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Author Archives: Drew Aiken

10.29.18

UN Human Rights Committee: Denying Undocumented Migrants Access to Essential Health Services Violates the Right to Life

By Drew Aiken

Recently the United Nations Human Rights Committee made an important ruling, finding that the Canadian government violated the rights of an undocumented immigrant for denying her access to essential health care. The Committee recommended that the government review its legislation to ensure that undocumented migrants have access to essential health services as well as the […]

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09.27.18

The UN High-Level Meeting on TB: An Opportunity for States to Implement Rights-Based Approaches to TB?

By Drew Aiken

Yesterday was the first-ever UN High Level Meeting on Tuberculosis. After much build-up, advocacy, and negotiation throughout the last year, the Political Declaration includes some critical commitments to scale up access to diagnosis and medicines, including by reaffirming the TRIPS Agreement and the Doha Declaration (para 19) and committing to providing diagnosis and treatment to […]

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Thematic Areas: Global Health Policy & Politics Health & Human Rights Infectious Diseases

08.21.18

Changes in WHO MDR-TB Treatment Guidelines Promote a Human Rights-Based Approach to TB

By Drew Aiken

  Last week WHO issued key changes to treatment guidelines for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) which implement a new priority ranking of available medicines and now include a fully oral regimen as one preferred option for MDR-TB treatment. The new ranking balances effectiveness and harms and prioritizes oral regimens over injection-based regimens. There is a significant […]

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07.27.18

Progress Towards Addressing Health Challenges and Inequity in Namibia

By Drew Aiken

  Last week, the Namibian Ministry of Health and Social Services launched the 2018-2022 National Strategic Plan and held the inaugural National Health Assembly. The National Health Assembly is a forum to discuss health issues and challenges in the country, including the development of the UHC framework which is presently underway. National Health Assemblies have […]

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06.26.18

The Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health Calls for a Rights-Based Approach to Tuberculosis

By Drew Aiken

  In the lead up to the United Nations High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis to take place in September, on June 18th the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health released an open letter emphasizing that states must commit to a rights-based approach to tuberculosis. The letter highlights that current levels of progress levels fail to […]

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05.28.18

Inequality in Namibia: Decreasing but Still Significant

By Drew Aiken

Namibia is an upper middle-income country where prosperity is not shared by everyone; pervasive inequality persists in Namibia and only a small proportion of people in Namibia live under conditions of an upper-middle income country. Having lived under apartheid until independence in 1990, significant disparity in health, wealth and in many other facets of life […]

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05.09.18

The Mental Health Implications of Gender Discrimination in the Workplace

By Drew Aiken

  image: the Chronicle To anyone who has experienced gender or other forms of discrimination, in the workplace or outside, it is likely unsurprising that pay disparity—one of the clearest markers of discrimination –is linked with anxiety and depression. In addition to pay discrimination on the basis of gender, other manifestations of workplace discrimination include […]

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04.16.18

Legal Barriers, Stigma and Discrimination Drive TB Among Migrants

By Drew Aiken

.   Image: radiocampuslorraine.com   Globally, the number of international migrants continues to increase. Yet, gaping health barriers continue to impede the realization of their right to health and undermine efforts in the fight against TB. In 2017 there were 258 million international migrants, an increase of 49% since 2000.[1] Migrants face many barriers accessing health services, […]

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03.23.18

A Rights-Based Approach Is Required to End TB by 2030

By Drew Aiken

Photo: Hindustan Times Tomorrow is World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, which commemorates March 24, 1882, when Dr. Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the cause of TB, mycobacterium tuberculosis. Today, TB is preventable, treatable and curable. Yet in 2016 there were 10.4 million new TB cases and 1.7 million deaths—a higher number of deaths than […]

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02.26.18

Post-Nasser: An Opportunity to Change the Culture of Rape Impunity in Michigan?

By Drew Aiken

 photo: BCGavel.com Like so many Michigan State University alumni, I was sickened to hear the details of the Larry Nasser case and the role the university played in impunity for so many appalling crimes against girls and young women—there are allegations of assault against 260 victims.[1] The crisis of sexual assault on campuses and more […]

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