May 12th – 16th, 2025 INF 365, Heidelberg Institute of Global Health

Content Overview

This course conveys general concepts, and principles of human rights approaches within the health sector to “leave no one behind”, a concept that has become more challenging to realize in times of uncertain global health financing. The course combines theoretical knowledge with practical application through case studies and examples by health experts and health advocates. 

Course participants will gain a deeper understanding of human rights and the right to health, Global Health and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the WHO pandemic agreement and intellectual property rights in the context of access to medicines. The right to health will be discussed in the field of gender, access to essential drugs and services, disability, migration, drug use and detention through expert inputs, country case studies and exchanges with affected people; a visit to a local refugee centre in order to gain practical insights into the right to health for refugees is also part of the course.

Course Topics

• Human Rights, Global Health, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 
• Access to Medicines, Intellectual Property Rights, and the Right to Health 
• Health Policy and Practise: 
  • Country examples 
  • The right to health applied in special fields (Health in remote areas/crisis situations, Disability, Mental Health/Illness, Drug Use, Detention) 
• WHO Pandemic Treaty

Learning Objectives

By the end of the Course participants should be able to:

• Critically appraise the importance of the rights based approach in achieving the promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to “leave no one behind,” focusing on health related SDGs.
• Debate key international, national and regional mechanisms designed to protect and promote human rights within the health sector.
• Design strategies to advocate for and monitor the application of human rights principles in the health sector to achieve health related SDGs.

Inputs by:

• Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Heidelberg UniversityDr. Astrid Berner-Rodoreda, Maureen McGowan, apl. Prof. Volker Winkler
• Health Equity Studies and Migration, Department of General Practice and Health Services Research, Heidelberg University  Dr. Rosa Jahn
• The Global Fund, Geneva Dr. Vuyiseka Dubula
• Medicines Patent Pool Foundation, Geneva Esteban Burrone
• Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, Frankfurt Prof. Heino Stöver
• Institute for History and Ethics of Medicine, Heidelberg UniversityDr. Nadia Primc