First principles of health justice: a human right to be healthy | Sridhar Venkatapuram | TEDxLSHTM
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 พ.ย. 2015
- Sridhar Venkatapuram argues that every human being has a human right to the capability to be healthy. In this talk, he takes us through the first principles required for health to be a human right: a shift to thinking about health as a capability and a recognition that health and health inequalities are questions of social justice.
Sridhar Venkatapuram has been at the forefront of health ethics and global health for over twenty years. His research and expertise is in global/public health, social epidemiology, human rights, ethics and philosophy. He aims to bridge normative reasoning, particularly about social justice, with relevant natural and social sciences related to human health. He has academic training in a range of disciplines including international relations, public health, sociology and political philosophy. His doctoral dissertation making the argument for a moral/human right to ‘the capability to be healthy’ was supervised by Melissa Lane, and examined and passed without corrections by Amartya Sen, Nobel prize winning economist and philosopher. It formed the basis of his first book titled Health Justice: An argument from the capabilities approach which has been described as a landmark achievement. He is currently writing a book on the modern history and current issues of global health ethics.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx
OMG, this man is brilliant! Changing the environment so people have the ability to be healthy! This is realistic and clear, and he speaks so eloquently!
This so far and undoubtedly the best talk I have listened to. I could not be more supportive of the arguments you present. This world need more people like you. A massive 👏 from me.
This is a very impactful talk about the philosophy that underscores medical ethics. He talks about education as a means for spreading the right to health rather than only imagining distribution of healthcare resources as physical items or personnel. The example he uses is of the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis, which is an eloquent illustration of a time when we realized that one of the best ways to help people achieve health or avoid getting sick was not to get them all into a hospital, but to spread education in a supportive manner. As he says, health is so much more than just the acquisition of things. This is an especially important topic in the modern United States where the ethical pillar of justice is seemingly becoming more and more lost as the cost of healthcare increases and becomes more inaccessible. I have always respected the philosophy that physician should be social advocates for policies that will help their patients, but this perspective also teaches us that part of this advocacy must be spreading awareness so that more people are able to help themselves and each other. As he says in this talk, it is a human right to be healthy, and the right to life is in the US Constitution. And while the actual distribution of health unfortunately does come down to money and business, education is a weapon that we have at our disposal to attempt to achieve justice. We may not have control over where a hospital is or who can afford to use it, but we are in control of the environments we create and the information that we share in order to allow others to make their own choices about their health.
What an outstanding contribution, not just to the ethics of health, but to the whole field of moral philosophy and the problems of making practical and concrete ethical and resources judgements. Simply outstanding. Thank you.
This is an excellent context with illustrations for Health Care for All on our world.
In this TEDx talk, Sridhar gives a great case about why everyone deserves healthcare. He explains that it is appauling that childen in other countries like in India are dying at hight rates due to lack of infrastructure and health care. He expands this discussion to include needing education around health care like providing the knowledge for young women about their reproductive health or young people who need to know the risks of contracting HIV. Health is an inherently individual endeavor that we have to foster ourselves. A huge barrier to this is having the knowledge to do this. However, this knowledge needs to be centered around the situations that these people are finding themselves in. Do these people have access to a grocery store that sells fresh vegetables and fruit. Do the children have the freedom to ride their bike around the neighborhood or go for a walk. Our health literacy has to find solutions for those who have low social determinants of health. This widens the scope of what Justice means. Healthcare is understanding the capabilities of people to implement better habits just as much as it is giving them the information. Justice in healthcare therefore, includes far more than health knowledge but political advocacy for improved public health measures. Its easy to think that people with poor health are lazy and put themselves in these situations without realizing how their environment and our policies have put them in an impossible situation to be healthy. I think as physicians we should first and foremost be concerned with the patients in front of us and giving them the education they need. However this has to include a discussion about their personal living situation, and therefore requires creativity of the physician to find ways they can actually implement change. This seems like a daunting task but if medical schools introduced this way of thinking to their students early I think it would be of service to many people. I think it would also help build rapport and a sense of autonomy for patients. They would feel more understood and invested, if the change their doctor was asking them to make felt doable and realistic. It goes a long way when patients feel understood by their provider. I also believe it would benefit physicians greatly if they fought for justice for their patients politically, in public health spheres, and encouraged autonomy in their private conversations with patients.
Sridhar Venkatapuram makes some very interesting comments in his talk. I found the most interesting was when he mentions it isn’t just about getting ‘things’ to patients/individuals in need. it is rather about getting people more control over their own body and behavior. What I believe he is referring to here is the idea of autonomy. Autonomy is the principle that individuals are given the freedom to choose freely, where they are able. Physicians in healthcare swear an oath to follow four basic ethical principles before they start practicing medicine. One of those is autonomy. Sridhar Venkatapuram alludes to the fact that many times in healthcare we often think of helping as offering more ‘things’ or ‘stuff’. In doing so this idea of autonomy is so often lost. When autonomy is lost so is an environment where patients can thrive. To address healthcare issues, we as people need to go back to the core roots of basic human interaction and relationships. There needs to be an environment that allows for support and nourishment both physically and mentally. It is only then ‘things’ and ‘stuff’ can be offered. As Sridhar puts it, “stuff, staff, space, systems are necessary but not sufficient.” Trust and respect between patients and the healthcare professions needs to be met and prioritized. I would even argue that this autonomy Sridhar talks about can lead to increase creativity and innovation simply because patients are more likely to explore new ideas when they have the freedom to do so.
Loved this talk and really made me think!
At the end, he says “healthcare as an emerging human right is MY idea.” But what about the (I think) 1948 UN universal declaration of human rights in which healthcare is listed (I think) as #25 of 30. (Written, in part, by former First Lady Eleanor Rosevelt?
This man is incredibly beautiful. I found it hard to focus on his words because his skin and his features are just so perfect! He's beautiful on the inside and outside. The camera person zoomed in on his face and you could see how absolutely flawless he is.
Powerful idea!
great!
this man COMPLETELY missed the memo on how you move resources from one place to another.
a human right to be healthy seems great. But we see that we have the human right to eat too much and become obese. We also have the human right to exercise regularly, but many don't, putting their health at risk. We have the human right to drive responsibly, but many don't. We have the human right to take care of children we father, but many don't. I think we need less focus on rights, and as Gandhi pointed out, focus on responsibilities.
@Jazmine Vizcaino People in India are far poorer than those in the US, but they have far less of an obesity problem. Personal responsibility is the cure.
@Jazmine Vizcaino India has broad middle class, and no where near the obesity problem that we have in the US. Casting the obese as victims misses the point of personal responsibility, which is a broad problem in the US, way beyond eating habits. Many obese are quite wealth. Beans and vegetables don't cost that much, but they don't have the convenience of fast food.
So, health is a broad commodity. It ranges from basic check-ups at your PCP to critical care interventions. It includes social interaction, basic needs (food, clothing, shelter). It may include interventions that some classify as elective; gender reassignment surgery, plastic surgery, abortion. Does the family with child who has Stage 4 glioblastoma have a right to demand that the child be put on ECMO at the cost of taxpayers despite the futility of such gesture? Or that 90 year old septic grandma should be intubated and get critical care? To what extent is healthcare a right? You cannot expect Americans to sign on with universal healthcare until you can define what that shall include and what that shall not.
Environment, food availability, health care. We can't have it all - it is unsustainable to expect quality, availability and affordability all at the same time.
There was absolutely no substance to what he said. Everyone wants to bring safety and security in all things to all people. The fact that it hasn’t happened is not because people are “self interested”. Next time try offering solutions.
100%. This is a sob story with no logical reasoning. "People die because of bad luck, and that's unjust. There for it's everyones responsibility to help". Morally, sure that would be nice. But that boils down to nothing of substance. It would be nice if everyone was fed, clothed, sheltered, healthy, and happy. But life is hard, and it's the responsibility of the individual to trudge through. It is moral, to aid others on their journey. Legislating that help is tyranny.
Edit:typo
He did offer a solution, by encouraging folks to look at the problem of healthcare from a philosophical and fundamental perspective, and not so much capitalistic lens.
@@halea41 So his solution is "be more charitable"?
@@halea41 I agree with you. Not everyone can see it though which is a real shame but provides an avenue to address it through possibly education.
Venkatapuram’s work and Ted Talk is rooted in many principles of health justice and he presents a comprehensive framework for understanding and promoting health equity. He emphasizes the importance of human dignity, social justice and human rights. He begins with human dignity in which he recognizes the inherent worth and value of every individual. This principle is supported by kantian ethics which argues that individuals should be treated as ends in themselves rather than as means to an end. The second ethical principle is social justice, demanding fair and equal distribution of resources and opportunities in society. This principle is common in Fawlsian justice which argues that a just society should ensure that the basic rights and freedoms of all individuals are protected and that economic and social inequalities are arranged to benefit the least advantaged. There is a document, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which recognizes the right to health as a basic human right. It was adopted in 1948 by the United Nations General Assembly and states that there is the right of every individual to access healthcare without discrimination and to enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. As we face ongoing challenges related to healthcare access and health disparities, it is crucial that we draw on these ethical principles to guide our actions and policies.
Won’t change much
We know what the solution is right? "We need more stuff." 1 minute in and I know there will be nothing to learn here.
“Healthy Diet”, Is what you need! You don't need more money you need to be responsible and if you volunteer then volunteer.
but what if you don't have access to a "healthy diet"?
People are entitled to healthcare. They are also entitled to pay for it. They are not entitled to other people's tax dollars as their is little benefit to the individual tax payers. If you feed a stray cat...you get more stray cats.
Would you still support your argument if you or your beloved ones couldn't afford healthcare, a safe house, a healthy environment and many other things that wealthy people take for granted as if they were entitled to all of that and whilst others die from starvation, diseases, unhealthy & unsafe living conditions, and more? It is a matter of empathy and sympathy, solidarity, moral justice. Even from a selfish point of view it can be understood: it could be you - then you would want to receive help from the society. I do not believe you would rather suffer because no one wishes that. So from this angle denying this help to other people is as almost being accomplice to their suffering. Just a reflection
Mindless pap.
A human right is something you are allowed to do. It is not forcing others to do something for you. That is the opposite. That is slavery. Free healthcare can never be a human right.
his point was not forcing others to do something? he specifically pointed that out. His point was that it is a human right to have access to being healthy.
@@cayleecastillo173 What is access to being healthy? Health comes naturally or through treating yourself right. Sometimes its just bad genetics or environment that causes problems. Treatment you need is not the responsibility of others. Someone has to pay for it. Someone had to develop that treatment. Someone has to apply and give that treatment. All these people have to pay their bills. They won't do it for free. Healthcare is something you get from others. It can never be a right!
@@curlylarrymoe what is the alternative in your opinion? Let anyone who cannot afford private healthcare suffer and eventually die deprived of all form of dignity? The right to health has been recognised by the Constitution of the World Health Organisation as a fundamental human right because it is intimately connected to the right to live and to our dignity as human beings. Public healthcare is a crucial aspect of realising these rights. And we all pay for it with our taxes and contributions so that if one day we need it we will be able to have access to it without the risk of facing huge expenses totally unaffordable for many.
@@luciazubiagazuloaga5460 The WHO is run by communists that want to enslave you.
@@curlylarrymoe is this your argument to dismiss the defence of my interpretation? The WHO is not only not run by politicians with mainstream programmes and party interestes but it is an organ of the United Nations responsible for promoting and preserving the human right to health. Leaving the WHO aside do you believe slavery is sharing resources with others in order for the community to live well and healthy? Would you rather live with more that you will ever need and in exchange see others suffering from diseases? Slavery has nothing to do with the idea of wealth redistribution in order to fund essential key services such as public healthcare. It has been through governmental and public funding that we now have Covid-19 vaccines widely available so for that matter people who reject public health for all would not want to utilise the services provided by public health but yet they do. I wonder why (sarcastic)?
Jesus Christ is the answer. You would be amazed at what would happen if India prayed to him.
lmao
You mean like the US does? Lmao