Affiliation:
1. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, School of Physical and Occupational Therapy McGill University Montreal Canada
2. Department of Public Health, Faculty of Communication, Arts and Sciences Canadian University Dubai Dubai UAE
3. Nuffield Department of Medicine, Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health University of Oxford Oxford UK
4. The Global Health Network (TGHN), Regional Hub of the Middle East and North Africa Dubai UAE
5. School of Global Health Management and Informatics University of Central Florida Orlando USA
6. Global Health Policy Programme, School of Social and Political Science The University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK
7. Department of International Public Health Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine Liverpool UK
Abstract
AbstractThe Middle East region has a long history of resistance, activism, and advocacy movements in health, most recently as part of the 2011 region‐wide Arab Spring. Despite this storied history, however, movements of resistance, activism, and advocacy in health in the region are rarely unpacked, examined, or documented. This historical and contextual analysis aims to examine the long‐standing confiscated health rights and subsequent experiences of resistance, activism, and advocacy in health in populations in Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt, and Iraq. Promoting a health equity and health rights‐based approach is key to achieving Universal Health Coverage and health‐related Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in contexts that experience fragile socioeconomic and humanitarian conditions and political instability such as many countries in the Middle East. Marginalized populations, including Palestinians living under Israeli occupation, Lebanese Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender+ (LGBT) communities, Egyptian women and girls affected by Female Genital Mutilation, and Iraqi refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, have been severely impacted by decades of oppression, conflict, and displacement. These populations have faced various forms of discrimination, neglect, and violence that have hindered their access to quality healthcare and basic health rights. Rather than relying on government efforts, local and international movements to advocate for and protect the health rights of these populations are key. Innovative approaches, strategic dialogue and collective actions are prerequisites for promoting resistance, activism, and advocacy in health in all country's systems structure. This analysis highlights the important of this social public health issue in the most turbulent region and provides evidence to guide all countries to realize equitable human rights for health for all populations.
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