The Alliance for People’s Health (APH) is a Canadian advocacy organization that focuses on implementing left-of-center health care ideas. Specifically, it advocates for government paid healthcare including for illegal immigrants, ¹ pushes the idea that health is determined by an individual’s economic and social class, ² supports the creation of smaller community health groups that can use radical types of health care, ³ and supports liberation movements around the world, largely in communist and socialist countries, by “Promoting and connecting health care students, workers, providers, and community members to revolutionary movements and struggles.” ⁴

As of December 2024, there have been no press releases from APH since early 2019. ⁵

Advocacy

Determinants of Health

The Alliance for People’s Health claims that health-care systems define a healthy person as someone who is without disease or physical problems, which APH calls a “biomedical” approach. APH suggests that biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies use this approach to make profit and argues that little social good comes from these technologies and medicines. APH follows the World Health Organization’s  (WHO) definition of health, which includes mental and social components but focuses on social wellbeing as the most important factor in health. ²

APH suggests that social health is controlled by economic factors resulting in upper-class individuals being healthier than lower-class individuals. APH states, “[the working class] suffers less health because they rely on state services and charity and have to struggle for the things that they need, whereas people in the upper classes actually live off of the labor and the lives of the working class in a parasitic process called exploitation.” ² APH suggests that upper-class individuals who employ people can attribute their health to the people who work for them. Since most people are employees and not owners, APH suggests the best way to increase overall health is to learn how the lower class, which APH calls the “oppressed and exploited communities,” deal with health issues and then implement those ideas, instead of the health systems in place now. ²

Redistribution of Wealth

Alliance for People’s Health strongly supports the redistribution of wealth through public services. APH suggests that through “progressive taxation, public spending takes a portion of the income of the middle and upper classes and provides services equally to all.” ⁶

APH sees wealth redistribution as a necessity because it helps “those who live on inadequate incomes to meet their basic needs.” APH proposes that one of these needs is government-funded dental care. APH also states it is strongly opposed to privatized health services and suggests that all health services should be publicly available and paid for by the government. ⁶

Community Control and Radical Therapy

Alliance for People’s Health suggests that western countries “create a health/wealth gap where our communities face multiple health challenges due to poverty, exploitation, and oppression.” ³

APH also suggests that current health systems are based on profits and proposes that people need to build community health organizations in order to solve health issues. One of those organizations which APH created is called Bitter Melons. Bitter Melons uses radical therapy in an effort to ruin the profitability of psychiatric institutions and works to find political solutions to personal emotional problems. It also proposes that current therapeutic practices have capitalist roots, and states that the aim of radical therapy is “decolonizing and liberating our minds to see the potential of transforming our society.” ⁷

Supporting International Movements

Alliance for People’s Health suggests that health for all peoples can only come from liberation of people around the world. It praises doctors such as “Dr. Norman Bethune [a Canadian Surgeon belonging to the Communist Party of Canada], who dedicated his medical studies and skills towards helping the Communist Party of China heal the Red Army fighters and build a national health care system for all.” ⁸

APH proposes that improved health resulting from successful liberation movements come from countries where healthcare is provided by the government and individual freedom is weak or nonexistent such as Venezuela and Cuba. ⁸

1. “Community Victory: Refugee Claimants’ Canadian Babies Get Health Care from Birth.” Sanctuary Health, May 8, 2024. https://sanctuaryhealth.blogspot.com/.
2. “The Social Production of Health and Disease.” Alliance for People’s Health. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://aphvan.wordpress.com/our-strategy-for-change/the-social-production-of-health-and-disease/.
3. “For Community Ownership and Control.” Alliance for People’s Health. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://aphvan.wordpress.com/our-strategy-for-change/for-community-ownership-and-control/.
4.  Alliance for People’s Health. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://aphvan.wordpress.com/.
5. “Statements and Press Releases.” Alliance for People’s Health. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://aphvan.wordpress.com/category/statements-and-press-releases/.
6.  “Redistribute Wealth Through Public Services.” Alliance for People’s Health. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://aphvan.wordpress.com/our-strategy-for-change/redistribute-wealth-through-public-services/.
7. “Bitter Melons.” Alliance for People’s Health. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://aphvan.wordpress.com/community-health-work/community-health-projects/bitter-melons-consciousness-raising-for-liberation/.
8. “Concrete Solidarity to International Liberation Movements.” Alliance for People’s Health. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://aphvan.wordpress.com/our-strategy-for-change/solidarity-to-international-social-movements/.