first six months of 2022, rail companies “can very easily afford” to provide workers with paid leave when they are sick, as they did during the coronavirus pandemic hit before vaccines were available to employees.

“It is not unreasonable… and they’d still be making record profits if they agreed to provide railroad workers paid sick leave,” Ballew told the Associated Press.

Rail worker unions agreed not to call a strike until workers from across the industry, represented by 12 unions, have voted on the tentative deal reached last month. A work stoppage could begin as early as November 19.

The CEO of the National Association of Chemical Distributors criticized rail companies for refusing to bend regarding the demand for paid sick leave. Eric R. Byer wrote, “Now is not the time to deny reasonable benefits for a labor community that has been decimated by losses in recent years… It’s time for the freight rail industry to right this wrong and get rail back on track.”

Labor Notes reporter Jonah Furman pointed out in a tweet, ” the capitalist class splitting in real time. the rail monopolists have gone so far in destroying the industry for destructive profit-seeking that their customers, big chemical distributors, are siding with the workers in reforming the freight railroad labor system.”

Rail Cos. Reject Union’s Demand for Paid Sick Leave (consortiumnews.com)

 The International Labor Organization and the World Health Organization got together jointly to estimate the number of deaths caused by occupational diseases and injuries at world level for 2016. 

The two international agencies found that as many as 1.90 million people died from occupational diseases and injuries this year. 

Out of this 360,000 deaths were caused by occupational injuries. This implies that the remaining 1.54 million were caused by occupational disease.

Occupational accidents generally become news while occupational diseases seldom do so, in fact among all deaths caused by occupational diseases and injuries, occupational diseases cause as many as 82% of total deaths (1.54 million out of 1.90 million) while occupational accidents cause 18% deaths. 

 The ILO/WHO estimate attributes the highest number—750,000—to long working hours. This is a very significant number for all those struggling against imposition of unduly long working hours, particularly in situations of working conditions which even otherwise are unhealthy and/or stressful. 

Workplace air pollution, in the form of exposure to particulate matter, gases and fumes, has been estimated by the ILO/WHO study to be responsible for 450,000 deaths in 2016.

Occupational deaths can be called a silent killer. Due to poverty, economic compulsions and lack of compensatory payments, most of them have to continue working in these conditions, increasing their distress and health risks. When they cannot work any more, many of them are discarded all too easily by non-caring employers, forced to live out the rest of their life in extremely difficult conditions, as can be seen in the context of many victims of occupational diseases.

A review of the existing data on occupational diseases by the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention appears to be marked more by what is missing than by what is available. Thus this review states that 66,000 cases of occupational skin diseases were reported in a year, then hastens to add that this is a case of severe under-reporting. Why severe under-reporting should persist on such an important issue is not stated.

In the context of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, it is stated that 20 million workers in the USA are potentially exposed. But what is more important is to find out how many actually suffer. 

n the case of occupational threat in the form of hearing loss to various extents this review is more firm in stating that this is the most widespread occupational health problem in the USA , with more than 30 million exposed to hazardous noise, 

And an additional 9 million at risk from other orthopaedic -traumatic agents.

Also, 30% of American workers are employed in jobs that routinely require them to perform activities that may increase risk of developing lower back disorders. In a single year 332,000 musculoskeletal injuries were reported in US workplaces.

In his book, The Picture of Health, Erik Eckholm stated that as many as 100,000 people die from occupational diseases while 390,000 new cases of occupational disease appear in a year in the USA. Nearly 10 million workers are estimated to be exposed in this country to 11 high-volume carcinogens. Big increase in cancer rates have been reported in some lines of work. In fact occupational risks are increasing the most in those lines of work in which new and serious hazards are appearing but in most cases the seriousness of these hazards is sought to be denied or underplayed by very powerful industrial interests, delaying remedial action, if not altogether denying it.

Another disturbing trend is that with changes in farm technology, very serious hazards in the form of poisonous chemicals and other inputs are appearing in farm work too.

Occupational Diseases Pose Very Serious Threat To Health And Welfare Of Workers| Countercurrents

As Biden is preparing to end the nation’s free coronavirus vaccine program  Pfizer announced that it will soon raise the price of its Covid-19 shot to between $110 and $130 per dose in the U.S.

The People’s Vaccine Alliance said in a statement Friday that Pfizer’s planned price hike would amount to a 10,000% markup above the cost of producing the vaccine, which is estimated to be as low as $1.18 per dose. The U.S. currently pays around $30 per dose for Pfizer’s shot.

“While health workers and the vulnerable continue to go unvaccinated in developing countries, Pfizer is shamelessly fleecing the public for ever-greater sums of money,” said Julia Kosgei, policy adviser to the People’s Vaccine Alliance. “This latest obscene price hike is truly a mask-off moment for one of the great profiteers of this pandemic.” Kosgei added, “This is daylight robbery.”

In the second quarter of this year, Pfizer reported a 78% increase in overall profit compared to the same period in 2021 and said its coronavirus vaccine revenue was $32 billion. 

At present, just 23.3% of people in low-income countries have received at least one coronavirus vaccine dose.

World Health Organization Director of Health Emergencies Mike Ryan said the failure to ensure global vaccine equity and prevent millions of deaths was “because of the greed of the north” and “the greed of the pharmaceutical industry.

“We failed because of the self-interest of certain member states that were not prepared to share,” Ryan pointed out.

‘Daylight Robbery’: Pfizer Condemned for Hiking US Covid Vaccine Price by 10,000% Above Cost (commondreams.org)

Almost eight million people are struggling to pay their household bills.  

 The global population is now expected to peak in the 2080s and start declining by end of the century. The world’s population quadrupled in the 20th century due to high fertility rates and increasing life spans which created the fear of overpopulation explosion. But that upward trend is predicted to go into reverse by the start of the next century.

 Evidence of this has already been seen in several countries. The US has seen birth rates decline 20% between 2007 and 2020. In China, the fertility rate now stands at 1.16, barely half the average of 2.1 births required to maintain its population level. In 2020 the UK’s rate fell to 1.58 children per woman.  The average age a British woman has her first child has risen from 26.5 years old in 2000 to 29.1 in 2020. 

Falling birth rates have now become the “population problem”.

An ageing population results in fewer workers and an increased number of dependents. This could mean a “drain on resources”.  With a shortage of younger people there will be less funds for pensions and, in addition, an ageing population will cause further strain on the welfare and social services. However, projections on the impact of declining birth rates are often unreliable. Estimates are poorly equipped to account for technological and environmental shocks that could cause demographic swings such as the growing impact of climate change.

Alarmed by falling birth rates, the Chinese government has released guidelines to encourage fertility and reduce the nation’s abortions. Singapore has also attempted direct action, employing a range of measures from a service offering advice about married life to a “baby bonus scheme”, whereby couples are offered cash to have second and third children. In Poland, efforts are also being made to lower the financial burden for young parents. Since 2016, parents have been offered 500 zloty (£89) per child per month as part of the government’s family programme. However, after an initial boost, the birth rate is roughly back to where it was.

What declining birth rates mean for our future | The Week UK

  Liz Truss will be entitled to an annual office allowance of up to £115,000 after serving as prime minister for a matter of weeks. Truss can claim the funding under the public duty costs allowance (PDCA).

Mark Serwotka, the general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, said: “At a time when one in five civil servants are using food banks and 35% have skipped meals because they have no food, it’s grotesque that Liz Truss can walk away with what is effectively a £115,000 bonus.”

Jo Grady, the general secretary of the University and College Union said: “Millions of public sector workers, including those who transform lives in education, are in the grips of a devastating cost of living crisis. Low pay leaves thousands upon thousands skipping meals and restricting energy use. They will be appalled to see the soon-to-be former prime minister rewarded for such catastrophic failings. She should do the right thing and give up the money.”

Steven Littlewood, the assistant general secretary of the FDA, which represents senior civil servants, said: “The hypocrisy is astounding. This year the government has offered a real-terms pay cut and once again tried to attack the redundancy terms of the civil servants who are keeping this country running while we move from one prime minister to another. After all of that, it beggars belief that the prime minister would accept £115k a year for just six weeks in the job.”

Liz Truss’s entitlement to ex-PMs’ £115,000 annual grant sparks anger | Liz Truss | The Guardian

The following is the preface by the author to his biography of Daniel De Leon, which was part of Manchester University Press’ Lives of the Left series. Thanks go to La Bataille socialiste  blog for originally putting this on the net.

The population of USA grew at the slowest rate in the U.S. in 2021 since the country’s founding. 

Reduced refugee and immigration intake have much to do with it. We need more refugees, not less. 

The Biden administration set the limit to 125,000 refugees a year, the actual intake was fewer than 26,000 refugees. 

Although refugees contribute a range of skills and diverse experiences to their host countries there are many misperceptions and a lack of understanding about the refugees. 

Refugees go through more scrutiny, contribute substantially to the U.S. economy. There seems to be a lack of awareness and education in the U.S. about the level of scrutiny refugees go through compared to other immigrants.  Refugees must go through a rigorous background and medical checkup as well as obtain security clearance. The U.S. security process involves several agencies including the State Department and Homeland Security. The entire process can take upwards of two years.  and are more committed than any other immigrants to make America their home. 

A common misbelief is that Western countries host the majority of refugees. This is not surprising, given that much of the news and media coverage focuses on refugees flooding into Europe and the perceived ongoing immigration crisis at the US southern border. It is a lesser-known fact that approximately 83 percent of refugees are hosted by low and middle-income countries and 72 percent live in neighboring countries. Currently, Turkey hosts the highest number of refugees. 

In the USA support is only provided for a three-month period, after which refugees have to navigate the system on their own. Comparatively, the US spends less time and money on refugee resettlement than other countries like Canada (where refugees receive a full year of support).

While they do receive initial financial assistance, in subsequent years, refugees contribute $20.9 billion in taxes in 2015 alone and display more entrepreneurship than any other immigrant group. A recent study found that a 10% reduction in refugee intake relative to 2019 cost the US economy upwards of 1.4 billion dollars.

Opinion | Common Misperceptions About Refugees | Dr. Jyotika Saksena (commondreams.org)

Various politicians are still busy promoting themselves with praise for the speed of the Covid-19 vaccine development and distribution, despite the failure to supply low-income nations with vaccines.

There is, however, silence as another health crisis arises. 

A “dire shortage” of cholera vaccines now exists in the middle of an unprecedented rise in global cases. Twenty-nine countries have reported cholera cases this year – including Haiti, Malawi and Syria, which are facing large-scale outbreaks. Lebanon has warned that a deadly cholera outbreak is “spreading rapidly”. 

Worldwide, the disease affects between 1.3 million and four million people each year, killing between 21,000 and 143,000.

Health officials believe the true number to be higher given some countries’ reluctance to be associated with the heavily stigmatised “disease of the poor”. The WHO also said it is particularly concerned about the fatality rate, which this year was almost three times the rate of the past five years.

 It has forced health officials to halve the number of doses given to people in outbreak hotspots, the World Health Organization has said. The “exceptional decision” to reduce the number of doses from two to one would allow for the vaccines to be eked out until the end of the year and given to more people in more countries. The International Coordinating Group (ICG), the body that manages emergency stocks of vaccines, had taken the decision because of the “extremely limited” supply, the WHO said in a statement, reiterating previous calls for “urgent action” to boost global vaccine production.

Mike Ryan, the executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies programme, said the decision marked “a sad day”.

“We shouldn’t have to do it,” Ryan said. “And it is purely based on the availability globally of vaccines.”

“As vaccine manufacturers are producing at their maximum current capacity, there is no short-term solution to increase production,” the WHO said. “The temporary suspension of the two-dose strategy will allow the remaining doses to be redirected for any needs for the rest of the year.”

The director general of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said, “Rationing must only be a temporary solution. In the long term, we need a plan to scale up vaccine production as part of a holistic strategy to prevent and stop cholera outbreaks.”

WHO forced to ration vaccine as cholera cases surge worldwide | Global development | The Guardian