Health and Human Rights News
Week ending 20 December 2025
Director’s departure attracts global protest
The Dean of the Harvard Chan School of Public Health has announced that the François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center for Health and Human Rights–the founding publisher of Health and Human Rights–will shift its primary area of focus to children’s health. Dr Mary T. Bassett, FXB director, it was announced, will step down in January, and an interim director will lead a transition initiative for the Center. In response to the news, Harvard students started a petition for her reinstatement which attracted over 2000 signatures from around the world, and the People’s Health Movement sent a letter to Harvard ‘demanding reinstatement’. The move came after a year of escalating pressure on FXB for its work on the health and human rights of Palestinians.
Former UN expert calls for new accountability panel
Paul Hunt, the first UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, in an editorial writes that the current state-centered approach to health rights accountability is not working. He and co-author Anuj Kapilashrami propose a global health coalition of robustly independent organizations and networks that are closely aligned with communities, peoples, and social movements. They are encouraging such a coalition to establish a human rights accountability panel to hold duty bearers to account.
See also:
Special section: Exploring accountability and health rights, Guest editors Paul Hunt and Anuj Kapilashrami, 27/2, December 2025
UN Special Procedures must not be sidelined
UN experts including Tlaleng Mofokeng, special rapporteur on the right to health, issued a joint statement urging for a renewed commitment to the UN’s special procedures mechanism. “This mechanism has grown into a dynamic system, with committed independent experts working pro bono on a vast range of thematic and country situations,” the experts explained. “Special Procedures mandate holders have carried out their duties with courage, impartiality and unwavering dedication — often at great personal cost — at a time when many human rights voices are being intimidated into silence.”
US and Kenya sign bilateral health agreement
The first bilateral agreement signed as part of the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again campaign has been signed this month with Kenya. However, already a Kenyan High Court has issued conservatory orders suspending implementation of it because of data sharing concerns. While the Kenya-US agreement is framed as beneficial to both governments in detecting, preventing, and responding to emerging and existing infectious disease threats, the extensive data sharing obligations raise fundamental human rights questions on data protection, privacy, consent, accountability, and state responsibility with regard to the realisation of the right to health, explain Allan Maleche, Sharifah Sekalala, and Timorthy Wafula in an HHR Viewpoint.
UNAIDS calls for free and rights-centered health care
On Universal Health Coverage (UHC) day, 12 December, UNAIDS emphasised the critical role UHC plays in ensuring the right to health for all. It stressed that UHC should include essential services for HIV treatment and prevention. “UHC cannot be universal unless it works for people living with HIV and other affected communities.”
See also:
AIDS 2024: HIV is Inherently Political, Joseph J. Amon, July 2024
World’s poorest bear the brunt of unaffordable health care
Globally, health service coverage has expanded and financial hardship due to high out-of-pocket medical fees has decreased since 2020, a WHO-World Bank report finds. But the UHC Global Monitoring Report 2025 also highlights challenges, emphasizing that the world’s poorest people are still most likely to face financial hardship as a result of serious health costs. “Universal health coverage is the ultimate expression of the right to health, but this report shows that for billions of people who cannot access or afford the health services they need, that right remains out of reach,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
WHO reaffirms no link between vaccines and autism
New analysis from a World Health Organization (WHO) global expert committee on vaccine safety has found that, based on available evidence, no causal link exists between vaccines and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). WHO advises all national authorities to rely on the latest science and ensure vaccine policies are grounded in the strongest available evidence. It added that global childhood immunization efforts represent one of the greatest achievements in improving lives, livelihoods and the prosperity of societies, having saved at least 154 million lives in the past 50 years.
See also:
“Politicized” Science and Attacks on Public Health, VIEWPOINT, Joseph J. Amon, Vol 27/2, 2025
Türk: Stand up for the essentials
On the 77th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN High Commissioner’s Office celebrated Human Rights Day under the banner “our everyday essentials.” Human rights chief Volker Türk highlighted recent threats to human rights and reminded the global community of the power of perseverance and collective struggle. “Call on your leaders to respect all human rights, for everyone,” he urged in a video message. “On Human Rights Day and every day, let us stand up for what is essential to us all.”
Integrated targets for NCDs and mental health
Global leaders have adopted a landmark political declaration that urges an integrated approach to noncommunciable diseases and mental health. The World Health Organization announced, “Marking a significant evolution from previous commitments, the new political declaration establishes three first-ever global ‘fast-track’ outcome targets to be achieved by 2030:150 million fewer tobacco users, 150 million more people with hypertension under control, and 150 million more people with access to mental health care.”
Pregnant women and newborns without care in Gaza
Gaza’s healthcare system, including 94% of its hospitals, have been damaged or destroyed, endangering the lives of pregnant women and newborns, warns the UN. “The Israeli blockade has also prevented the entry of objects indispensable to the survival of civilians, including medical supplies and nutrients required to sustain pregnancies and ensure safe childbirth.” UNICEF warned that winter storms are presenting a growing threat to the health of pregnant women and children living in tents in the decimated region, as the weather is increasing the spread of disease.
Devastation after storms in Gaza
Torrential rain and ensuing flooding in the Gaza Strip have worsened the humanitarian crisis, and compounded suffering for the millions of displaced individuals in the region. Amnesty International claimed the devastation caused by storms has been especially deadly because of Israel’s restrictions on the entry of critical supplies. Amnesty is urging governments worldwide to press Israel to end the blockade on Gaza and lift all restrictions on the entry of life-saving supplies, including shelter materials, nutritious food and medical aid.
See also:
People-Centered Accountability amid the Gaza Genocide: Doctors Against Genocide, Healthcare Workers Watch, and the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, Bilal Irfan, Kaden Venugopal, Michelle Anne Cohen, et. al., Vol 27/2, 2025
UN Committee warns of worsening situation in Sudan
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination used its Early Warning and Urgent Action Procedure to express serious concerns about growing ethnically motivated attacks and rights violations in Sudan. It listed, “ethnically motivated killings, torture, summary executions, arbitrary detention of civilians; widespread and systematic use of rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence as a weapon of warfare; attacks on healthcare facilities, including the killing of patients and the injured, and denial of healthcare; and deliberate attacks on humanitarian workers and aid blockades.”
Myanmar’s military bombs hospital
Myanmar’s military conducted an airstrike on a hospital in the nation’s Rakhine State on 10 December, Human Rights Day. Amnesty International has condemned the strike which reportedly killed 33 civilians and injured another 80. “Bombing a hospital on a global day dedicated to human rights shows the utter disregard that the Myanmar military has for civilians…The prevalence of such strikes by the Myanmar military in 2025, which have reached record levels this year, underline the urgent need to suspend jet fuel, weapons and dual-goods shipments to the country.”
Previous news bulletins