Using a Reporting System to Protect the Human Rights of People Living with HIV and Key Populations: A Conceptual Framework

R. Taylor Williamson, Peter Wondergem, Richard N. Amenyah Health and Human Rights 2014, 16/1  Abstract Human rights of people living with HIV (PLHIV) and key populations most affected by HIV are often violated, with negative implications for health outcomes. To facilitate access to justice in Ghana, a consortium of partners developed a web-based discrimination reporting system. The reporting system= links the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to…

Editorial: The Great Procrastination

Jay Lemery, Carmel Williams, Paul Farmer Health and Human Rights 2014, 16/1 We wonder, given the evidence underlying the mounting climate crisis, if future generations will regard ours—amongst the epochs of history—as “The Great Procrastination.” Squandering time, dithering on action, and engaging in half-measures woefully incapable of addressing a threat that our best science warns will be more catastrophic and less reversible each year. The health effects of anthropogenic climate…

Foreword

Mary Robinson Health and Human Rights 2014, 16/1 I am delighted to welcome this special issue of the Health and Human Rights Journal, dedicated to exploring a subject matter extremely close to my heart—climate justice. In recent years, climate justice is emerging as a discipline that addresses the interlinked challenges of climate change, human rights, and development. At a time when the need for multidisciplinary research is gaining ground, climate…

Prioritizing Health: A Human Rights Analysis of Disaster, Vulnerability, and Urbanization in New Orleans and Port-au-Prince

Jean Carmalt Health and Human Rights 2014, 16/1 Abstract Climate change prompts increased urbanization and vulnerability to natural hazards. Urbanization processes are relevant to a right to health analysis of natural hazards because they can exacerbate pre-disaster inequalities that create vulnerability. The 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince and the 2005 hurricane in New Orleans provide vivid illustrations of the relationship between spatial inequality and the threats associated with natural hazards. The…

Social Justice, Climate Change, and Dengue

Aileen Y. Chang, Douglas O. Fuller, Olveen Carrasquillo, John C. Beier Health and Human Rights 2014, 16/1  Abstract Climate change should be viewed fundamentally as an issue of global justice. Understanding the complex interplay of climatic and socioeconomic trends is imperative to protect human health and lessen the burden of diseases such as dengue fever. Dengue fever is rapidly expanding globally. Temperature, rainfall, and frequency of natural disasters, as well…

Chikungunya, Climate Change, and Human Rights

Braden Meason and Ryan Paterson Health and Human Rights 2014, 16/1 Abstract Chikungunya is a re-emerging arbovirus that causes significant morbidity and some mortality. Global climate change leading to warmer temperatures and changes in rainfall patterns allow mosquito vectors to thrive at altitudes and at locations where they previously have not, ultimately leading to a spread of mosquito-borne diseases. While mutations to the chikungunya virus are responsible for some portion…

Depressive Symptoms Among Arab Bedouin Women Whose Houses are Under Threat of Demolition in Southern Israel: A Right to Housing Issue

Nihaya Daoud and Yousef Jabareen Health and Human Rights 2014, 16/1 Abstract Housing is a fundamental human right and a social determinant of health. According to international law, indigenous peoples are entitled to special housing and health rights and protections. In Israel, land disputes between the government and Arab Bedouins, an indigenous minority, have resulted in ongoing demolitions of Arab Bedouin homes, with thousands more homes threatened. While demolitions could…

Rising Oceans, Climate Change, Food Aid, and Human Rights in the Marshall Islands

Ingrid Ahlgren, Seiji Yamada, and Allen Wong Health and Human Rights 2014, 16/1 Abstract Climate change impacts are expected to produce more frequent, longer and unpredictable drought periods with further saltwater intrusion in the Marshall Islands. As a result, a significant return to traditional food cropping is unlikely. This will lead to an increased dependence on food aid, especially in the outer atoll populations. An examination of the nutritional content…

Advancing Climate Justice and the Right to Health Through Procedural Rights

Margaux J. Hall Health and Human Rights 2014, 16/1 Abstract Scholars have increasingly recognized the ways in which climate change threatens the human rights of people around the world, with a disproportionate burden on the rights of already vulnerable persons. At particular risk to these populations is the right to health, as well as to interconnected human rights. Yet, scholars have generally not provided a thorough assessment of precisely how…

Data-Driven Human Rights: Using the Electronic Health Record to Promote Human Rights in Jail

Sarah Glowa-Kollisch, Kelly Andrade, Richard Stazesky, Paul Teixeira, Fatos Kaba, Ross Macdonald, Zachary Rosner, Daniel Selling, Amanda Parsons, Homer Venters Health and Human Rights 2014, 16/1 Abstract The electronic health record (EHR) is a commonplace innovation designed to promote efficiency, quality, and continuity of health services. In the New York City jail system, we implemented an EHR across 12 jails between 2008 and 2011. During the same time, our work…