Understanding the major relationships between the health and human rights in the context of strategies for health and human rights of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and World Health Organization (WHO).

Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to describe the crucial steps that have been made by PAHO and WHO in the area of human rights; and identify the current obstacles in the Americas and PAHO’s strategies for overcoming them. You will also be able to describe the new trends that are strengthening health as a human right in the Americas. Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to define the terms public health, health, and human rights; and understand the relationships between health and human rights. You will also be able to recognize the most critical human rights instruments that promote and protect the right to health and other related human rights; recognize the differences between binding and non-binding human rights instruments; and identify the international guidelines on the limitations of human rights.

Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to describe the fundamental elements of the right to health, identify key articles of UN and OAS treaties that recognize the right to health, define the responsibilities of PAHO Member States and other responsible parties, and describe the different accountability mechanisms at the national and international level. Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to Identify other human rights that are most closely related to the right to health and wellbeing, and that are enshrined in binding instruments.

Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to identify some of the most vulnerable groups in the Americas; understand how UN and OAS human rights instruments protect health and other related human rights in practice; understand why the enjoyment of the right to health is indispensable for the exercise of other human rights; understand why a greater fulfillment of human rights contributes to the enjoyment of health and wellbeing; and become familiar with practical applications for accomplishing the Regional Expected Results on human rights based approaches to health within PAHO’s Secretariat and at national, regional, and global levels in a manner consistent with PAHO strategic plan.

- Become familiar with the rationale of the social determinants of health (SDH) and their potential for designing public policies, taking WHO and PAHO work proposals into consideration; - Identify the principles of social justice, health equity, human rights and their relationship as key values for SDH interventions; - Identify structural and intermediary mechanisms underlying health inequities in population groups and territories, as a basis for public policy actions; - Recognize the need for a comprehensive, intersectoral and participatory approach towards understanding and taking actions on SDH.