[e-drug] Can human rights serve as a tool for equality? Work in progress

[richardl@bu.edu]

E-drug: Can human rights serve as a tool for equality? Work in progress
---------------------------------------------

E-Druggers may be interested in this posting. The issues around human
rights to health and essential drugs have been discussed before. This study
will look more broadly at these issues. The researchers are seeking
suggestions or comments about their work,

Richard Laing
richardl@bu.edu

EQUINET SECRETARIAT BRIEFING, FEBRUARY 2003
Leslie  London, University of Cape Town

CAN HUMAN RIGHTS SERVE AS A TOOL FOR EQUITY? WORK IN PROGRESS

Building on its past work on health rights (See Klugman and Kgosidintsi,
EQUINET policy series number 5) EQUINET has commissioned a research
paper exploring the relationship between human rights and equity in its
continuing work in this area. The paper will addresses the question as
to whether human rights can serve as a tool for equity in health. This
summary outlines the rationale and methods for the research and the case
studies, to solicit feedback from EQUINET members.

  **************************************************
  If you have ideas, useful resources or approaches, or want to get
  involved in this work please contact Leslie London at
  ll@cormack.uct.ac.za
**************************************************

  WHY HUMAN RIGHTS AND EQUITY?

Few people dispute the value of human rights in promoting human
well-being, but there has been some questioning of human rights
approaches to public health problems. Are human rights about individual
entitlements,  negatively impacting on resources allocation processes,
favouring individuals over the welfare of the community, or favouring
certain  individuals, or groups of individuals to the detriment of
equity? Or do  they enable the expression of social and economic rights
at community  level that help to promote  equitable public policy?

These issues raise questions about the role and approaches to rights
based work in promoting equity, such as
  * Can human rights approaches support public health approaches and
  health service interventions needed to support equity?
  * How does incorporating a human rights agenda in health systems
  strengthen the relationship between citizens and the state in ways
that  promote participation, social justice  and equity in health?
  * Can human rights approaches help to meet equity objectives by
  facilitating an active role for stakeholders in contestation over
  resources, particularly in ways that are pro-poor and that level
  resources for health from outside the health sector?
  * Do rights approaches help citizens and states confront the impacts of
globalization?

HOW DO WE PROPOSE TO ADDRESS THESE QUESTIONS?

To take a more practical approach to these questions, this work will
explore the experiences,. Perspectives and lessons from case studies
from southern Africa.  Three case study areas of rights work in southern
Africa have been identified, and some other options listed:

1. TREATMENT ACCESS FOR HIV/AIDS: This case study illustrates numerous
aspects relevant to equity and human rights, as well as providing an
example of a strong civil society mobilisation. It raises legal and
advocacy approaches to rights; it touches directly on equity in
resource-poor environments; it raises health system concerns; the
material is easily available; treatment access claims that are
prominent in South Africa are increasingly taking  a regional and
pan-African flavour.

2. PATIENT RIGHTS: Patients' Rights Charters (used in South Africa,
Zimbabwe and Malawi) have been used in the region and internationally
for  promoting the right to health care; it is a consumerist approach to
improving quality of health services; it directly addresses health as  a
socio-economic right; it may or may not be linked to mobilising
strategies; the limitations of Charters may be as important as any
successes; in the implementation of the Charter, the role of public
participation is critical.

3. CIVIC COALITIONS FOR HEALTH: How do civic coalitions like the
Community Working Group on Health (Zimbabwe) and others such as in South
Africa and Malawi relate to and use a rights approach; influence State
Policy,  particularly pro-poor choices; leverage over resources outside
the  health sector, etc. Perhaps comparisons can be made to other
developing country examples (e.g. in Brazil)

The above three will form the core three case studies in the research.
  *************************************************
The project welcomes suggestions of other rights based examples and case
studies from the SADC region. Let us know your suggestions or examples
of where rights issues have been used to support (or conflict with)
equity oriented policies.
**************************************************

Other areas that have been proposed for case studies are:

i. How do land reform, food security and rural people's movements
intersect with health equity?

ii. What challenges does notification for HIV pose to Human Rights and
health equity issues in the SADC region?

iii. What lessons does Malaria control tell about community rights to
scientific progress and technology, and to participation, and to
decision making over resource trade offs against other disease
priorities?

iv. What is the role of organized labour in driving health equity
through a rights perspective ands how does this relate to the agenda of
trade unions in the SADC region?

THE PROPOSED WORK PROGRAMME

The project will review literature on the case studies and, where
possible, conduct interviews with key personnel from civic
organizations, government officials and other agencies involved making
use of email  interaction and selected visits. This will be used to
develop a discussion document that  analyses the case studies in terms
of the experience and lessons they  provide for potentials and
constraints to the use of a rights agenda for  equity, and the issues
arising from this. The draft discussion document  will be finalized in
June 2003 and presented to a regional meeting in  July/August 2003
involving organizations involved in rights based work  (public health
planners, policy-makers and officials, researchers,  activists,
participants from organisations of civil society and other
stakeholders) to obtain feedback, discuss the issues arising, draw
conclusions on promising practices and  identify areas for follow up
work.

The meeting will be used to finalise the discussion document in August.
It is anticipated that this meeting will make important input to a
longer term programme of work in EQUINET that aims to strengthen the
understanding,  analysis of and skills for health rights work in the
region towards improved health equity.

************************************************
For any comments or queries on this project or any other aspect of
EQUINET's work, or for requests for information on EQUINET please
contact the EQUINET co-ordinator at admin@equinetafrica.org

EQUINET-Newsletter is hosted on Kabissa - Space for change in Africa
To post, write to: EQUINET-Newsletter@equinetafrica.org
Website:
http://www.lists.kabissa.org/mailman/listinfo/equinet-newsletter
--
To send a message to E-Drug, write to: e-drug@usa.healthnet.org
To subscribe or unsubscribe, write to: majordomo@usa.healthnet.org
in the body of the message type: subscribe e-drug OR unsubscribe e-drug
To contact a person, send a message to: e-drug-help@usa.healthnet.org
Information and archives: http://www.essentialdrugs.org/edrug