Lindsey Dyer Health and Human Rights 17/2 Published December 10, 2015 Abstract This article provides the background to an analysis of the Human Rights in Healthcare Programme in England and Wales. Using evidence from source materials, summary publications, and official reports, it charts a small but important change in the relationship between health and human rights and shows how a small number of National Health Service organizations used a human…
Rights-Based Citizen Monitoring in Peru: Evidence of Impact from the Field
Jeannie Samuel and Ariel Frisancho Health and Human Rights 17/2 Published December 10, 2015 Abstract This paper discusses a human rights-based initiative developed in Puno, Peru, in which indigenous women seek to address problems with access and quality of care by monitoring their government-run health facilities. The evidence of impact presented here is based on a qualitative study of the rights-based monitoring initiative (53 key informant interviews in 2010–2011), corroborated by…
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The Impact of Human Rights on Universalizing Health Care in Vermont, USA
Gillian MacNaughton, Fiona Haigh, Mariah McGill, Konstantinos Koutsioumpas, and Courtenay Sprague Health and Human Rights 17/2 Published December 10, 2015 Abstract In 2010, Vermont adopted a new law embracing human rights principles as guidelines for health care reform, and in 2011, Vermont was the first state in the US to enact framework legislation to establish a universal health care system for all its residents. This article reports on the Vermont…
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Using Technology to Claim Rights to Free Maternal Health Care: Lessons about Impact from the My Health, My Voice Pilot Project in India
Jashodhara Dasgupta, Y. K. Sandhya, Samantha Lobis, Pravesh Verma, and Marta Schaaf Health and Human Rights 17/2 Published December 10, 2015 Abstract My Health, My Voice is a human rights-based project that pilots the use of technology to monitor and display online data regarding informal payments for maternal health care in two districts of Uttar Pradesh, India. SAHAYOG, an organization based in Uttar Pradesh, partnered with a grassroots women’s forum…
Empowerment for the Right to Health: The Use of the “Most Significant Change” Methodology in Monitoring
Fanny Polet, Geraldine Malaise, Anuschka Mahieu, Eulalia Utrera, Jovita Montes, Rosalinda Tablang, Andrew Aytin, Erick Kambale, Sylvie Luzala, Daoud al-Ghoul, Ranin Ahed Darkhawaja, Roxana Maria Rodriguez, Margarita Posada, Wim de Ceukelaire, and Pol de Vos Health and Human Rights 17/2 Published December 10, 2015 Abstract Quantitative evaluations might be insufficient for measuring the impact of interventions promoting the right to health, particularly in their ability to contribute to a…
Evaluating a Human Rights-Based Advocacy Approach to Expanding Access to Pain Medicines and Palliative Care: Global Advocacy and Case Studies from India, Kenya, and Ukraine
Diederik Lohman and Joseph Amon Health and Human Rights 17/2 Published December 10, 2015 Abstract Palliative care has been defined as care that is person-centered and attentive to physical symptoms and psychological, social, and existential distress in patients with severe or life-threatening illness. The identification of access to palliative care and pain treatment as a human rights issue first emerged among palliative care advocates, physicians, and lawyers in the 1990s,…
Measuring the Impact of Human Rights on Health in Global Health Financing
Sara L. M. Davis Health and Human Rights 17/2 Published December 10, 2015 Abstract In response to new scientific developments, UNAIDS, WHO, and global health financing institutions have joined together to promote a “fast-track” global scale-up of testing and treatment programs. They have set ambitious targets toward the goal of ending the three diseases by 2030. These numerical indicators, based on infectious disease modeling, can assist in measuring countries’ progressive…
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The Universal Periodic Review: A Platform for Dialogue, Accountability, and Change on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
Kate Gilmore, Luis Mora, Alfonso Barragues, and Ida Krogh Mikkelsen Health and Human Rights 17/2 Published December 10, 2015 Abstract This paper argues that the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the United Nations Human Rights Council can be a critical avenue for promoting a human rights-based approach to sexual and reproductive health and well-being due to its reliance on the principles of participation and accountability. Drawing on evidence from the…
Looking for Evidence of the Impact of Introducing a Human Rights-Based Approach in Health: The SaluDerecho Experience
María-Luisa Escobar, Leonardo Cubillos, and Roberto Iunes Health and Human Rights 17/2 Published December 10, 2015 Abstract This paper summarizes the background, methodology, results, and lessons learned from SaluDerecho, the Initiative on Priority Setting, Equity and Constitutional Mandates in Health. Originally facilitated by the capacity-building arm of the World Bank in 2010, it was implemented in Latin American countries and later expanded to other regions of the world. Segmentation, decentralization,…
What Constitutes Evidence in Human Rights-Based Approaches to Health? Learning from Lived Experiences of Maternal and Sexual Reproductive Health
Maya Unnithan Health and Human Rights 17/2 Published December 10, 2015 Abstract The impact of human rights interventions on health outcomes is complex, multiple, and difficult to ascertain in the conventional sense of cause and effect. Existing approaches based on probable (experimental and statistical) conclusions from evidence are limited in their ability to capture the impact of rights-based transformations in health. This paper argues that a focus on plausible conclusions…