PHM-Exch> Food for an honest critical thought

[Claudio Schuftan]

Human Rights Reader 283



*TWO POSSIBLE STYLES OF DEALING WITH THE ISSUE OF THE RIGHT TO HEALTH.*

* *

[The following is a constructive critique I received from Dr Abhay Shukla
in India regarding the contents and the tone of the Human Rights Readers.
The text is verbatim.]



As a general comment on the Readers, I would contrast *two* possible styles
of dealing with the issue of health rights:

a. Taking the human rights (HR) approach as the starting point, deducing
one's arguments mainly from the HR framework, using this as the principal
justification for action, and appealing for an active use of this framework
as the main form of action.

b. Taking people's experience of real life deprivation of basic health care
and unhealthy living conditions as the starting point.

  This may sound like an oversimplification and perhaps 'stereotyping' the
situation, but the Readers seem to me to fall more in category 'a' than 'b'
and seem to rely very heavily, almost exclusively on the HR framework,
rather than referring to it as one useful tool in a broader range of
strategies and forms of struggle.


To access the full Reader, go to

http://wp.me/plAxa-1yv

 Claudio
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