Holding the World Bank accountable for leakage of funds from Africa’s health sector

Fatma E. Marouf Health and Human Rights 12/1 Published June 2010 Abstract This article explores the accountability of international financial institutions (IFIs), such as the World Bank, for human rights violations related to the massive leakage of funds from sub-Saharan Africa’s health sector. The article begins by summarizing the quantitative results of Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys performed in six African countries, all showing disturbingly high levels of leakage in the…

A one-time-only combination: Emergency medicine exports under Canada’s access to medicines regime

Ashley Weber and Lisa Mills Health and Human Rights 12/1 Published June 2010 Abstract In 2008, a Canadian generic pharmaceutical firm, Apotex Inc. (Apotex), shipped 7 million doses of antiretroviral drugs to Rwanda for the treatment of HIV/AIDS. While this event may be seen as a positive outcome of international patent changes that facilitate the fulfillment of health as a human right, the fact that there has been only one…

Abstract – A one-time-only combination: Emergency medicine exports under Canada’s access to medicines regime

Ashley Weber and Lisa Mills Health and Human Rights 12/1 Published June 2010 Abstract In 2008, a Canadian generic pharmaceutical firm, Apotex Inc. (Apotex), shipped 7 million doses of antiretroviral drugs to Rwanda for the treatment of HIV/AIDS. While this event may be seen as a positive outcome of international patent changes that facilitate the fulfillment of health as a human right, the fact that there has been only one…

Abstract – Holding the World Bank accountable for leakage of funds from Africa’s health sector

Fatma E. Marouf Health and Human Rights 12/1 Published June 2010 Abstract This article explores the accountability of international financial institutions (IFIs), such as the World Bank, for human rights violations related to the massive leakage of funds from sub-Saharan Africa’s health sector. The article begins by summarizing the quantitative results of Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys performed in six African countries, all showing disturbingly high levels of leakage in the…

Abstract – Allies unknown: Social accountability and legal empowerment

Vivek Maru Health and Human Rights 12/1 Published June 2010 Abstract This essay suggests that two strands of social action which have hitherto developed separately — legal empowerment and social accountability — ought to learn from one another. Legal empowerment efforts grow out of the tradition of legal aid for the poor; they assist citizens in seeking remedies to breaches of rights. Social accountability interventions employ information and participation to…

Allies unknown: Social accountability and legal empowerment

Vivek Maru Health and Human Rights 12/1 Published June 2010 Abstract This essay suggests that two strands of social action which have hitherto developed separately — legal empowerment and social accountability — ought to learn from one another. Legal empowerment efforts grow out of the tradition of legal aid for the poor; they assist citizens in seeking remedies to breaches of rights. Social accountability interventions employ information and participation to…

Abstract – International assistance and cooperation for access to essential medicines

Emily A. Mok Health and Human Rights 12/1 Published June 2010 Abstract Access to essential medicines is a critical problem that plagues many developing countries. With a daunting number of domestic constraints — technologically, economically, and otherwise — developing countries are faced with a steep uphill battle to meet the human rights obligation of providing essential medicines immediately. To meet these challenges, the international human rights obligations of international assistance…

International assistance and cooperation for access to essential medicines

Emily A. Mok Health and Human Rights 12/1 Published June 2010 Abstract Access to essential medicines is a critical problem that plagues many developing countries. With a daunting number of domestic constraints — technologically, economically, and otherwise — developing countries are faced with a steep uphill battle to meet the human rights obligation of providing essential medicines immediately. To meet these challenges, the international human rights obligations of international assistance…

Abstract – International obligations through collective rights: Moving from foreign health assistance to global health governance

Benjamin Mason Meier and Ashley M. Fox Health and Human Rights 12/1 Published June 2010 Abstract This article analyzes the growing chasm between international power and state responsibility in health rights, proposing an international legal framework for collective rights — rights that can reform international institutions and empower developing states to realize the determinants of health structured by global forces. With longstanding recognition that many developing state governments cannot realize…

International obligations through collective rights: Moving from foreign health assistance to global health governance

Benjamin Mason Meier and Ashley M. Fox Health and Human Rights 12/1 Published June 2010 Abstract This article analyzes the growing chasm between international power and state responsibility in health rights, proposing an international legal framework for collective rights — rights that can reform international institutions and empower developing states to realize the determinants of health structured by global forces. With longstanding recognition that many developing state governments cannot realize…