Right to water, co-morbidities, and social determinants of health

Enforcing a human right to water invariably implicates ethical, legal, medical, public health, and other social considerations. Rather than argue for, or against, the abstraction of water as a human right in human rights legisprudence, we employ an iterative approach to identify the challenges for implementation based on the context of an inextricable linkage between (un)clean water, co-morbidities and social determinants of health among vulnerable and at-risk populations.

Our presentation describes the public health challenges posed by the relationship between water, and co-morbidities and social determinants of health among vulnerable and at-risk populations. Migration also implicates public health considerations. Whether individuals migrate for recreation, employment, or in response to a humanitarian crisis, the societal context determines how a right to water may be measured and assessed. Invoking the right to water can be utilized as both a prescriptive and assessment tool to prevent and protect population health. Invoking the right can be used prescriptively to craft laws, policies, guidelines, and best practices to assure the conditions for populations to available themselves of an adequate supply, and access to, clean water. As an assessment tool, a determination of whether such conditions have been assured may be objectively measured and, if a violation is found, victims may avail themselves of legal recourse. Case-studies of co-morbidities, such as disease (HIV/AIDS), or social determinants, such as gender, socioeconomic status, and education, illustrate how a right to water affects, and is affected by, the population in question.