Health and Human Rights

The Rapoport Center has long explored the central question of what role can human rights ideas, laws, and practices play in remedying the massive disparities that exist in health outcomes, access to health care, and differential life expectancy both within and between nations. Through our advocacy and research, we seek to foster conversations that address this central question, and promote a view of health that takes into account the economic, legal, environmental, social, psychological, and political determinants of health.

For the past five years, our primary research focus has been on the political and legal drivers of inequality, including a project on the future of work. At present, we are investigating how the COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating existing economic, racial and occupational vulnerabilities to illness and premature death in a variety of COVID-19 hotspots. We are using our research on health disparities – in collaboration with the Dell medical school – to expand our work on matters of labor precarity through collaborations with colleagues in a wide variety of academic disciplines across campus and at other institutions, as well as with a number of NGOs, to produce case studies that suggest better policies for responding to inequality and COVID-19.

We invite you to explore this page to find out more about our programming, research, advocacy and mentoring in the area of Health and Human Rights.

• The Persistence of Inequality: “Essential” Work and COVID-19
• COVID-19 and Social Justice: Writings by our Affiliates
• More links below.