Health and Human Rights

Most deaths that currently occur globally are the result of ‘non-communicable’ diseases, in particular cardiovascular diseases, most cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes. Although medical science plays an important role in reducing these diseases, law and policy are also crucial, in particular as they can ensure access to prevention, treatment and care, and address behavioural risk factors such as smoking, excess alcohol consumption, unhealthy eating and a lack of physical exercise. This summer school promotes understanding about how law and policy can best be framed to address the global increase in chronic diseases. Taking a human rights approach, key focus areas include securing equitable access to essential medicines, as well as possibilities to regulate behavioural risk factors, in particular smoking and unhealthy diets. Through interactive teaching methods, and against the backdrop of insights from health science, participants will enhance their understanding of how human rights and domestic law come into play, and how a global and domestic response can best be defined and implemented.