 For more videos on people's struggles, please subscribe to our YouTube channel. Hello and welcome to Around the World in 8 Minutes, a show by People's Dispatch, where we bring you stories of resistance and of solidarity and unity, as the working people of the world and the poor fight back against systemic oppression and strive to build a better world. Our first story is on the struggle of Mumi Abu Jamal, a political prisoner of the United States establishment, who has been diagnosed with COVID-19, according to his lawyers. 66-year-old Mumi Abu Jamal, a former Black Panther and a renowned activist, journalist and writer, has been in jail for almost 40 years on charges of killing a police officer in Philadelphia. He was convicted in 1982 after a trial that was described by journalist Dave Lindoff as featuring coached and lying prosecution witnesses, including police officers, prosecutorial misconduct, the withholding of exculpatory evidence, and racial bias in the jury selection. Mumi was sentenced to death and it took a sustained campaign by activists around the world to move him off the death row, though he remained sentenced to life without parole. Throughout his years in prison, Mumi has continued to be a voice for justice and a trenchant critic of capitalism. A few years ago, he was diagnosed with hepatitis C and the prison administration refused to treat him citing the high cost. His successful struggle for treatment set a precedent for others who were suffering from the illness while in prison. Mumi Abu Jamal was admitted to a hospital last Saturday and was back in isolation in the prison infirmary by Wednesday. He was also diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Media reports quoted his lawyer as saying that his health situation was very serious, especially in light of his age and pre-existing conditions. His supporters and those fighting for justice have demanded his immediate release, as well as the release from political prisoners, those who are over the age of 50 and those who are vulnerable to COVID-19. Activists are especially concerned as the facility where he is being held, that's the state correctional institution in Mahanoi, has a poor record of treating his health conditions. A number of protests, both online and offline, have already been held and people across the country and the world are writing to the city and Pennsylvania state authorities demanding his immediate release and proper treatment. The incarcerated population in the United States, which numbers around 2.3 million, has been hit especially hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Liberation News, one in five state and federal prisoners has already caught the disease. Mumia Abu Jamal's struggle thus is not only one for health, but also for his rights against a cruel system, which has not only kept him confined, but also attempted to kill him multiple times. From Mumia's struggle against systemic cruelties that have been accentuated by the pandemic, we go to Cuba, which has been a beacon of hope in the struggle against the disease. Throughout last year when the pandemic was at its worst, when leaders of big countries were denying the disease or minimizing its impact, Cuba said doctors and medical representatives across the world. The Henry Rieu Brigade of Doctors set new standards and showed us what medical internationalism is and the true meaning of solidarity during these difficult times. Now Cuba is blazing a similar trial in the area of vaccines. The vaccine candidate for COVID-19, Soberana 02 of the Finlayer Vaccine Institute, began its third phase of clinical trials on March 4th. A day before on March 3rd, the country's Center for State Control of Medications, Medical Equipment and Devices authorized the IFV to begin phase 3 trials of the vaccine. This was after an exhaustive evaluation of preclinical and clinical trial findings. The director of the CECMED, Olga Lidia Jacobo-Kasenweva, said that the vaccine candidate has shown an adequate safety profile and has passed all the reviews done by the CECMED during phase 1 and phase 2 studies. She also added that the people who have taken part in the trials have developed neutralizing antibodies, which means that the vaccine is effective against the virus. Therefore, it's encouraging news for the population, she said. The fundamental objective of the phase 3 trials of Soberana 02 is to evaluate the efficacy, safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine. According to the Cuban Public Health Ministry, the clinical trial will be carried out in 50 vaccination centers distributed in eight municipalities of the capital Havana. As many as 44,010 volunteers between the ages of 19 and 80 will participate in the study and will receive two doses of the Soberana 02 and a booster dose of the Soberana 01. Soberana 02 and Soberana 01 are both developed by the IFV. Recently, the institute announced a new vaccine candidate that Soberana 01A, which is the institute's third and the country's fifth vaccine candidate. It's explicitly meant for people convalescent from the disease. It seeks to reduce the risk of new contagion in patients who have already been infected with the disease. In addition to the C3 Soberana vaccines, scientists of the Center for Genetic, Engineering and Biotechnology, that is CIGB, are also developing the Abdullah and Mambisa vaccines. Just like Soberana 02, Abdullah has also showed positive results during the first two phases of clinical trials and will advance to the third phase this month. If these vaccines produce fruitful results, Cuba will become the first country in Latin America and the Caribbean region to develop its own vaccines. Cuba hopes to produce 100 million doses by the end of the year to vaccinate the entire population of over 11 million people, start exporting to other countries and contribute to the ALBA TCP's vaccine bank. And finally, we look at the movements that are set to take place on March 8 which is International Women's Day. Across the world, protests, manifestations and marches will take place celebrating this key day, symbolizing the struggle of working women against patriarchy and exploitation. This year's Women's Day is especially significant as it comes amid the crisis, the pandemic, which has intensified patriarchal exploitation, leaving women at the front lines of combating this disease without much support, at a huge risk to their lives and their health. Ahead of March 8th, the movements and organizations that are part of the International Week of Anti-Imperialist Struggle released a statement highlighting the significance of the day and the associated struggles in the coming months. They also reaffirmed their commitment in the revolutionary struggle against patriarchy, colonialism and imperialism in all corners of the world. The statement pointed out how women have led the struggle for liberation for the colonies, for abolition of slavery, for the overthrow of monarchies and for the defeat of fascism, yet still continue to face gender operation and marginalization and violence at the hands of the state and the capitalist system, as well as at their homes. They issued a call to continue the feminist struggle until all are free from patriarchy, imperialism and reactionary local regimes. The statement flagged the feminization of poverty worldwide and the invisibility of women despite the crucial work they do. It stressed that it is the women, the poor, black, indigenous, migrant and working women, who also lead and fight on the front lines in the struggle against imperialism and declared that the struggle against imperialism, racism, colonialism and capitalism cannot be fought without the struggle against patriarchy and without the full participation and leadership of women. These struggles at these movements refer to take place every day, every hour, on the streets, in houses and a thousand other fronts. March 8th will be an occasion to stand in solidarity with them across the world. In Pakistan, for instance, women's organizations will come out on the streets with a 15-point charter of demands. Pakistan is ranked 151 out of 153 countries by the World Economic Forum in the 2020 Global Gender Gap Index, illustrating a dismal picture of women's rights in the country. According to reports, about 60 to 70% of women suffer some form of abuse in Pakistan and about 5,000 women die because of domestic violence. It has also sought an end to efforts to privatize the healthcare system and emphasize the need for universal access to modern contraceptive methods and safe abortion facilities for all. In the context of the pandemic, the charter seeks domestic work and its outsourcing care work to the informal economy and women's contribution to the care economy to be recognized as labour that is equal to other types of work. These demands and many like these are representative of the sustained struggles women are waging and will continue to wage in these troubling times. That's all we have time for today. We'll be back next week with more struggles from around the world. 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