Category: Blog

Jonathan Cohen The global movement against anti-Black racism has coincided with a pandemic that has revealed and magnified racial inequality, creating a watershed moment for public health. We are witnessing not only the social, economic, and political determinants of vulnerability to infectious disease, but also the racial and colonial hierarchies that lie underneath these roots. Meeting this moment requires that we look back at the history of public health and…

Continue reading “A Time for Optimism? Decolonizing the Determinants of Health”

As the world bids farewell to this sad and traumatic year, in which we have witnessed the divisions created by inequality, racism, and poor leadership, is it possible to entertain a sense of hope? Hope that COVID-19 has shown us how connected we are, shown what happens when we neglect the frailest, the poorest, the most discriminated against, and that this might bring about change? That we have learned how…

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Dainius Pūras In my final report as Special Rapporteur on the right to health, presented to the UN General Assembly this week, I stress that the most effective “vaccine” for global health challenges has been, and will always be, the full realization of all human rights, including the promotion of physical and mental health through the meaningful participation and empowerment of all people. Throughout my six-year tenure of the right…

Continue reading “Public Health Policy Shapes COVID-19 Impact: UN Expert’s Final Report”

UN Experts joined together to remind states of their human rights duty to ensure access to contraception for anyone who wants it, including during COVID-19.  On World Contraception Day (26 September), the experts, led by the new Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, states, “The right to sexual and reproductive health includes women’s freedom to decide whether to be pregnant, how many children to have, and…

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Benjamin Mason Meier and Tamira Daniely The United Nations Human Rights Council appoints Special Rapporteurs on specific human rights themes, with these independent experts holding an official mandate to monitor violations and promote rights. Facilitating accountability for human rights realization, Special Rapporteurs support rights advancement through country missions, government communications, public statements, and Council reports. To advance the right to health, the Commission on Human Rights (the predecessor to the…

Continue reading “Tlaleng Mofokeng: Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health”

Katherine R. Peeler and Vidya Kumar Ramanathan Judge Dolly Gee’s recent order mandating the release of all detained immigrant children from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Family Residential Centers (FRCs) was an incredible step forward for securing the health and safety of these children. But if our country’s three family detention centers are empty of children on July 17th–the mandated deadline for release–this will not be a victory. We will…

Continue reading “Detained Immigrant Children to be Released, but Urgent Action Needed”

Sara L.M. Davis For decades, the International AIDS Conference has successfully convened a massive biannual meeting, bringing together a diverse community of scientists, researchers, activists and officials, as well as a smattering of celebrities. At a turning point with a battered global strategy and the devastation caused by a second global pandemic, COVID-19, the global AIDS movement has never been in more urgent need of such frank and diverse conversations.…

Continue reading “The Silence at AIDS 2020 Virtual”

Katherine R. Peeler and Scott H. Podolsky Aurelia had traveled more than 2,000 miles, mostly on foot, with her 7-year-old daughter, Heidy, to the Mexico-Arizona border from Guatemala. In her 24 years, Aurelia had endured a life of poverty, rape, and death threats to her and her daughter by her partner. Throughout, their would-be protectors—the police—did nothing. So they fled, seeking asylum in the United States. That was in 2017.…

Continue reading “COVID-19, Asylum, and False Binaries of Detention”

Katrina Perehudoff and Jennifer Sellin How do we guarantee access to COVID-19 vaccines and therapies, and secure health-related human rights for all? We’ve heard a string of promises in the race for new vaccines and therapies. European governments, Australia, Canada, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and others have pledged US$10.5 billion to develop vaccines and health products against COVID-19. Some world leaders promised that these products will be ‘global public goods’. How…

Continue reading “COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP): A Promising Human Rights Approach”

Dainius Pūras I have no doubt that around the world we will soon be facing an increase in mental health issues in the wake COVID-19. The impact of the pandemic, and the measures taken to contain it, may well be long lasting on our mental well-being, and this is now being acknowledged by the United Nations. Prolonged mental distress will be fuelled by the direct threats associated with the spread…

Continue reading “COVID-19 and Mental Health: Challenges Ahead Demand Changes “