Search Results for: culture

Ruth C. White Jones & Bartlett (December 2012) ISBN 9780763781538 342 pages $76.95 Global Case Studies in Maternal and Child Health brings into focus the ongoing issues that complicate the field of maternal and child health (MCH). As the author points out, two Millennium Development Goals specify the need to focus on MCH, and a number of other human rights issues, including gender equality and health concerns, critically intersect with…

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Claudia Tavani Martinus Nijhoff Publishers (October 2012) ISBN 9789004206610 380 pages $233 Reviewed by FXB Researcher Dr. Margareta Matache Collective rights and the cultural identity of the Roma: A case study of Italy introduces a model for the inclusion of the Roma, a minority group enduring widespread discrimination in Europe. According to official data, Italy is home to approximately 120,000 Roma and Sinti, but only 60% of this group has…

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By Sara Gorman In recent years, a welcome increase in attention to specific psychological problems among refugees has led to important new insights. Some of this research interest stems from experience with troops and veterans of the Iraqi and Afghani wars. New research has focused not only on the psychiatric effects of torture and human rights abuses, but also on the mental health consequences of victims’ subsequent forced migration. These…

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By Heather Adams, Fellow, FXB Center for Health and Human Rights In 2012, 1 in 88 children and 1 in 54 boys in the United States will be diagnosed with autism, a figure that exceeds the number of children who will be diagnosed with AIDS, diabetes, and cancer combined.  Recent research findings estimate the annual cost of autism in the US at $126B. Yet this lifelong disorder attracts less than…

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By Rachel Kelley and Charlotte Greenbaum Reproductive health care funding has captured the American limelight in recent months. Whether responding to health care legislation or nonprofit philanthropies’ funding decisions, advocates across the country have defended the essential role of reproductive health care services to women’s and families’ wellbeing. As these conversations continue in the context of American politics, funding for reproductive health care remains in jeopardy not only in the…

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By Angela Duger Health and human rights professionals have long considered food and nutrition to be underlying determinants of health, but the focus has largely been on undernutrition. That focus is now changing. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 1.5 billion people are overweight or obese, and that now, for the first time in history, there are more overweight than underweight adults in the world. Obesity is linked to…

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By Ronald Pies, MD As a psychiatric physician for nearly thirty years, I am always surprised when I hear politicians claim that the U.S. health care system is “the best in the world.” To be sure, we are among the most advanced nations when it comes to medical technology, and we are second to none when it comes to the dedication of our doctors, nurses, and allied professionals. But if…

Continue reading “Universal Health Care: A Moral Obligation?”

Counting the Dead: The Culture and Politics of Human Rights Activism in Colombia Winifred Tate University of California Press, 2007 ISBN 978-0-520-25283-7 (paperback) 400 pages $24.95. Reviewed by HHR editorial assistant Judith Fitzpatrick  In this “ethnography of ideas in action,” anthropologist and human rights activist Winifred Tate investigates how various actors in Colombia have employed the concept of human rights in political mobilization. The study begins with an examination of…

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Monday, March 8 marked the celebration of International Women’s Day, a global tribute to the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. In this guest post, Dr. Agnès Binagwaho, Permanent Secretary of Rwanda’s Ministry of Health, reflects on the human rights of women in Rwanda. Sixteen years ago, during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, perpetrated by Hutu extremists against Tutsis and the Hutu moderates, where one million…

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Liberia, a country whose identity is bound tightly to a history of unrest and violence, is attempting a new project in Montserrado County (the region that includes the capital city of Monrovia) in an attempt to confront the increasing problem of food insecurity. In an area where only 1% of residents grow their own food, the project’s promotion of “market gardens” has already made a difference for thousands. Headed by…

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