Advanced Introduction to the Right to Health

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world’s leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas.

This Advanced Introduction provides an accessible overview of the right to health, exploring its meaning, significance and practical applications in contemporary real-world contexts.

Lawrence Gostin, Lisa Forman and Andrés Constantin investigate how the right to health shapes laws, policies and practices across diverse topics, including reproductive rights, the environment, digital health, infectious diseases and humanitarian crises. Chapters cover the key concepts, challenges and opportunities in these distinct areas, highlighting how human rights can drive fairer and more effective health systems. They shed light on the foundations, history and evolution of the field, as well as the notion of accountability as a core human rights principle.

Key Features:

• Explores major UN human rights treaties and mechanisms
• Evaluates cutting-edge health technologies, from artificial intelligence to digital health
• Examines global action regarding both communicable and non-communicable diseases

The Advanced Introduction to the Right to Health is an essential resource for scholars and students of human rights, public and global health law. Containing actionable advice and policy implications, it is also highly relevant to legal professionals, health practitioners and policymakers in the same fields.

Lawrence O. Gostin, Distinguished University Professor and Director, WHO Collaborating Center on Global Health Law, Georgetown University, Andrés Constantin, Scholar, O’Neill Institute, Georgetown University, USA and Lisa Forman, Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Jackman Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, Canada