Leaving No One Behind: Humanitarianism and Human Rights-Based Approaches to Health

This course will address human rights and humanitarianism with a focus on the health and well-being of those most vulnerable and marginalized, including people affected by humanitarian emergencies. Overall, the course will consider how to use the right to health and other health-related human rights, practically and operationally, to promote and protect the health of those most in jeopardy. We will start by exploring how the notion of health has shifted over time and what it means for health to be considered as a human right, including in the context of humanitarian crisis. Along with the contours and content of the right to health, we will explore other health-related human rights, such as the rights to information, participation, the benefits of scientific progress, equality and freedom from discrimination. We will consider barriers to the enjoyment of the right to health, particularly those faced by different population groups, such as migrants, refugees, internally displaced people, indigenous peoples, prisoners, LGBTQ+ people, persons with disabilities and children. We will consider what it means "to leave no one behind" as set out in Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and what it means for health programmes to be people-centered, human rights-based, and gender transformative.