Background
In March 2020, Massachusetts Peace Action initiated its Fund Healthcare Not Warfare campaign (FHCNW). The campaign brings together health and peace advocates including, nurses, physicians, home care attendants, researchers, public health experts, state legislators, single-payer activists, educators, unions, and recipients of health care services.
Advocates from these diverse communities serve to educate MAPA’s membership and the general public, in a series of webinars and panels on the link between health care and the military budget.
All members of the FHCNW coalition agree that the bloated Pentagon budget harms the well-being of our communities and families by diverting precious resources away from healthcare, public health, research, and health policy response.
As a major aspect of our advocacy, we are members of the Mass-Care coalition, the Massachusetts advocacy organization that campaigns for Medicare for All, the single-payer healthcare plan. In addition, we collaborate with other like-minded organizations, including the American Public Health Association, especially its Peace Caucus and its Women’s Caucus, The Massachusetts Public Health Association, Massachusetts Nurses Association, Physicians for a National Health Program, Code Pink, and National Nurses United.
FHCNW works to refocus national security away from war, militarism, nuclear weapons buildup, and regime changes, to focus on immediate, pressing health concerns, such as pandemics, maternal mortality, infant mortality, preventive health care, and uninsurance/underinsurance;
The United States has the highest military spending of any nation based on the pervasive notion that investing in military defense is the only solution to ensuring national security. The Defense Appropriations Act of 2024, at $825 billion in total funding, is more than the next 9 countries combined. Our government grossly overspends on the military at the expense of investing in human security – economic, health, personal, food security, environmental, and community needs. This misprioritization creates disproportionate harmful impacts on our diverse populations and severely impacts our healthcare and our public health needs. .
Roughly 30% of the Massachusetts state budget comes from the federal government, and with the federal government so invested in the war economy, that leaves little funding left over for healthcare and public health. It is important that we advocate changing this unfair and dangerous prioritization and put funds back into our communities
Get involved
The FHCNW working group meets on the second Thursday of the month at 6:00 pm.
If you would like to join us, send an email to fhcnw@masspeaceaction.org.
Publications
Federal Investment for Public Health—or for Endless Wars?https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/07/federal-investment-public-health-or-endless-wars
Fund Public Health, not Foreign Wars:
Steward Health: The Market Has Spoken:
Donate
Donate to the Fund Healthcare, Not Warfare campaign! Your donations help support our work!
Videos and Public Forums
Subscribe to Massachusetts Peace Action videos
