John Harrington and Maria Stuttaford (eds). Global Health and Human Rights: Legal and Philosophical Perspectives * John Tobin. The Right to Health in International Law

Abstract

Two recent publications present a defence of the right to as it is articulated in international law and also provide insights into the array of impediments to realizing the right. Despite a perceived conceptual lack of coherence and a limited appreciation of its relevance among care professionals identified in these two books, the right to has nevertheless succeeded in capturing greater attention in global policy circles. Local care system reform initiatives around the globe increasingly make reference to the right to health. Both books are particularly helpful additions to the literature in light of recent advances in the of the right. Yet, each offers a very different assessment of its present status and prognosis for its future development. John Harrington and Maria Stuttaford's edited volume brings together a variety of internationally renowned scholars of law, philosophy, and policy to offer an interdisciplinary exploration of the development of rights-based approaches to health (at i). John Tobin's book also draws from a range of different disciplines and offers a truly outstanding and comprehensive examination of the right. From the history of its inclusion in the corpus of international law, to its conceptual foundations and substantive content, to measures required to secure it, Tobin's text on the right to could well be the most helpful to date. It provides an accessible overview to readers interested in understanding obligations arising from the right to under international law and impediments to implementation. A central organizing claim of the Harrington and Stuttaford volume is that the right to health, previously relegated to a secondary status in the hierarchy of human rights, now enjoys an elevated status as policy makers and practioners increasingly realize that approaching problems in care delivery systems and public �