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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Alicia Ely Yamin, JD MPH, Director, Research and Investigations, Physicians for Human Rights, 2 Arrow Street, Suite 301, Cambridge, MA 02138, 617-301-4213, ayamin@phrusa.org

Overview The right to health is set out in a number of instruments under international law. Historically, one of the obstacles to the realization of the right to health has been the lack of indicators by which to measure government compliance and chart government progress. Yet it is unclear what a human rights lens adds to health indicators and what the limitations of using indicators for human rights purposes may be. Methods This presentation is based on practical and conceptual work developing and using human rights-based indicators to measure health with local non-governmental organizations in South America, expert working groups at the WHO, collaboration with the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, and an investigation done in conjunction with the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Discussion Significant progress has been made on the development of indicators to measure rights-based aspects of health, including a taxonomy of structural, process and outcome indicators. There is agreement that while a right to health indicator may also be a plain health indicator, its interpretation is aimed at holding duty-bearers to account. Moreover, a rights-based approach to indicators should also related human rights provisions, including non-discrimination and equality. Nevertheless, significant conceptual and practical problems remain in operationalizing the use of a rights-based approach to indicators. These include, measuring the meaningfulness of merely enacting legislation, getting access to data for non-governmental organizations, and assessing both the implications and limitations of data from a human rights perspective as well as a public health perspective.

Learning Objectives:

• -Articulate distinctiveness of a rights-based approach to health indicators
• -Recognize strengths and challenges in using indicators to measure compliance with human rights standards, as opposed to simply advances in public health.

Keywords: Human Rights, Indicators

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation