Press Release: Research report analyzes healthcare standards for children deprived of their liberty in effort to support the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Image of black figure of woman bending over and holding hand of small child against barbed wire fence and sunset.

BOSTON, MA – A team of researchers from the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) in Melbourne, Australia, the Justice Health Group at Curtin University, and the François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University collaborated on identifying, critiquing, and synthesizing current standards for healthcare for children deprived of their liberty in order to shine a light on one of the most neglected areas in the protection…

Press Release: Empirical Study Examines the Impact of State Engagement on Sustaining Local Community Solidarity Towards Distress Migrants

Map of Eastern Europe showing Poland and Ukraine. Poland and Ukraine country names circled in red marker and connected by red dotted line.

BOSTON, MA – The FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University, in collaboration with a team of Polish migration researchers from the University of Warsaw, conducted a preliminary empirical study in Poland aiming to document the factors that generate local solidarity towards Ukrainian refugees. The study examines whether generous, well implemented state policies fueled by state actors’ preemptive attention to predictable needs can protect local communities from…

Press Release: New Report Documents the Mental and Physical Harm Experienced by Children in Immigration Detention

Illustration of child behind barbed wire, holding wire with both hands. Art by Allison Arteaga Argumedo

Cover art: Allison Arteaga Argumedo BOSTON, MA – A groundbreaking investigation conducted by the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Asylum Clinic at the MGH Center for Global Health, the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University, and the Harvard Global Health Institute, in collaboration with RAICES, has exposed the alarming impact of prolonged detention on children’s mental and physical well-being.

Commemorating the 2023 International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

Photo of solitary olive tree among low stone walls at the top of a hill in Palestine. Low mountain slopes with concrete high rises visible in the background.

Sumud, an Arabic word that means steadfastness, has a distinct significance in Palestinian culture. It captures a collective response to chronic adversity and a people’s will to survive, endure, and remain connected to the land. In some ways, sumud intersects with the concept of resilience or the ability to adapt to difficult experiences. The Arabic word, however, carries deeper political meanings of defiance and determination to persevere despite historical erasure.…

Health and Human Rights Journal Announces Amon as Editor-in-Chief

Joseph Amon

Harvard University’s François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center for Health and Human Rights and Drexel University’s Dornsife School of Public Health, co-publishers of the Health and Human Rights Journal, announced today the appointment of Drexel Professor Joseph Amon, PhD, MSPH, as the journal’s Editor-in-Chief. The Health and Human Rights Journal began publication at Harvard in 1994 under the editorship of Prof. Jonathan Mann, who subsequently became Dean of what would become the…

FXB at APHA 2023: Declining US Health: A population health emergency

Mary T Bassett

Plummeting Life Expectancy Rates for Americans Are a Public Health Emergency! Stephen Bezruchka, MD, MPH, an acclaimed public health expert and author of Inequality Kills Us All, has convened a panel of experts, including FXB Director Mary T. Bassett, MD, MPH, to take on this crisis at the upcoming American Public Health Association annual meeting on November 12 in Atlanta. Currently the citizens of more than 40 countries (including some…

FXB Turns 30!

Printed sign in transparent vinyl holder thanking attendees for joining FXB's 30th anniversary celebration next to black tumblers with FXB logo.

This year FXB completes 30 years since its founding in 1993. We are taking a moment to mark this milestone, acknowledge the breadth of activities in our community and the continued importance of work that shows how violation of rights harms health. Our programs, from racial justice to distress migration, to our Roma and Palestine programs, are all connected to the idea that we all need both health and rights as a resource for our lives.…

Inaugural Palestine Social Medicine Course Launched

The 2023 cohort of the inaugural Palestine Social Medicine course standing in front of the statue of a man with a raised fist in Palestine.

The Institute of Community and Public Health (ICPH) at Birzeit University, the François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center for Health and Human Rights, and the World Health Organization in the occupied Palestinian territory have launched the Palestine Social Medicine course. This intensive course is part of the activities of the Palestine Program for Health and Human Rights, a partnership between ICPH at Birzeit University and the FXB Center for Health and Human…

Migrant Children in US Detention Again?

Jacqueline Bhabha

The Biden administration is considering reintroducing one of the most infamous anti-immigrant policies of the Trump administration – the practice of detaining migrant families, including young children, seeking protection in the US even though they are not charged with any criminal wrong doing. There was a reason why this policy, among the many egregious Trump measures targeting migrants at the Southern border – a border wall, the so-called “Remain in…

Commemorating the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

Olive groves in the valley just outside Ramallah, Palestine at sunset.

Forty-five years ago, the United Nations General Assembly deemed November 29 as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. The chosen date was no accident; it came thirty years to the day after the original plan to partition Palestine was adopted by the same United Nations body in 1947. The day is meant to allow time and energy for the international community to show solidarity with Palestinians, acknowledging…

Migration and Refugee Studies: Inaugural Three-week Summer School in Greece

Group photo of the 2022 cohort of summer course on migration and refugee studies in Greece

July 2022 offered Harvard graduate students interested in migration issues a unique experience. From simulations of rescue at sea to a meeting with the Greek Minister for Migration, from academic lectures by lawyers, environmentalists, journalists and emergency doctors to visits to refugee camps and centers for unaccompanied child refugees, students from five different Harvard graduate schools had the opportunity to spend three weeks in July 2022 immersed in an inaugural…

FXB Center Issues Statement on Public Health Harms of Prison and Jail Investment

Today, the FXB Center issued a statement on the public health harms of prison and the carceral system. The statement examines the impact of incarceration on individuals and communities, and offers innovative solutions to break long-term cycles of family instability, homelessness, and underemployment, while fostering intergenerational health and wealth building resources. Read the full statement here. View and download the social media infographics:

FXB Health and Human Rights Fellow Submits Testimony in Support of Rent Control

Masschusetts State House in winter with headshot of Dr. Jourdyn Lawrence

Today, FXB Health and Human Rights Fellow Dr. Jourdyn Lawrence submitted written testimony in support of Massachusetts Legislature bills H.1378/S.886 (An Act Enabling Local Options for Tenant Protections) and H.1440/S.889 (An Act Relative to the Stabilization of Rents and Evictions in Towns and Cities Facing Distress in the Housing Market). The bills aim to establish rent control and increase tenant protections. Lawrence, a social epidemiologist, shared recent research and her…

FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University Joins Project N95 and Boston University To Distribute 20,000 Masks to Massachusetts Community Groups Amid Surging COVID-19 Cases

In response to surging COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts, the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights joined national non-profit Project N95 and the Boston University School of Public Health to distribute 20,000 protective masks to high-need areas in the state. The community sites receiving the masks include: La Colaborativa of Chelsea, People Incorporated in Fall River, YWCA Southeastern MA – New Bedford, YMCA Southcoast Swansea – Fall River, SEIU509 and…

New Article Highlights Global Injustices Against Migrant Children

In a new article published in partnership with the University of Oxford, the FXB Center’s Director of Research Prof. Jaqueline Bhabha and FXB Health and Human Rights Fellow Dr. Vasileia Digidiki draw attention to global injustices against the best interests of migrant children. In their original post, the co-authors state: In today’s world, “migration” and “global justice” rarely go hand in hand. Though the COVID 19 pandemic temporarily equalized access…

New Study Examines Variation in COVID-19 Mortality in the US by Race and Ethnicity and Educational Attainment

In a recently released study in JAMA Network Open, Dr. Mary T. Bassett and Dr. Justin Feldman examine “Variation in COVID-19 Mortality in the US by Race and Ethnicity and Educational Attainment.” In the cross-sectional study of 219.1 million adults aged 25 years or older, most racial and ethnic minority populations had higher age-adjusted mortality rates than non-Hispanic White populations, including when comparing within levels of educational attainment. If all…

FXB Health and Human Rights Fellow Joins Coalition to End Racism in Clinical Algorithms

Marie Plaisime Headshot

Dr. Marie Plaisime is among 12 members of the newly-formed Coalition to End Racism in Clinical Algorithms. Read the original press release from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: The Health Department today announced the formation of the Coalition to End Racism in Clinical Algorithms (CERCA). Flowing from the Board of Health’s landmark resolution declaring racism a public health crisis, CERCA was formed to end the inclusion of…

FXB Center Doctoral Student Cohort Member Submits Testimony in Support of Ending Solitary Confinement

Photo of Jasmine Graves and Massachusetts State House

Today, FXB Center for Health and Human Rights doctoral cohort member Jasmine D. Graves submitted written testimony in support of Massachusetts Legislature bills S.1578 and H.2504, which would provide criminal justice reform protections to all prisoners in segregated confinement in Massachusetts. Graves, a public health researcher and social impact strategist, shared her expertise and research on harms of segregated and restrictive housing in correctional settings. Read her submitted testimony: Dear…

FXB Center Health and Human Rights Fellow Submits Testimony to Boston City Council

Today, FXB Health and Human Rights Fellow Dr. Jourdyn Lawrence submitted written testimony to the Boston City Council Committee on Civil Rights in support of Docket #0734: Order for a Hearing Regarding Reparations and Their Impact on the Civil Rights of Black Bostonians. In her testimony, Dr. Lawrence shared her expertise and research on reparations and racial inequities. Read her submitted testimony: Dear Members of the Boston City Council Committee…

FXB Center Health and Human Rights Fellow Testifies Before Massachusetts Racial Inequities in Maternal Health Commission

Today, FXB Health and Human Rights Fellow Dr. Brittney Butler testified before the Massachusetts Legislature’s Racial Inequities in Maternal Health Commission. The hearing was a listening session on maternal health efforts and experiences in the Metro West and Central Massachusetts regions. In her testimony, Dr. Butler shared her expertise and research on maternal mortality and morbidity. Read her remarks as prepared for delivery: Dear Members of the Racial Inequities in Maternal…

FXB Center Director to Serve As New York State Health Commissioner; Dr. Natalia Linos Named Acting Director

Headshots of Dr. Mary T. Bassett and Dr. Natalia Linos

Today, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul appointed FXB Center for Health and Human Rights Director Dr. Mary T. Bassett as Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health. Dr. Bassett joined the FXB Center in 2018, following four years of service as New York City’s health commissioner. During her time at the FXB Center, Dr. Bassett strengthened the Center’s focus on structural racism both domestically and abroad, including…

FXB Center Announces New Initiative For Racial Justice

The FXB Center today announced a new fellowship program for racial justice in partnership with the JPB Foundation, featuring five new fellows with diverse backgrounds in health and human rights. The announcement came during the virtual symposium “Anti-Racism in Public Health Policies, Practice and Research,” hosted by the FXB Center to launch its new racial justice initiative, which includes research and a series of conversations on racism as a determinant…

Commentary: It’s Time For Boston To Pay Reparations

In recognition of Juneteenth, FXB Center Research Associate Matlin Gilman and FXB Center Director Dr. Mary T. Bassett co-authored an opinion piece highlighting the need for the City of Boston to provide reparations to Black Boston residents. In a commentary published today in Cognoscenti, the authors write: “As we celebrate, we also commit ourselves to an ongoing racial reckoning, a reckoning that must include reparations for nearly 250 years of…

Harvard Chan Perspectives: Why a national ban on menthol cigarettes is the right choice

Photo of cigarette butts in ashtray

Following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recent announcement that it will take steps to ban menthol cigarettes, FXB Center Director Dr. Mary T. Bassett was interviewed for a Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health article. In the article, Bassett — a former smoker herself — describes how the tobacco industry intentionally marketed menthol cigarettes to the Black community, resulting in 45,000 deaths a year. Bassett shared her…

Statement from FXB Center Director Dr. Mary T. Bassett About Derek Chauvin Verdict

[The following solely represents Dr. Bassett’s views and does not necessarily represent the views of the institution.] BOSTON, MA – In response to former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin being found guilty of murdering George Floyd, FXB Center Director Dr. Mary T. Bassett issued the following statement: “Today’s verdict is an important step for individual accountability and justice. But we are not going to end police violence in court rooms,…

Press Release: New Report Examines Challenges of Migrants In West And Central Africa; Identifies Solutions To Protect Migrants

Screenshot of report cover image

BOSTON, MA – The François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University (FXB Center) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) today released “See Migration Like Water: An Analysis of IOM Flow Monitoring Survey Data on Migration Flows in West and Central Africa,” a detailed analysis of migration flows and migrant vulnerability on routes within and from West and Central Africa. The West and Central Africa region…

FXB Center Statement on International Roma Day U.S. House and Senate Resolutions

Graphic recognizing the 50th anniversary for the World Roma Congress

BOSTON, MA – On March 18, 2021, resolutions to celebrate the heritage of Romani Americans were introduced in the House and Senate. The Roma Program at the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights welcomes this initiative, which represents a symbol of hope in the recognition of the history, realities, and rights of often marginalized Romani Americans and other Roma people across the world. We are grateful for the tremendous efforts of…

ACLU: 50 Years Into the War on Drugs, Biden-Harris Can Fix the Harm It Created

Image with following text "The need for an equitable and structural response to the overdose crisis is more urgent and critical than ever"

Note: This blog first appeared on the ACLU website on January 6, 2021. The blog mentions From the War on Drugs to Harm Reduction: Imagining A Just Overdose Crisis Response, a new report from the FXB Center, Open Society Foundations and Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. By Udi Ofer, Director, Justice Division, ACLU An earlier version of this blog appeared in The Hill. This year marks 50 years since President Richard…

Press Release: National Public Health Experts Urge Biden-Harris Transition Team to End War on Drugs and Lead Coordinated Public Health Response to the Opioid Overdose Crisis

The François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University today urged the Biden-Harris transition team to implement drug policy reforms to curb overdose deaths and address long-standing harms stemming from the multigenerational “War on Drugs” campaign. In collaboration with the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and Open Society Foundations, the FXB Center sent the Biden-Harris transition team a new report, titled From the War on Drugs to…

Let’s Recover Better By Standing for Human Rights

Human Rights Day is an opportunity to reaffirm the importance of human rights in re-building the world we want, the need for global solidarity as well as our interconnectedness and shared humanity. Commemorated annually by the United Nations, this year’s Human Rights Day theme relates to the COVID-19 pandemic and focuses on the need to build back better by ensuring human rights are central to recovery efforts, tackling entrenched, systematic…

New Study on Romani American Experience Shines Light on Persistent Inequities and Discrimination

Report infographic

The François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University today released a new study that draws attention to the inequities the Roma diaspora faces in the United States. Published in collaboration with the advocacy nonprofit Voice of Roma, the study, titled Romani Realities in the United States: Breaking the Silence, Challenging the Stereotypes, includes insight from 363 questionnaires with Romani Americans, touching on socioeconomic conditions, stigma, discrimination,…

New Essay Draws Important Parallels Between Public Health and Atrocity Prevention, Systems Designed to Protect From Harm

Cover of Politorbis magazine, #68, issue on Preventing Atrocities

FXB Center for Health and Human Rights Senior Fellow and Harvard T.H. Chan Professor Jennifer Leaning recently compared approaches to prevention and early warning in public health to those for mass atrocity.  Her essay, “Prevention in Public Health and Atrocity:  A Comparative Approach to Early Warning for Early Action,” appears in the latest issue of Politorbis, an official publication of the Swiss Foreign Ministry. As Leaning posits, “An understanding of…

At the Intersection of Human Migration and Climate Change: New Article Puts Out Call to Action

Image of person holding sign that reads, "There is no Planet B"

In a new article published in Current Environmental Health Reports this week, faculty and fellows from the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University examine the complexities at the intersection of human migration and climate change.  As powerfully argued by Drs. Satchit Balsari, Caleb Dresser and Jennifer Leaning in “Climate Change, Migration and Civil Strife,” migration must be anticipated as a certainty, and thereby planned for and supported.…

Study Finds CDC Population Weighting Distorts Racial/Ethnic Inequities in U.S. COVID-19 Deaths

Table. Percentage Distribution by Race/Ethnicity for COVID-19 Deaths, CDC-NCHS–Weighted Population, and US Census Population and Absolute and Relative Differences Using Data as of May 13, 2020 more detail on content in text

A new research letter in JAMA Network Open argues that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) underestimates the excess burden of COVID-19 deaths among Black, Latinx, and Asian communities by comparing the percentage of U.S. COVID-19 deaths by race/ethnicity with a weighted distribution of U.S. racial/ethnic populations rather than with corresponding U.S. Census data—a distortion that has the potential to affect resource allocation. FXB Center for Health…

Mental Health and COVID-19 Focus of Health and Human Rights Journal’s Largest Issue

The June issue of the Health and Human Rights Journal (HHRJ) is especially timely with a special section on mental health and human rights. It was published shortly after the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres urged the international community to do much more to protect all those facing mounting mental health pressures as a result of COVID-19, and the World Health Organization published guidelines for communities to support people experiencing mental distress.…

New Study Calls Attention to Inequities in Police Violence in U.S. Metropolitan Areas

An article, authored by FXB Center Doctoral Student Cohort Members Gabriel L. Schwartz and Jaquelyn L. Jahn, reveals the stark inequities in fatal police violence between Black and White populations in U.S. metropolitan areas. The article, published in PLOS ONE, estimates rates of fatal police violence for every metropolitan area in the country, as well as racial inequities in those rates. The authors analyzed the most recent, complete data—from 2013…

COVID-19 Health Justice Advisory Committee Joint Statement Issues Juneteenth Statement

The following statement was issued by the Poor People’s Campaign COVID-19 Health Justice Advisory Committee on June 19, 2020. FXB Center Director Dr. Mary T. Bassett, Executive Director Natalia Linos and Director of Communications Veronica Lewin serve on the committee. Learn more about the committee here. Watch committee members read the statement here. “The United States is facing an important moment in its history. We have entered the sixth month…

Working Paper, The Unequal Toll of Covid-19 Mortality by Age in the United States: Quantifying Racial/Ethnic Disparities

FXB Center for Health and Human Rights Director Dr. Mary T. Bassett is the lead author of a new working paper exploring racial/ethnic differences in age-specific Covid-19 mortality rates in the U.S. The Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies Working Paper Series published the paper this week. Dr. Bassett collaborated with Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Professor Nancy Krieger and Research Scientist Dr. Jarvis Chen in this…

Harvard University Centers Condemn Recent Police Violence in the United States

The following is a joint statement from the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University,  Hutchins Center for African & African American Research, the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School, the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & Justice at Harvard Law School, and the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics. Note: please see below for a list of additional co-signers. “We…

Study: Structural Racism, Historical Redlining, and Preterm Birth in New York City

A new study published this week in the American Journal of Public Health explores the long-term impact of historical redlining on preterm births in New York City. The study, conducted by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Professor Nancy Krieger, Pamela D. Waterman and FXB Center for Health and Human Rights Director Mary T. Bassett, and NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene epidemiologists, found a higher proportion…

Coordinated and Evidence-Based Easing of Social Distancing Restrictions That Centers Equity and Justice is the Only Way to Save Lives and Protect the Poor During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The following statement was issued by the Poor People’s Campaign Health Justice Advisory Committee on May 3, 2020. FXB Center Director Dr. Mary T. Bassett, Executive Director Natalia Linos and Director of Communications Veronica Lewin serve on the committee. Learn more about the committee here. Point 1: Social distancing measures are working to mitigate the spread of the virus despite the uncoordinated federal response that has led to the current…

Standing Up Against Anti-Romani Racism During A Pandemic

Photo of a Roma camp in Brazil.

By Drs. Aluízio de Azevedo Silva Júnior and Margareta (Magda) Matache Across the world, a violent and disturbing trend of anti-Romani racist acts by the police, policy makers, media, and others is putting Romani families and communities at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are also attacked when we speak out against this injustice. For example, an op-ed addressing anti-Romani racism published by Libertatea, a well-known Romanian newspaper, was swiftly…

Opinion: The Urgent Need to Transfer Vulnerable Migrants from Europe’s Largest Migrant Hotspot

In a recent opinion piece, François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights’ Director of Research Professor Jacqueline Bhabha and Instructor Vasileia Digidiki discuss the current COVID-19 situation in Greece, the migrant hotspot Greek islands, and what the European Union should be doing to address the crisis. In it, the authors write: “Without effective and coordinated action, the pandemic will immobilize the Union’s most precarious and embattled member. This would…

Responding to the Domestic Violence Crisis of COVID-19

Photo of outstretched hands, one with a red dot

By Roshni Chakraborty Worldwide, countries have imposed lockdowns and issued stay-at-home orders to mitigate the community transmission of COVID-19. For many, however, staying at home poses a greater threat to their health than leaving. Activists and governments around the world have reported an alarming spike in domestic violence since social distancing measures were adopted. The United Nations has called for a domestic violence “ceasefire,” raising its concerns about a “horrifying…

New Data Visualization Tool Can Help Officials Assess COVID-19 Vulnerability in Their Communities

The COVID-19 epidemic in the United States is already exposing a disastrous convergence of demographic and socioeconomic inequities that make some communities more vulnerable than others. Hotspots of COVID-19 are emerging in urban cities, from New York City, to Detroit, Milwaukee to New Orleans, and Chicago, with the greatest harm concentrated in neighborhoods that are home to Black and Hispanic populations. While social determinants influencing the impact of COVID-19 on…

FXB Center Leadership Joins Poor People’s Campaign COVID-19 Health Justice Advisory Committee; Calls for Equitable U.S. Response

The following is an April 8, 2020 press release issued by the Poor People’s Campaign. Learn more about the Campaign here. Poor People’s Campaign new advisory committee says prevention efforts, treatment must be equitable The Poor People’s Campaign’s new COVID-19 advisory committee is demanding that hospitals and health departments begin reporting coronavirus cases by poverty and income; race and ethnicity and other relevant demographics including geography to ensure that prevention…

International Roma Day: The History of the FXB Center’s Roma Program

This year marks the eighth anniversary of the Roma Program at Harvard University. Conceived and built by the François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard, the Program has become a leading focal point for Roma scholarship, convening and advocacy in North America and beyond. A key aspect of this, by tradition, is the Roma Program’s annual international conference to mark April 8, International Roma Day. This…

FXB Center Director, More than 80 Public Health and Medicine Experts Call on Governor Baker to Stem the Spread of COVID-19 in Prisons, Jails, and Juvenile Detention Centers

Today, leading public health and medicine experts called on Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker to take immediate action to protect the health of those who live and work in detention facilities. The letter, signed by Dr. Mary T. Bassett, Director of François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University, and more than 80 faculty members from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School,…

Op-Ed: Andrew Cuomo, Stop a Coronavirus Disaster: Release People From Prison

Harvard FXB Director Dr. Mary T. Bassett

In a New York Times op-ed published today, François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights Director Dr. Mary T. Bassett, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez and Ford Foundation President Darren Walker call on New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo to release people from prison to protect both people currently incarcerated and the staff who work in these facilities. In it, the authors write, “Given the conditions in which incarcerated…