Health and Human Rights News
News to 10 July 2026
Mariângela Simão: Next Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health
Dr Mariângela Simão of Brazil has been appointed by the UN Human Rights Council as the fifth Special Rapporteur on the right to health, commencing her three year term on 1 August. Like her predecessor Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, Simão is a medical doctor. In addition to her background in maternal and child health and public health, Dr Simão had extensive experience in the construction of Brazil’s National Health System and has held in senior roles in UNAIDS and the World Health Organization.
Un Experts: Israel must immediately release Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya…
UN Experts including Tlaleng Mofokeng, Special Rapporteur on the right to health, are demanding the urgent release of Palestinian pediatrician and hospital director Dr Hussam Abu Safiya. An attorney for Physicians for Human Rights – Israel, Nasser Odeh, visited Dr. Abu Safiya last week and warned of a severe deterioration of his condition resulting from daily violence and abuse in the notorious Rakefet detention facility.
…UN calls for release of all detained health workers
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory has also raised the alarm at reports of Dr. Abu Safiya’s condition and is demanding his release and the release of all other medical personnel held in arbitrary detention by Israel. “The Commission found that Israeli security forces deliberately killed, wounded, detained, and severely mistreated medical personnel, constituting the war crimes of wilful killing and torture and the crime against humanity of extermination.”
States reminded that health care is a legal obligation
UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Awa Dabo reminded states that quality health care is a legal obligation for all governments. Speaking at the biennial thematic panel discussion on technical cooperation and capacity-building, she urged governments to strengthen public financing for health and foster greater international cooperation to respond to global health challenges.
Türk: Ceasefire needed to protect civilians in Ukraine
Following Russia’s attack last week on Kyiv that killed over 30 civilians and injured 99 more, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk urged the Human Rights Council to ensure accountability for violations of international law. “This war is cutting deep physical and psychological wounds,” he said. “Human rights need to guide efforts to secure lasting peace.”
Diagnostic test for Ebola added to Emergency Use Listing
The World Health Organization (WHO) has added the first diagnostic test for Ebola Bundibugyo virus (BDBV) to its Emergency Use Listing. Patients are also enrolling in a new clinical trial to evaluate treatments for the virus. By 2 July, 1,406 cases of BDBV had been confirmed by WHO, and although response efforts have been strengthened, attacks on Ebola treatment centers due to distrust of medical workers continue in DR Congo.
HRC adopts resolution on NTDs as a human rights concern
The UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution this week affirming that public health responses to neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) must be guided by human rights as well as medical practice. The resolution identifies lack of access to safe water, sanitation, adequate housing, education and information as the underlying, structural and social determinants of NTDs as well as climate change and displacement due to natural disasters and conflicts.s young as 10 years.
National income linked to breast cancer survival
The World Health Organization has published global five-year breast cancer survival estimates for women diagnosed between 2017 and 2021, revealing wide disparities across WHO regions and national income. Survival estimates ranged from 39.1% in the African Region to 88.5% in the Region of the Americas. In low-income countries, the median five-year survival was 41.9%, rising to 78.7% in upper-middle-income countries, and 87.3% in high-income countries.
Doctor charged for documenting obstetric violence in Egypt
An Egyptian Court has given a six month suspended prison sentence to doctor and filmmaker Omnia Suwydan for making allegations of obstetric violence against a public hospital in Alexandria in June this year. Her initial post, detailing medical negligence and abusive and degrading treatment of women seeking reproductive health care at the governmental hospital, was met with many similar stories from other women, doctors, and advocates across Egypt. Human Rights Watch is calling on Egyptian authorities to drop these charges and “treat Suwydan and other women’s accounts as an urgent public health and human rights emergency, not reputational damage to be policed.”
WHO launches database on global STI burden
The World Health Organization has launched the first open-access global database with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) prevalence data. It is expected to promote an understanding of the burden of STIs across diverse populations. WHO commented that by making the data openly accessible, countries and partners will be able to use the evidence to design targeted interventions, strengthen surveillance systems and accelerate progress towards reducing the global impact of STIs.
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