by Rupa Palanki
On September 20, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a landmark lawsuit against the three largest prescription drug benefit managers (PBMs) — Caremark Rx, Express Scripts, and OptumRx — and their affiliated group purchasing organizations. The FTC alleges that these entities engaged in “anticompetitive and unfair rebating practices,” artificially increasing insulin drug
Climate Change and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Africa: The Urgent Need for Intersectional Approaches in Climate Change Policy and Governance
Photo credit: @wambuigichobi | SMA
A Masai woman raises her fist as other women leaders look on at COP 27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt during one of the debriefs by the Women and Gender Constituency.
by Faith Lumonya, Esther Wambui, and Eunice Musiime
As global temperatures rise and the frequency of extreme…
Lula’s environmental foreign policy, the global far-right, and the climate agenda
by Danielle Hanna Rached and Denise Vitale
Donald Trump’s second term in office promises to bring turmoil to the global climate agenda. Against the scientific consensus that fossil fuel is leading the world to a climate breakdown, Trump has managed to impose his opportunistic views on the rest of the world. For the amount of…
The impacts of climate change on the right to health in the United Kingdom
by Rossella De Falco
Climate change is one of the most pressing threats to health in the U.K. While climate change impacts everyone, marginalized groups and those with pre-existing health conditions are suffering the most, leading to greater health inequalities. This article explains how climate change impacts the health of the most marginalized populations…
BPA-free Does Not Mean Bisphenol-free and How Regulators are Grappling to Deal with It
by Jessica Samuels
You’ve likely seen BPA-free plastic water bottles and Tupperware in stores and opted to grab those over similar, non-labeled products. You probably didn’t know, however, that those products likely just contain other bisphenols, like BPS or BPAF, instead. Regulating bisphenols, a class of endocrine disrupting chemicals, has been challenging due to…
Measures for Recreational Marijuana Failed in Three States: a Win for Public Health
by Katherine Drabiak
The Outcome of Recreational Marijuana Ballot Measures
Recreational marijuana was on the ballot in three states — Florida, North Dakota, and South Dakota. None of these three measures passed. Currently, 38 states and Washington D.C. allow medical marijuana, and 24 states and D.C. allow recreational marijuana. Marijuana is still classified as…
A Health Care Betrayal: The Ethical Crisis Surrounding Steward Health and the Demise of Community Hospitals
by Stephen Wood
In an era where health care inequities already burden marginalized populations, the bankruptcy of Steward Health Care culminating in the closure of several hospitals in Massachusetts, represents an unconscionable ethical failure. As these hospitals prepare to shut their doors, the communities they serve — comprising many uninsured, underinsured, and socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals —…
Reinventing South African Trade Unions to Protect the Health of Informal Workers in the Face of Climate Change
by Cecile de Villiers
South Africa is considered the most unequal country in the world, with stagnant economic growth and staggeringly high unemployment. More than five million or 31.2% of workers in South Africa find economic opportunities in the “informal economy,” often because there are fewer barriers (training, skills, regulation) to entering…
Climate Change and Health: Mobilizing Public International Law into Action
This post launches a new Digital Symposium, Climate Change and Health: Mobilizing Public International Law into Action by Guest Editors Thalia Viveros Uehara and Alicia Ely Yamin. Check back for more posts twice a week!
The election of Donald J. Trump, who has called climate change a “hoax” and in his prior administration pulled the…
Assisted Death for Psychiatric Suffering: Approaching Uncertainty with Humility
by Zain Khalid
On May 22 this year, Zoraya Ter Beek, a 29-year-old woman from Netherlands, died by euthanasia on grounds of mental suffering. Zoraya had been diagnosed with chronic depression, borderline personality disorder, and autism and had struggled with self-harm and suicidal thinking for several year. She had tried numerous treatments, including 30…