About

Health and Human Rights began publication in 1994 under the editorship of Jonathan Mann, who was succeeded in 1997 by Sofia Gruskin. Paul Farmer, co-founder of Partners In Health, assumed the editorship in 2007. After more than a decade as a leading forum of debate on global health and rights concerns, Health and Human Rights made a significant new transition to an online, open-access publication in the summer of 2008.

While continuing the journal’s print-only tradition of critical scholarship, Health and Human Rights provides an inclusive forum for action-oriented dialogue among human rights practitioners. The journal endeavors to increase access to human rights knowledge in the health field by linking an expanded community of readers and contributors. Following the lead of a growing number of open access publications, the full text of Health and Human Rights is freely available to anyone with internet access. The journal’s vision for open access availability is the subject of an article in 10.1 by Gavin Yamey, a Senior Editor at PLoS Medicine and member of the Health and Human Rights Editorial Advisory Board, titled "Excluding the poor from accessing biomedical literature: A rights violation that impedes global health."

Health and Human Rights includes “Research” and “Review” articles. The Research section focuses rigorous scholarly analysis on the conceptual foundations and challenges of rights discourse and action in relation to health. The Review section is dedicated to empowering new voices from the field — highlighting the innovative work of groups and individuals in direct engagement with human rights struggles as they relate to health. These two sections seek to foster engaged scholarship and reflective activism. In doing so, they invite informed action by and with communities to realize the full spectrum of human rights.

Health and Human Rights publishes two issues each year in June and December.

The Health and Human Rights website provides additional opportunities for interactive dialogue on pertinent controversial topics and news. A regularly updated “Perspectives” section provides space for contributors to share information and express their views on a broad range of topics, including but not limited to the themes of the journal’s print issues. The HHR blog highlights recent relevant news and includes short opinion pieces from guest bloggers.