Reimagining human rights in global health: what will it take?

• Published in: BMJ global health Vol. 7; no. 8; p. e010373
• Main Authors: Khosla, Rajat, Allotey, Pascale, Gruskin, Sofia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 01.08.2022; BMJ Publishing Group LTD; BMJ Publishing Group
• Subjects: COVID-19; Editorial; Funding; Gender equity; Human rights; Medical research; Pandemics; Politics; Public Health; Rhetoric; Science
• ISSN: 2059-7908; 2059-7908
• DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2022-010373

[...]the impact of economic, social, cultural and political forces on the normative and operational aspects of both health and human rights locally and globally; second, the impact of national ideologies on geopolitical conversations and the consequences on our (in)ability to assert human rights in health or health in human rights; third, the limited investment, interest and capacity within global health institutions to incorporate human rights in their work; and lastly, the severe limitations of the present architecture which is inapt to sufficiently address current realities (eg, issues that transcend border like climate or the power of corporate actors) appearing to address global and national development priorities.2 Health is political.3 And even as rights are meant to transcend politics, the erosion of rights protections in the name of public health is not new and it is nothing if not political. Evidence is clear from across a spectrum of health issues, from vaccines to sexual and reproductive health, to child health to WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene), that economic, social, cultural, political and legal contexts matter and where such context is not siloed but factored in, the potential success of interventions grows exponentially. The Law can be a human good that makes a material difference in people’s lives. [...]it is not surprising that Law has the power to bridge the gap between vulnerability and resilience to HIV’.7 As the events of the last 2 years (and much before) showcased, the importance of legal environments in shaping health outcomes is relevant for many areas of global health. Whether it was overzealous restrictions during the lockdowns which resulted in abuses of human rights and negative impacts particularly on the health of the most poor and marginalised the world over; or undue restrictions on access to services deemed not essential by those in power for some but not all populations, recent experiences underscore the ways in which law and its implementation play a cardinal role in global health.