Section: Module 5: Human Rights and Health Services | Human Rights and Public Health | NextGenU.org

  • The learning outcome of this Module is: To be able to discuss a human rights perspective to the provision of health services.

    As identified by the World Health Organisation in Health and Human Rights, “The right to the highest attainable standard of health requires a set of social criteria that is conducive to the health of all people, including the availability of health services, safe working conditions, adequate housing and nutritious foods. Achieving the right to health is closely related to that of other human rights, including the right to food, housing, work, education, non-discrimination, access to information, and participation.

    The right to health includes both freedoms and entitlements.

    • Freedoms include the right to control one’s health and body (e.g. sexual and reproductive rights) and to be free from interference (e.g. free from torture and from non-consensual medical treatment and experimentation).

    • Entitlements include the right to a system of health protection that gives everyone an equal opportunity to enjoy the highest attainable level of health.

    Health policies and programmes have the ability to either promote or violate human rights, including the right to health, depending on the way they are designed or implemented. Taking steps to respect and protect human rights upholds the health sector’s responsibility to address everyone’s health.

    • Yet, more than one billion people cannot obtain the health services they need, because those services are either inaccessible, unavailable, unaffordable or of poor quality. Widening inequities across the world mean that an estimated 100 million people are pushed into poverty every year when they pay out-of-pocket for health services."

    Paul Farmer's video "I believe in health care as a human right" is short and is a good introduction to the topic.

    The resources below provide more information about the issues raised above.

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      Resources Lesson 5: Human Rights and Health Services Page
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      Reflection Module 5: Human Rights and Health Services (245 minutes) Forum
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      Start discussions: 1

      In this activity, you will analyze a news article and discuss a human rights perspective on providing health services for addiction-related disorders.

      Step 1. Review [15 minutes]

      Review and analyze this article:

      Why India's Drug Policy Should Pivot Towards Public Health and Harm Reduction.

      Step 2. Research [30 minutes]

      Look for a news article from your region or community with a similar theme on human rights and access to health services for people suffering from addiction. Save the link and the title of the news article.

      Step 3. Respond [180 minutes]

      Prepare a 300-600 word piece of writing that discusses the human rights perspective of health services for addiction-related disorders in your region or community. Please include the following components in your discussion:

      • Title and link of the news article in your country.
      • Current human rights issues relating to health services for addiction disorders in your country.
      • Priorities for improving addiction-related health services to reduce any adverse impact on human rights based on the two news articles.
      • Barriers and facilitators to achieving the priorities in your country or region.
      • Action items and strategies that could be implemented in your country or region to achieve these priorities.

      Step 4. Share [10 minutes]

      To share your work, click on the “Add a new discussion topic” button under this post and paste your work into the “Message” box. Make sure to reference others’ intellectual property when necessary. All references should follow 7th Edition APA formatting. For further instructions, see the resource on the Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library: APA citation resource (N.B. references are excluded from word counts).

      Step 5. Interact [10 minutes]

      To complete the activity, you will need to reply to at least two posts made by your peers in a respectful and professional manner. Ensure that your post engages your peers' ideas by including a reflection on their comments, sharing ideas of other potential difficulties and parties involved, or asking thought-provoking questions. Your response should respond to each of the three framework elements indicated in the table. If a peer comments on your posting, please reply. To post a reply, click “Reply” on a particular discussion, write your feedback and then click on “Post to forum.”

      OPTIONAL Step 6: Interact (10 minutes)

      If you would like to, you can reply to your peers' posts in a respectful and professional manner. Ensure that your post engages your peers' ideas by including a reflection on their comments, sharing ideas of other potential difficulties and parties involved, or asking thought-provoking questions. If a peer comments on your posting, please reply. To post a reply, click “Reply” on a particular discussion, write your feedback and then click on “Post to forum.”

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      Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health and Human Rights URL
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      Watch the entire video. (6 min)