Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Sofia Gruskin, JD, MIA, International Health and Human Rights Program. François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard University, 651 Huntington Ave., 7th floor, Boston, MD 02115, 617-432-4315, sgruskin@hsph.harvard.edu

The legal and moral reasons to integrate human rights into health work are relatively well known, and yet the current global political climate requires clarity not only about what integrating human rights into health work really means but the obstacles and opportunities for doing this work in this country and outside. The right to health (as well as the range of health related rights) is a useful tool for the work of public health both conceptually and operationally. Examples exist from countries around the world of the use of human rights norms and standards to advocate for health, to ensure legal accountability for health and development, and to help shape health programming and policy efforts. Increasingly of interest is the ways in which attention to human rights can actually make health interventions more effective. While drawing attention to the use of human rights in law and advocacy efforts for health, this presentation will focus in particular on the concrete application of a rights-based approach to health. Examples from HIV/AIDS and reproductive and sexual health will be cited but the intent is to provide insights into the use of a powerful and practical approach relevant to all areas of health and well-being.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the various ways that the right to health and other health related rights are used within the public health field.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation