Sofia Gruskin, Michael A. Grodin, Groege J. Annas and Stephen P. Marks (Eds.), Perspectives on Health and Human Rights.

Sofia Gruskin, Michael A. Grodin, Groege J. Annas and Stephen P. Marks (Eds.), Perspectives on Health and Human Rights. New York: Routledge, 2005. $95.00 hardcover, $34.95 papercover.

It is only in recent years that the relevance of human rights for social welfare has been systematically examined in the fields of social policy and social work. Because scholars working in these fields have narrowly associated human rights with civil and political issues, the social welfare implications of human rights have been neglected. However, in more recent times the importance of international human rights instruments for mainstream social welfare concerns has gradually been recognized. Drawing inspiration from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and from subsequent instruments such as the International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights, many more social policy and social work writers now stress the idea that adequate housing, access to employment, social security protection and healthcare are fundamental human rights that should be central to government social policy making.

On the other hand, the notion of the right to health has been quite extensively discussed in public health and medical circles over the years. Many of the issues raised in the health field have relevance to social welfare. This book addresses many of these issues. It contributes to the ongoing debate on human rights and health care and, by focusing on many of the complex issues related to the right to health, it offers useful insights into the way human rights ideas can be incorporated into social policy. The book is an edited collection comprised of no less than twenty nine chapters covering approximately 600 pages, and it is packed with interesting and important material. The editors have divided the material into eight parts that contain chapters dealing with topics such as the links between health and human rights; human rights and sexual and reproductive health; human rights and violence; human rights and emerging technologies; human rights, health and development; and ways of mobilizing popular support for human rights in the health field.

Like many other edited collections, the material is uneven and at times repetitive. Nevertheless, the book contains many valuable contributions. Some of the chapters discuss the legal basis for health and human rights and these will be particularly useful to those who are not familiar with the issues. Other are forward-looking examining, for example, the role of human rights in cloning and genetic manipulation. Some of the chapters present country case studies designed to examine the interaction of health and human rights. These chapters present very concrete examples of the need for a human rights perspective when addressing health issues such as maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS and the role of health professionals in executions in the United States. The chapters dealing with the teaching of human rights in the health education, and the measurement of human rights will be of particular value to social policy and social work researchers. This book is an essential resource for anyone interested in the interface between human rights and social welfare, and it should be widely consulted.