Background: As the human cost of the global economic crisis becomes apparent the ongoing discussions surrounding the post-2015 global development framework continue at a frenzied pace. Given the scale and scope of increased globalization moving forward in a post-Millennium Development Goals era,...

When we invoked the example of the US National Basketball Association's (NBA's) scheme for redistribution of new talent as a model offering lessons for a possible future global social support system we hoped that we would stimulate debate. Consequently, we are very grateful to Goldblatt and...

If global trade were fair, it is argued, then international aid would be unnecessary and inequalities inherent to the economic system would be justifiable. Here, we argue that while global trade is unfair, in part because richer countries set the rules, we believe that additional interventions...

Preventable and treatable injuries and diseases are overwhelming sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and other impoverished areas of the world. Why are health outcomes among the world’s poor so dire after the first decade of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and despite a...

If the 2010 Canadian Public Health Association conference is a bellwether of mainstream Canadian public and global health practice, its dearth of human rights papers suggests that, outside a small scholarly cohort, human rights remain marginal therein. This potential ‘rights gap’ conflicts...

This paper explores methods of achieving linkage in international law between the human right to health and the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) ). It explores the relevance to this question of international law’s...

Current international trade rules such as the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) may restrict domestic policy options to increase access to affordable medicines. This impact is amplified in bilateral and regional free trade agreements containing...

In his recent commentary, Gorik Ooms argues that “denying that researchers, like all humans, have personal opinions … drives researchers' personal opinion underground, turning global health science into unconscious dogmatism or stealth advocacy, avoiding the crucial debate about the politics...

The fields of human rights and public health ethics are each concerned with promoting health and elucidating norms for action. To date, however, little has been written about the contribution that these two justificatory frameworks can make together. This article explores how a combined approach...

In 2013, after twenty years of debate, an Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights came into operation, enabling the international justiciability of this Covenant’s rights for the first time. Under this mechanism, individuals within ratifying...