Advancing the Human Right to Health

Advancing the Human Right to Health offers a prospective on the global response to one of the greatest moral, legal, and public health challenges of the 21st century - achieving the human right to health as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and other legal instruments. Featuring writings by global thought-leaders in the world of health human rights, the book brings clarity to many of the complex clinical, ethical, economic, legal, and socio-cultural questions raised by injury, disease, and deeper determinants of health, such as poverty. Much more than a primer on the right to health, this book features an examination of profound inequalities in health, which have resulted in millions of people condemned to unnecessary suffering and hastened deaths. In so doing, it provides a thoughtful account of the right to health's parameters, strategies on ways in which to achieve it, and discussion of why it is so essential in a 21st century context. Country-specific case studies provide context for analysing the right to health and assessing whether, and to what extent, this right has influenced critical decision-making that makes a difference in people's lives. Thematic chapters also look at the specific challenges involved in translating the right to health into action. Advancing the Human Right to Health highlights the urgency to build upon the progress made in securing the right to health for all, offering a timely reminder that all stakeholders must redouble their efforts to advance the human right to health.

Table of Contents:
Foreword Preface Section 1 The Right to Health in Perspective 1: Stephen P. Marks: The Emergence and Scope of the Human Right to Health 2: Oscar A. Cabrera and Ana S. Ayala: Advancing the Right to Health through Litigation 3: Helena Nygren-Krug: The Right to Health: From Concept to Practice 4: Ariel Pablos-Mendéz and Lesley Stone: Health Development as Nation-Strengthening 5: Eric A. Friedman and Lawrence O. Gostin: Pillars for Progress on the Right to Health Section 2 The Right to Health in Action 6: Donna Barry, Kate Greene, Wesler Lambert, Fernet Léandre, and Loune Viaud: Haiti: An Overview of its Right to Health History and Future Directions 7: Raymond A. Atuguba: The Right to Health in Ghana: Healthcare, Human Rights, and Politics 8: Ravi Duggal: Health and Development in India: Moving towards the Right to Health 9: Charles Ngwena, Rebecca Cook, and Ebenezer Durojaye: The Right to Health in Post-Apartheid Era South Africa 10: Raul Pangalangan: The Domestic Implementation of the International Right to Health: The Philippine Experience 11: Philip D. Chen and Di Wu: China's Evolution in Progressively Realizing the Right to Health 12: Armando De Negri Filho: Brazil: A Long Journey towards a Universal Healthcare System 13: Ariel Frisancho: The Right to Health in Peru 14: Julio Frenk and Octavio Gómez-Dantés: Realizing the Right to Healthcare in Mexico 15: Matthew Weait: The United Kingdom: The Right to Health in the Context of a Nationalised Health Service 16: Hiroaki Matsuura and Eriko Sase: The Right to Health in Japan: Challenges of a Super-Aging Society and Implications from its 2011 Public Health Emergency 17: Alicia Ely Yamin and Jean Connolly Carmalt: United States: Right to Health Obligations in the Context of Disparity and Reform Section 3 The Right to Health: Challenges and Opportunities 18: Britta Baer, Andrew Ball, Helena Nygren-Krug, Aafje Rietveld, and Diana Weil: Human Rights-Based Approaches to HIV, Tuberculosis, and Malaria 19: Oscar A. Cabrera and Lawrence O. Gostin: Global Tobacco Control: A Vital Component of the Right to Health 20: Alicia Ely Yamin: Women's Health and Human Rights: Struggles to Engender Social Transformation 21: Joanne Mariner and Rebecca Schleifer: The Right to Health in Prison 22: Stephen P. Marks and Adriana Benedict: Access to Medical Products, Vaccines, and Medical Technologies 23: Martin W. Bloem and Saskia de Pee: Nutrition and Human Rights: Why Meeting Nutrient Needs Should be a Human Right 24: José M. Zuniga and Imane Sidibé: Primum Non Nocere and the Right to Health 25: Michael Bochenek: Combating Torture and Other Ill-Treatment 26: Victoria Sutton: Emergencies, Disasters, Conflicts, and Human Rights 27: Lisa Eckstein: Searching for a Role for Genomics in the Right to Health 28: Joia Mukherjee: Financing Governments: Towards Achieving the Right to Health Section 4 Conclusion 29: Anand Grover, Brian Citro, and Mihir Mankad: The Consequences of Failure

About the Author :
Dr José M. Zuniga was appointed President of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC) in December 1999. He has published in various journals, authored chapters, and acted as a contributing editor for numerous books. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, and is a founding member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Themis. He is also the founding Chair of the Humanitas Foundation, which supports innovative approaches to improve individual, community, and public health. In addition, he advises regional and international agencies, including the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), on matters related to the field of HIV medicine. Professor Stephen P. Marks is the François-Xavier Bagnoud Professor of Health and Human Rights at the Harvard School of Public Health, where he directs the Program on Human Rights in Development. He is the author or editor of numerous articles and books relating to the human right to benefit including scientific progress, universal jurisdiction, cultural rights and human rights in development. He has also held teaching positions at Columbia University, Princeton University, the University of Phnom Penh Faculty of Law, Cardozo School of Law, Rutgers University School of Law, and City University of Hong Kong School of Law and University of Hong Kong Law School. He spent 12 years in the service of the United Nations, working for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and in various peacekeeping operations, including in Western Sahara and Cambodia. Professor Lawrence O. Gostin is University Professor, Georgetown University's highest academic rank conferred by the University President. He directs the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law and was the Founding O'Neill Chair in Global Health Law. He is Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University, Professor of Public Health at the Johns Hopkins University, and Director of the Center for Law & the Public's Health at both universities. Professor Gostin is also the Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre on Public Health Law & Human Rights. He holds numerous editorial appointments, and his principal position is the Health Law and Ethics Editor for the Journal of the American Medical Association. He is also Founding Editor-in-Chief of Laws. Professor Gostin has led major law reform initiatives in the United States, including the drafting of the Model Emergency Health Powers Act (MEHPA) to combat bioterrorism and the "Turning Point" Model State Public Health Act.

Review :
This book is unique in its focus on areas that are generally just touched upon in other books, such as women's health and human rights and the link with social transformation and the millennium development goals, which is one chapter, not one paragraph. The use of key exemplars to guide readers' understanding of the policy and the political arguments - for and against viewing health as a human right - are important. The presentation of the material is what makes this book different from others on the market. The list of contributors is impressive. This is a nice addition to policy books. Doody's Notes