About
Health is a fundamental human right, and a necessary foundation for the exercise of almost every other human right. Yet the parameters of the right to health are still being defined, and enforcing a right to health is an elusive goal for billions of people across the globe, including many people in our own local community. This course aims to help students understand the evolving nature of a right to health, along with the many challenges posed by efforts to make that right a practical reality. A review of the concept of "Health and Human Rights" includes understanding the nature of human rights, the difficulties encountered in enforcing human rights promises, the unequal distribution of goods and assets (including healthcare) globally and in our own community, and the social determinants of health. This course will also survey the many ways that human rights and health intersect with issues of poverty, gender, the environment, and the global economy. This topic is trans-disciplinary by nature, so this course is designed to be a site for review and discussion of health and human rights by students of law, public health, medicine, and social sciences.
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