Law can be a powerful tool in advancing global health. The Lancet-O’Neill Institute Commission on Global Health and Law describes how public health lawyers and professionals can champion evidence-based laws to ensure public health and safety. The report is structured around four legal determinants, the factors in the fields of law, justice, and governance which influence health and equity: rights-based Universal Health Coverage, good governance standards, fair and evidence-based interventions, and building legal capacity. They are used to determine seven recommendations for policymakers to achieve the advancement of global health and social justice.
The Incubator’s Senior Scholar in Residence, Alicia Ely Yamin, is one of the co-authors of this landmark commission. Professor Yamin is an Adjunct Lecturer on Global Health and Population at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Visiting Professor of Law at the Georgetown University School of Law. She is also the inaugural Senior Fellow in the Global Health and Rights Project (GHRP) at the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School. Professor Yamin is known globally for her scholarship and advocacy in the realm of economic and social rights, the right to health, and sexual and reproductive health rights.