The Center for Public Health and Human Rights

The Center for Public Health and Human Rights (CPHHR) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health seeks to advance fundamental human rights through research, teaching and advocacy.

Based in the School's Department of Epidemiology and headed by Epidemiology professor Chris Beyrer, MD, MPH, the Center's access to the vast expertise at Johns Hopkins is a vital part of our efforts in doing the analytic and development work this emerging field requires.

While many agencies and groups are active in the field of health and human rights, the Center takes a population-based approach in much of its work and brings human rights principles to bear on key public health challenges in environments where human dignity and well-being is especially under threat. Our research focuses on quantitative measures of human rights impacts, including expanding sources of information human rights violations and, increasingly, on public health intervention research grounded in human rights principles. The Center also focuses on the roles and responsibilities of health and public health professionals in protecting and promoting human rights and the means of protecting their work in places where human rights violations threaten their work.

These diverse efforts share common ground—the use of science to support individuals and communities facing threats to health that are directly related to abrogation of their rights and human rights principles to advance well-being.

Making an Impact

Using vital data from our studies in Thailand, Russia, and several African countries, CPHHR has been working to advocate for the rights of various groups who have been discriminated against or excluded from public health surveillance and programs.  Follow the link below to learn more about the CPHHR's recent research and advocacy work.

Follow the links above to learn more about the Center or go to our Resources link to read our publications or read articles about our work.