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Archive: 2010

Reducing the health gap: A global plan for justice

A child born in sub-Saharan Africa is twenty-five times more likely to die in the first five years of life than one born in the United States. If she lives to child-bearing age, she is a two hundred times more likely to die in labor. Overall, she will…

What is a Human Rights-Based Approach to Health (HRBA)?

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the World Health Organization (WHO) recently issued a summary document that defines and explains the Human Rights-Based Approach to Health (HRBA). It can be downloaded here.

Massachusetts health care reform

Beth Waldman Abstract The United States spends more per capita on health care than nearly every other country; yet despite this level of spending,quality outcomes in the United States are lower than in many developed countries. This poor quality is due…

Keeping Haiti on the radar

[Editor’s Note: This OpenForum op-ed was written by Abigail Hook, a Harvard College undergraduate currently volunteering with the FXB Center] The wealth of global response to Haiti’s January earthquake suggests a tremendous sense of global…

Developing a health system: The case of Nyaya Health in rural Nepal

[Editor’s Note: This two-part entry features a narrative and photo essay by Dan Schwarz. The entire photo series and Dan’s bio may be found below.] Founded on an unwillingness to accept the grave inequities and double standards that are tolerated…

Student’s view: A lesson of malnutrition in Nicaragua

[Editor’s note: This is a guest post written by Meredith Baker. Her bio may be found at the end of the article.] This past winter break, I had the opportunity as part of my undergraduate program to travel to Nicaragua and participate in community…

Liberian urban gardens: A new attempt to boost food security

Liberia, a country whose identity is bound tightly to a history of unrest and violence, is attempting a new project in Montserrado County (the region that includes the capital city of Monrovia) in an attempt to confront the increasing problem of food…