Implementing the right to health

12 Sep 2018 04:23 PM

Today, our Director of Strategy, Cath Denholm, will share learning from our work on the right to health at Public Health England’s annual conference. Delegates will hear why we think the Right to Health agenda and the public health agendas to reduce health inequalities and improve health are naturally compatible; and; why we believe a Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) adds weight and (potential) legality to our inequalities focus.

Cath Denholm, Director of Strategy at NHS Health Scotland said:

“We support public health policy, strategy and practice being explicit about the Right to Health because, in its coverage of the Right to Health and other rights such as Right to an Adequate Standard of Living and Right to Adequate Housing, the 1948 UN Declaration of Economic Cultural and Social Rights (ECSR), provides a natural, international framework for the work we do. The Right to Health and taking a HRBA have been an explicit part of our strategy since 2017.

“Having critical friends and strong partnerships, including in the third sector, to help in our efforts on human rights has been hugely beneficial to us. That’s why we’re delighted to be able to share our learning with public health colleagues across the UK. I look forward to hearing their thoughts and ideas on how we can use this approach further to create the fairer healthier society we all want.”

For more information on the right to health, visit our Right to Health webpages

We have also produced a paper on implementing the right to health specifically for the conference.

Read the paper on implementing the right to health