Suchergebnisse

Much is being said these days about Universal Health Coverage (UHC). The UN Secretary General is persistently asking for ways programs, such as UHC, to operationalize the human rights framework in all domains of development. Mostly, this has meant expensive international conferences are now devoted to the discussion and elaboration of UHC. But there is much ambiguity regarding this concept. In its earliest conception, UHC was about creating unified, comprehensive, publicly funded healthcare systems. In the current climate – dominated by neoliberal ideologies – the discussion is focused on offering patients "choices." Having choices is important, but the choices offered to patients occur in a particular political and economic environment and they are not politically neutral. The powers-that-be have exploited the ambiguities surrounding the term "UHC." Instead of promoting a unified, comprehensive public system, the focus is on creating a healthcare market driven by (mainly) private insurance companies. Such markets commodify health and are an anathema to those of us who see health as a human right. (Turiano and Smith 2008)

What drives public health professionals in their daily work? Presumably it is the appeal of working, either locally or globally, to alleviate the suffering caused by (preventable) ill-health. This article explores the political awareness of health professionals, the political implications of their daily activities and suggests an enhanced role for them in the battle against preventable ill-health worldwide. The starting point for this article is the motivating principles behind these professionals as individuals. It challenges established paradigms in health, medicine, development and academia with a focus on health professionals' political, ethical and ideological motivations and awareness plus the implications of their actions in the realm of global health in the future. It further has implications for the everyday practice of health care providers, public health practitioners, epidemiologists and social scientists in academia.

AbstractAs is long overdue, this paper attempts to expose "health development" professionals to the Human Rights discourse in the health sector. This paper is presented as an advocacy piece for an alternative to the existing "Health Sector Reform" (HSR). HSR is primarily advocated by the World Bank and is influencing World Health Organization (WHO) policy (WHO 2000). Literature concerning the contrasting of these two approaches to health is scarce. Consequently, for many readers, this paper will mark their first exposure to the human rights-based approach to work in health; for others, it will reinforce and refresh some of their already known key concepts.