Health and Human Rights: A Reader (Paperback)

by Jonathan M. Mann (Editor), Sofia Gruskin (Editor), Michael A. Grodin (Editor), George J. Annas (Editor) "Health and human rights have rarely been linked in an explicit manner..." (more)
Key Phrases: reproductive health paradigm, maternal technology, human rights impact assessment, United States, New York, Nuremberg Code (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
This is a thought provoking book that is intended to make the reader to sit up and take action. This is a must book for all academic libraries and a must-read book for all researchers who study this complex issue that is ever present throughout the world. -- AIDS Book Journal
This is a rich and varied collection ranging from cogent exegeses on ethnic cleansing and female genital mutilation to scholarly dissertations on human rights and public health. The essays are powerful statements supported by impressive scholarships enhanced by the authors personal experience...Students, researchers, and scholars in the field have much to choose from in this work, which is augmented by an excellent index and detailed bibliography. -- William E. Seldelman, The Lancet
One cannot, one must not, approach medicine today without looking for its ethical component: read this important volume and you will understand why
. -- Elie Wiesel
Human rights violations persist in many forms. I hope that these terrible examples will remind us that silence from political leaders, is what oppressors most desire and what the oppressed most fear
. -- Jimmy Carter
Without human rights people and their communities cannot be fully healthy. This remarkable volume explores the responsibilities of health professionals for promoting and protecting human rights, thereby promoting and protecting the health of their patients and communities
. -- Victor Sidel, Distinguished University Professor of Social Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
The value of the collection extends beyond its application to HIV/AIDS, in two fundamental ways. First, the papers widen the scope of ones perspectice of health . . . a matter of recognizing that efforts to protect human rights will influence positively the health of individuals in more ways that one. . . . Second, the collection provides a basis for acting in areas that, traditionally, have been outside the scope of health professionals. . . . A human rights perspective provides a normative basis for analysis, advocacy, and intervention on societal factors that predetermine health. -- HIV/AIDS Policy and Law Review
Health and Human Rights is a valuable basic reader, as its short chapters provide effective shapshots of areas of profound concern...the volume is primarily intended as a practical guide for professionals... -- Polly Vizard, Recent Books on Ethics and International Affairs
The reader is useful as a springboard for high-level discussions about fundamental issues in these fields, for both scholars and graduate students. Regardless of a readers discipline or the role played in these fields, he or she comes away from this work moved, energized, and recommitted to the exhaustive, yet important, work of protecting the publics health and humanitys well-being. The complementarity suggested here brings a hopeful side in the form of a new way of defining and solving public health and human rights challenges. -- Health Promotion Practice, October 2002

This is a thought provoking book that is intended to make the reader to sit up and take action. This is a must book for all academic libraries and a must-read book for all researchers who study this complex issue that is ever present throughout the world. -- AIDS Book Journal
This is a rich and varied collection ranging from cogent exegeses on ethnic cleansing and female genital mutilation to scholarly dissertations on human rights and public health. The essays are powerful statements supported by impressive scholarships enhanced by the authors' personal experience...Students, researchers, and scholars in the field have much to choose from in this work, which is augmented by an excellent index and detailed bibliography. -- William E. Seldelman, The Lancet
One cannot, one must not, approach medicine today without looking for its ethical component: read this important volume and you will understand why
. -- Elie Wiesel
Human rights violations persist in many forms. I hopethat these terrible examples will remind us that silence from political leaders, is what oppressors most desire and what the oppressed most fear
. -- Jimmy Carter
Without human rights people and their communities cannot be fully healthy. This remarkable volume explores the responsibilities of health professionals for promoting and protecting human rights, thereby promoting and protecting the health of their patients and communities
. -- Victor Sidel, Distinguished University Professor of Social Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
The value of the collection extends beyond its application to HIV/AIDS, in two fundamental ways. First, the papers widen the scope of one's perspectice of health . . . a matter of recognizing that efforts to protect human rights will influence positively the health of individuals in more ways that one. . . . Second, the collection provides a basis for acting in areas that, traditionally, have been outside the scope of health professionals. . . . A human rights perspective provides a normative basis for analysis, advocacy, and intervention on societal factors that predetermine health. -- HIV/AIDS Policy and Law Review
Health and Human Rights is a valuable basic reader, as its short chapters provide effective shapshots of areas of profound concern...the volume is primarily intended as a practical guide for professionals... -- Polly Vizard, Recent Books on Ethics and International Affairs
The reader is useful as a springboard for high-level discussions about fundamental issues in these fields, for both scholars and graduate students. Regardless of a reader's discipline or the role played in these fields, he or she comes away from this work moved, energized, and recommitted to the exhaustive, yet important, work of protecting the public's health and humanity's well-being. The complementarity suggested here brings a hopeful side in the form of a new way of defining and solving public health and human rights challenges. -- Health Promotion Practice, October 2002

Product Description
Modern human rights, born in the aftermath of the second world war and crystallized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, reflect a broader, societal, approach to the complex problem of well-being. While health is mentioned only once in the document, human rights are about the societal preconditions for physical, mental and social well-being. Health care professionals are generally unaware of the key concepts, meaning and content of modern human rights. But they are learning that promoting and protecting human rights may be essential for promoting and protecting health.

Health and Human Rights: A Reader, including contributions by doctors, lawyers and government representatives, is the first comprehensive anthology of essays in this new field to address the balance between public health and human rights awareness.

The essays in this collection cover issues including ethnic cleansing, world population policies, women's reproductive choices, the Nuremburg Code and AIDS and HIV policies and treatments. It is an essential introduction to the developing field of health and human rights.

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (February 18, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415921023
• ISBN-13: 978-0415921022
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #481,603 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for public health professionals, January 28, 2004

By A Customer

This book presents a terrific introduction to the role of human rights in public health practice. While quite accessible, some may wish to augment this book with additional readings- perhaps Just Health Care by Normal Daniels?

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Reference, January 30, 2001

By A Customer

This book was pretty thorough for documenting health and human rights in several areas of the world, apart from those in the middle east. A gross omission was the case of Iraq. It had an appendix with the declaration of human rights (plus others) for those interested in the "ideal" Otherwise, it was a great introduction into health and human rights.