New UNHCHR Guide for Health Policy Makers

July 23, 2015. Harvard FXB, working in partnership with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the World Health Organization, among other key partners, has produced a guide to help health policy makers “effectively and meaningfully implement a human rights-based approach to sexual and reproductive health, maternal health and under-5 child health.

From the introduction: Health policy makers have an important role to play in contributing to both the prevention of maternal and child mortality and morbidity, and to the enjoyment of health rights by women and children, including adolescents, by participating in and influencing the chain of decision-making throughout the policy cycle. An essential starting point is the recognition that patterns of maternal and child mortality are not inevitable: they are the result of discriminatory laws and practices, and institutional arrangements that compound poverty, which are fundamental issues of rights and justice. [Full guide.]

Related Resources

• National Human Rights Institutions: Summary Reflection Guide on a Human Rights-Based Approach to Health
• Harvard FXB Health and Human Rights Resource Guide