H.5. Round Table: How to use human rights-based advocacy and legal action to advance public health
Abstract
Background: In many areas of public health policy, legal action has delivered significant and long-lasting impacts. Notable successes include increased access to treatments for HIV and other essential medicines, and policy wins regarding tobacco products, electronic cigarettes and opioid-based products. Public health professionals are keen to learn if and how legal action can be used to advance public health goals in different contexts. Every country’s context and legal system is different, yet common principles can be applied. These include engagement with civil society organisations and affected communities in advocacy for changes in policies, laws and practices, an understanding of the policy- and decision-making environment, and collaboration with legal experts who can advise on the opportunities and limits of legal action. Potential applications include infectious and non-communicable diseases, child poverty and exploitation, sexual and gender minority health and discrimination, violence against women, and commercial determinants of health, including relating to climate change.
Workshop Objectives: Increase participants’ knowledge and skills regarding the use of human rights-based legal action and advocacy to advance public health.
Outcomes: After the workshop participants will be able to (i) give examples of how advocacy and legal action have been used to address specific public health issues and risk factors; (ii) list success factors in advocacy and legal action to advance public health; (iii) apply the knowledge gained to specific public health issues of concern to them. Participants will be invited to reflect on priorities in existing and emerging challenges, their own capacity-building needs, and suggest opportunities for further capacity building on human right-based advocacy and legal action to advance public health.
Workshop Outline: Introduction and Presentations Lessons from advocacy and legal action in the HIV pandemic Lessons advocacy and legal action in response to climate change Skills for advocacy and policy engagement Plenary discussion What factors determine the success or otherwise of advocacy for public health issues? How can these lessons be applied to other public health challenges? What is missing from the approaches studied? What public health professional capacities need to be (better) developed? How?
Key messages: • Public health professionals can use advocacy and legal action to advance public health goals. Every country’s context and legal system is different yet common principles can be applied.
• Effective advocacy requires carefully-planned strategic action which identifies targets, tactics, and envisions longer-term policy engagement for sustainable change.
Speakers/Panellists: Monique Van Cauwenberghe
University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Leigh Haynes
Ghent University, Brussels, Belgium
David Patterson
Centre for Health Law, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Related
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- Societal values versus individual rights with respect to public health related practices during the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S.
- What is public health advocacy? Australasian practitioner perspectives on defining the field and identifying effective practice and required competencies.
- Student-led public health advocacy: insights from the 2025 EUPHW in Gdańsk, Poland
- The evolution of Swiss policy on electronic health records: between public health and privacy rights
BibTeX
@article{euphalawandpublichealthsection2026round,
title = {{H.5. Round Table: How to use human rights-based advocacy and legal action to advance public health}},
author = {EUPHA Law and Public Health section, EUPHA Ethics in Public Health section, EUPHA Global Health section, Groningen Centre for Health Law (Netherlands), GNAPH PHEL Network, Department of Public Health Simmons University (USA), Johns Hopkins Lerner Center for Public Health Advocacy (USA) and Farhang Tahzib and Andreea Badache},
journal = {The European Journal of Public Health},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.278},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.278},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - H.5. Round Table: How to use human rights-based advocacy and legal action to advance public health
AU - EUPHA Law and Public Health section, EUPHA Ethics in Public Health section, EUPHA Global Health section, Groningen Centre for Health Law (Netherlands), GNAPH PHEL Network, Department of Public Health Simmons University (USA), Johns Hopkins Lerner Center for Public Health Advocacy (USA)
AU - Farhang Tahzib
AU - Andreea Badache
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - The European Journal of Public Health
DO - 10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.278
UR - https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.278
AB - Background: In many areas of public health policy, legal action has delivered significant and long-lasting impacts. Notable successes include increased access to treatments for HIV and other essential medicines, and policy wins regarding tobacco products, electronic cigarettes and opioid-based products. Public health professionals are keen to learn if and how legal action can be used to advance public health goals in different contexts. Every country’s context and legal system is different, yet common principles can be applied. These include engagement with civil society organisations and affected communities in advocacy for changes in policies, laws and practices, an understanding of the policy- and decision-making environment, and collaboration with legal experts who can advise on the opportunities and limits of legal action. Potential applications include infectious and non-communicable diseases, child poverty and exploitation, sexual and gender minority health and discrimination, violence against women, and commercial determinants of health, including relating to climate change. Workshop Objectives: Increase participants’ knowledge and skills regarding the use of human rights-based legal action and advocacy to advance public health. Outcomes: After the workshop participants will be able to (i) give examples of how advocacy and legal action have been used to address specific public health issues and risk factors; (ii) list success factors in advocacy and legal action to advance public health; (iii) apply the knowledge gained to specific public health issues of concern to them. Participants will be invited to reflect on priorities in existing and emerging challenges, their own capacity-building needs, and suggest opportunities for further capacity building on human right-based advocacy and legal action to advance public health. Workshop Outline: Introduction and Presentations Lessons from advocacy and legal action in the HIV pandemic Lessons advocacy and legal action in response to climate change Skills for advocacy and policy engagement Plenary discussion What factors determine the success or otherwise of advocacy for public health issues? How can these lessons be applied to other public health challenges? What is missing from the approaches studied? What public health professional capacities need to be (better) developed? How? Key messages: • Public health professionals can use advocacy and legal action to advance public health goals. Every country’s context and legal system is different yet common principles can be applied. • Effective advocacy requires carefully-planned strategic action which identifies targets, tactics, and envisions longer-term policy engagement for sustainable change. Speakers/Panellists: Monique Van Cauwenberghe University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands Leigh Haynes Ghent University, Brussels, Belgium David Patterson Centre for Health Law, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
SN - 1101-1262
SN - 1464-360X
ER -