35. The political economy of malnutrition
February blog Claudio Schuftan En route to Kinshasa. Consulting work is catching up with me once again. This time I will spend a week in Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo)…
36. A new vision for WHO
March blog Claudio Schuftan Here is a picture of my dear friend and colleague Dr Ravi Narayan of the Centre for Public Health and Equity, Bangalore. Beginning in 2003, he…
37. Malnutrition and technical fixes
February blog Claudio Schuftan This month I remember the colleagues who coined the term ‘commerciogenic malnutrition’: Derrick Jelliffe and his wife Patrice (left and centre in the picture above). Derrick…
38. Equity in an inequitable world
February blog Claudio Schuftan Ho Chi Minh City. Two new years are now behind us: the Western and the Chinese, both of which we celebrate here in Vietnam. These traditionally…
179 WHY HAS THERE BEEN NO WIDER PUBLIC DEBATE ON HUMAN RIGHTS?
1. The more well-known human rights, like the freedom of speech or the freedom of assembly protect individuals from assault by the state. Economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR), on…
178 OF CLAIM HOLDERS, DUTY BEARERS AND AGENTS OF ACCOUNTABILITY.
Human rights are indeed a very powerful framework for bringing change to the unequal power structures and relationships that perpetuate poverty and its accompanying HR violations provided the proper accountability…
177 IN SOME CASES, THE HUMAN RIGHTS DISCOURSE IS RELIGION-SKEPTIC.
Nobody can abuse, neglect, violate or infringe on the rights and liberties of people with impunity any longer. And if anybody does so, we will hold them accountable and responsible…
176 THE HUMAN RIGHTS DISCOURSE IS ALSO MDGs-SKEPTIC.
-Real life is more complex than MDG slogans; even if we get there by 2015, we will have achieved nothing more than isolated islands of progress in a sea of…
175 THE HUMAN RIGHTS DISCOURSE IS GLOBALIZATION-SKEPTIC AND IFIs*-SKEPTIC. (*: International Financial Institutions)
1. In and through the process of Globalization, ‘what-people-allegedly-want’ is being manipulated by using the lure of consumerism –and that ends-up playing against human rights principles. Period. 2. In the…
174 GENDER EQUALITY IS NOT JUST A WOMEN’S ISSUE, BUT A DEVELOPMENT AND A HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUE.
In many poor countries, gender equality and women’s rights are considered a mere whim of rich countries or, worse, an expression of Western decadence. (H. Dembowski) A quick introductory glimpse…