Health and Human Rights News
Week ending 17 May 2025
WHO agrees famine in Gaza is imminent
Israel’s aid blockade to Gaza has now persisted for 80 days, leaving the Gaza Strip without food, fuel, medical supplies, and other goods indispensable for human survival. The Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) and its Famine Review Committee—global experts on food security—have reported a high risk of famine across the Gaza Strip in coming weeks. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus responded to this report: “We do not need to wait for a declaration of famine in Gaza to know that people are already starving, sick and dying, while food and medicines are minutes away across the border.”
See also:
Free Speech, the Right to Health, and Genocide, Joseph J. Amon, Editorial, May 2025
Plans for forced movement “abhorrent”
Human Rights Watch is warning that Israel’s newest plan to forcibly move the Palestinian population into one small ‘humanitarian area’ “would amount to an abhorrent escalation of its ongoing crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, and acts of genocide”. It is calling on parties to the Genocide Convention to fulfil their duty to prevent further atrocities, including ending weapons sales, military assistance, and diplomatic support to Israel, imposing targeted sanctions on Israeli officials, and reviewing and considering suspending bilateral agreements.
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UK in court over arms exports to Israel
Palestinian rights organization Al-Haq, supported by Human Rights Watch, Oxfam, and Amnesty International, has taken the British government to court for allowing arms exports to Israel. Under British and international law, arms licensing should be suspended if there is a “clear risk” that arms might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law. The British defence is that there is no evidence a genocide is occurring in Gaza or that women and children have been targeted by Israel.
Young women fight for the Amazon
Warriors for the Amazon (Guerreras por la Amazonía), a movement of young women taking a stand for the protection of the Amazon region, are urging the Ecuadorian President-elect Daniel Noboa to stop the gas flares used for oil extraction in the rainforest. The group describes the flares as “time bombs, releasing methane and other pollutants that heat our atmosphere and contribute to climate disasters that disproportionately affect those of us already suffering from pollution.” The group’s demand follows an Amnesty International report published in August 2024, which found that routine flaring disproportionately affected the health of marginalized communities in socially and environmentally vulnerable areas.
See also:
Children, Adolescents, and Youth Pioneering a Human Rights-Based Approach to Climate Change, Giulia Gasparri, Omnia El Omrani, Rachael Hinton, David Imbago, Heeta Lakhani, Anshu Mohan, William Yeung, and Flavia Bustreo, Volume 23/2, December 2021
A Breath of Fresh Air: Indian Supreme Court Declares Protection from Climate Change a Fundamental Right, Parth Chhapolia, 20 April 2025
The Right to a Healthy Environment is a Powerful Sword for Climate Justice, Timothy Arvan, Viewpoint, December 2021
Special Section: Ecological Justice and the Right to Health, Edited by Hope Ferdowsian, December 2021
Violence against women a weapon of war in Sudan
UN Experts including Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, are speaking out against widespread systematic attacks against women and girls in Sudan. The rapporteurs note that campaigns of sexual violence reveal its use as a weapon of war, and one that is taking an increasing toll on the mental and physical health of women and girls. It is exacerbated by lack of access to physical and mental healthcare and women are often left to give birth in unsafe conditions.
See also:
Respectful Care for Women and Newborns in Crisis Settings: A Human Right, Caroline Kinsella, June 2021
Türk: Put human rights in drug policies…
High Commissioner Volker Türk addressed the need for a humane approach to drug policy at the 5th Brandenburg Forum in Geneva. He urged states to integrate the International Guidelines on Human Rights and Drug Policy into national policies and welcomed the UN Committee on Economic and Social Rights forthcoming General Comment on state obligations around drug policy. He also emphasized that “it is essential to include those most affected by drug use disorders in all decisions, policies and laws” and pointed to the participatory policy design of the Scottish Charter of Rights for People Affected by Substance Abuse as an example for other nations to follow.
See also:
The Case for International Guidelines on Human Rights and Drug Control, Editorial Rick Lines, Richard Elliott, Julie Hannah, Rebecca Schleifer, Tenu Avafia, and Damon Barrett, June 2017, Vol 19/1
What’s Old Is New Again in Addiction Treatment: The Expansion of Involuntary Commitment in the United States, John C. Messinger and Leo Beletsky, May 2025
…as well as food security efforts…
Speaking at a World Food Security High Level Forum in Rome, Volker Türk said human-rights based approaches are needed to tackle food insecurity and create “equitable, green food systems.” He noted that one in 10 people worldwide are suffering from hunger and malnutrition, and climate change threatens to make this worse. “The main problem we face today is not lack of food, it is making food accessible and affordable, while tackling the environmental crisis.”
See also:
Food Security as a Social Determinant of Health: Tackling Inequalities in Primary Health Care in Spain, Mireia Campanera, Mercè Gasull, and Mabel Gracia-Arnaiz, Vol 25/1, 2023
UK Cost-of-Living Crisis and Food Banks: A Right to Health Critique, Sharifah Sekalala, Kevin Hearty, and Hadijah Namyalo-Ganafa, July 2023
… and condemns economies that foster inequality
Türk also criticised what he called worrying trends in the right to development worldwide. Calling for shifts in global priorities toward development, he said, “Today’s model – of health for some, wealth for some, jobs for some, rights for some – is short-sighted, divisive and ultimately, dangerous.” The High Commissioner spoke at the 26th Session of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Right to Development in Geneva and condemned the approaches of major economies that foster inequality, injustice, trade wars and arms races, instead encouraging nations to recognize “the interconnectedness of individuals, communities, and countries.”
See also:
Special section on economic inequality, Editors Gillian MacNaughton, Matt McConnell, A. Kayum Ahmed, and Sylvain Aubry, December 2023, Vol 25.2
WHO 2024 Report offers a glimmer of hope
Launching WHO’s latest annual report Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted a glimmer of hope, with progress across a variety of health indicators. Successes include a successful emergency polio campaign in the Gaza Strip to an expansion of the global digital health certification network. However, health-related SDGs will likely not be met by 2030, even with positive trends, and reduced funding may put progress at risk.
See also:
Structural Context and Human Rights: Vaccinating Children in Gaza Against Polio, Nicole B. Alkhouri and Nadia N. Abuelezam, 24 November 2024
More nurses globally but deep regional disparities
WHO also released the State of the World’s Nursing 2025 report, which reveals global progress and inequities. Although the nursing workforce shortage is decreasing and the number of advanced practice nursing roles has grown, “overall progress still masks deep regional disparities: approximately 78% of the world’s nurses are concentrated in countries representing just 49% of the global population.”
Deep uncertainty about funds for HIV and drug support
Global Black Gay Men Connect and the International Network of People Who Use Drugs released reports showing how services led by and for key populations are facing deep uncertainty about their future due to the US funding cuts and loss of staff. They found that 36% of partners supported by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) shut down within one week of President Trump’s January executive order to put a hold on foreign aid. A further 19% reported that they would have to close within a month.
LGBTQI research slashed in US
The National Institutes of Health has cancelled or reduced 669 grants this year, worth more than $800 million. According to the New York Times, at least 323 have related to LGBTQ health. Its analysis found, “In keeping with its deep opposition to both diversity programs and gender-affirming care for adolescents, the administration has worked aggressively to root out research touching on equity measures and transgender health.”
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