African governments are falling far short in their commitments to prioritize public spending on health care, contributing to widespread inequalities in healthcare access and outcomes, Human Rights Watch and the Kampala-based Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (ISER) said today.

Muhammad Boota, a domestic worker in Lahore, requires an insulin injection every 10 days to help manage his diabetes. But just one of these injections costs about one-third of his meagre monthly salary.

Last month, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights found the Peruvian government responsible for violating the right to a healthy environment, among other rights, of residents of La Oroya, a town exposed to toxic pollution from a mine and smelter complex, the first ruling of its kind before the Court.

New data from the World Health Organization shows that many governments around the world did not meet public healthcare spending benchmarks amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The new information indicates possible violations of countries’ obligations to the human right to health.

As the world prepares to celebrate World Health Day on April 7, governments’ failure to invest adequate resources or appropriate budgetary support in public healthcare systems undermines the right to health for many people around the world.

Many adolescent girls and women in Mozambique, who are pregnant or parenting, drop out of school because they face huge barriers and get inadequate support from schools at one of the most vulnerable times in their lives.

The sharp reduction in foreign assistance for Afghanistan’s public health system, alongside the Taliban’s serious abuses against women and girls have jeopardized the right to health for millions of Afghans.

Cervical cancer should be almost nonexistent, as it's one of the most treatable and preventable cancers. However, women in the United States are still dying at alarming rates.

Human Rights Watch’s Executive Director Tirana Hassan discusses how the organization – which has been defending human rights since 1978 – operates in times of armed conflict and how teams of people specializing in research, communications, and advocacy work together to compel world leaders to protect civilians and push for justice.

Karim, who lives in the Gaza Strip, has Type 1 diabetes; his body does not produce enough insulin, which regulates blood sugar. His medical insulin may run out next week and without it, he risks potentially life-threatening complications.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva should veto a bill set to weaken regulations on the import and registration of pesticides in Brazil, Human Rights Watch said today. Bill 1459/2022, passed by the Senate in a rushed procedure on November 28, 2023, presents a serious threat to the environment and the right to health.

The explosion that killed and injured many civilians at al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza on October 17, 2023, resulted from an apparent rocket-propelled munition, such as those commonly used by Palestinian armed groups, that hit the hospital grounds, Human Rights Watch said today. While misfires are frequent, further investigation is needed to determine who launched the apparent rocket and whether the laws of war were violated.

Migrant workers in the United Arab Emirates are exposed to escalating climate risks, especially working in extreme heat without adequate protections, that can cause chronic harms to their health.

After more than a month of the Israeli government’s unlawful blockade of Gaza, which has included catastrophic cuts to water, fuel, and electricity, the lack of clean water is resulting in “grave concerns.”

The Israeli military’s repeated, apparently unlawful attacks on medical facilities, personnel and transport are further destroying the Gaza Strip’s healthcare system and should be investigated as war crimes.