By Brigit Toebes, Lecturer in international law, University of Groningen, Netherlands The environment in which humanitarian assistance is provided has changed dramatically over the past decades. While most conflicts taking place in the world today are of a non-international character, there has also been a significant increase in the number of people in need in the aftermath of other emergencies and man-made and natural disasters. In such settings, the security…
Book Brief: Global Case Studies in Maternal and Child Health
Ruth C. White Jones & Bartlett (December 2012) ISBN 9780763781538 342 pages $76.95 Global Case Studies in Maternal and Child Health brings into focus the ongoing issues that complicate the field of maternal and child health (MCH). As the author points out, two Millennium Development Goals specify the need to focus on MCH, and a number of other human rights issues, including gender equality and health concerns, critically intersect with…
Continue reading “Book Brief: Global Case Studies in Maternal and Child Health”
Disruption of water and sanitation services threatens health in Syria
Following a nationwide assessment, UNICEF reports that the ongoing conflict in Syria has resulted in pressing health concerns due to the disruption of water and sanitation services and subsequent lack of access to basic hygiene. These conditions pose a particular threat to children, who are especially vulnerable to waterborne diseases. In an article from the UN News Centre, UNICEF reports that more than 4 million people are in need of…
Continue reading “Disruption of water and sanitation services threatens health in Syria”
Book Brief: Health and Human Rights in Europe
Brigit Toebes, Mette Hartlev, Aart Hendriks, and Janne R. Herrmann (eds.) Intersentia (April 2012) ISBN 9789800001510 310 pages $97.00 The editors of Health and Human Rights in Europe provide a convincing legal argument and framework for applying human rights law to various health issues, addressing the idea of “health and human rights” from international, European, and national public health and legal perspectives. In this broad analysis of health and human…
Continue reading “Book Brief: Health and Human Rights in Europe”
A child’s battle: Diarrheal disease in the developing world
A joint 2009 publication by UNICEF and WHO, Diarrhoea: Why children are still dying and what can be done, revives action-oriented discussion about diarrheal disease — one of the world’s direst threats to babies and infants living in unsanitary, under-resourced environments. The report provides current data on the distribution and burden of the disease and on how the most affected countries are working to reduce the toll of infant diarrhea.…
Continue reading “A child’s battle: Diarrheal disease in the developing world”
War photojournalist Finbarr O’Reilly: The ethics of covering conflict
By FXB Research Associate Carrie Bronsther In December, war photographer and journalist Finbarr O’Reilly delivered a talk at the FXB Center on the “Ethics of Covering Conflict.” O’Reilly, currently a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, discussed his personal experiences in Africa and the Middle East and how these experiences have shaped his approach to photojournalism. In 1994, O’Reilly travelled to Africa, where he witnessed the genocide unfolding in Rwanda and…
Continue reading “War photojournalist Finbarr O’Reilly: The ethics of covering conflict”
China’s mandate to hospitals reveals persistent discrimination against HIV/AIDS patients
By HHR editorial assistant Kathy Wang Agence France Presse and other outlets report that the Chinese Ministry of Health has issued a mandate ordering all hospitals to provide HIV/AIDS patients with proper care. The mandate was issued after a lung cancer patient was denied hospital treatment because of his HIV/AIDS status. This incident, one of several documented incidents of hospital discrimination against HIV/AIDS patients, spurred China’s Vice Premier Li Keqiang…
Book Brief: Collective Rights and the Cultural Identity of the Roma: A Case Study of Italy
Claudia Tavani Martinus Nijhoff Publishers (October 2012) ISBN 9789004206610 380 pages $233 Reviewed by FXB Researcher Dr. Margareta Matache Collective rights and the cultural identity of the Roma: A case study of Italy introduces a model for the inclusion of the Roma, a minority group enduring widespread discrimination in Europe. According to official data, Italy is home to approximately 120,000 Roma and Sinti, but only 60% of this group has…
Book Reviews
Health Equity, Social Justice, and Human Rights Ann Taket Routledge (June 2012) ISBN 9780415613750 224 pages $48.95 In Health Equity, Social Justice, and Human Rights, Ann Taket explains the importance of linking health and human rights, and how combining these concepts into a human rights framework can support public health and health advocacy efforts.Taket first describes and analyzes global, regional, national, and subnational human rights systems, and the mechanisms…
Approaches to the development of human rights indicators for women’s health
Pamela J. Surkan, Luke C. Mullany, Namrita S. Singh, Chris Beyrer Abstract We propose that human rights indicators related to women’s health be developed. First, we present two published examples from Burma and Afghanistan that illustrate how specific violations of human rights have been related to women’s health outcomes in the literature. We then review the state of current human rights measures relevant to women’s health, propose a process through…
Continue reading “Approaches to the development of human rights indicators for women’s health”