Lecturer

Damon Barrett

Slides

SLIDES

Preparation

Please read the following course literature:

Bustreo F. & Doebbler C. 'The Rights-Based Approach to Health' in Meier & Gostin, Foundations of Global Health and Human Rights Ch. 4 (An introduction of the 'human rights based approach' (HRBA) to health)

Gruskin S. & Tarantola D., Bringing Human Rights into Public Health, in Health and Human Rights in a Changing World. Chapter 8. (A very good chapter looking at the domains of application of human rights in public health, using the principles introduced above)

Sikkink, K. (2017) Evidence for Hope - Making Human Rights Work in the 21st Century, Princeton University Press. Chapter 2 and pp 152-162 & 167-168. (This is a great book, and these sections summarise and respond to contemporary challenges to human rights as a concept. This matters because if we cannot defend human rights as an idea, how could we - or how should we - defend the idea of a human right to health, or applying human rights in global health? Pay attention to what Sikkink learns from public health regarding biases!) Ebook available via the GU library.

This session introduces the principles of a human rights-based approach (HRBA) to health. We will also:

Discuss the place and role of human rights in public (health) policy, and global health governance
Critique HRBA and the very idea of human rights in global health

Additional reading/resources (not mandatory)

Bustreo F. & Hunt P. (2015) (eds) Women’s and Children’s Health, Evidence of Impact of Human Rights, World Health Organization (See Annex 1 for a summary of HRBA, and Sections 1 & 4 for a discussion, including research challenges) http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/84203/1/9789241505420_eng.pdf

Global fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (2020), Achieving Quality in Programs to Remove Human Rights and Gender-Related Barriers to HIV, TB and Malaria Services https://www.theglobalfund.org/media/9729/crg_programstoremovehumanrightsgenderbarriers_guide_en.pdf

Yamin A. & Cantor R, 'Between Insurrectional Discourse and Operational Guidance: Challenges and Dilemmas in Implementing Human Rights-Based Approaches to Health', Journal of Human Rights Practice 6(3) 2014, pp. 451-485 (An excellent article raising important challenges for HRBA applied to sexual and reproductive rights)