Monash experts: World Health Day (7 April)
Sunday 7 April is World Health Day with this year’s theme, ‘My health, my right. Around the world, the right to health of millions is increasingly coming under threat.
This year’s theme was chosen to champion the right of everyone, everywhere to have access to quality health services, education, and information, as well as safe drinking water, clean air, good nutrition, quality housing, decent working and environmental conditions, and freedom from discrimination.
Available to comment:
Dr Ronli Sifris, Deputy Director, Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, Associate Professor, Monash Faculty of Law
Contact details: +61 488 360 033, ronli.sifris@monash.edu
Read more of Dr Sifris’ commentary at Monash Lens
Read more about the framing of abortion as a human right in: Ronli Sifris, Towards Reproductive Justice (Monash University Publishing, 2024).
- Abortion rights
- Reproductive rights, access to IVF, surrogacy
The following can be attributed to Dr Sifris:
“International human rights law requires countries to refrain from negatively interfering with access to abortion, for example via laws that criminalise abortion. It also imposes a positive duty on governments to be proactive in ensuring the availability and accessibility of quality abortion services. For example, governments should make sure that abortion access is affordable. In Australia today there are a number of access issues, attributable for example to the cost of abortion and the ability of health facilities to refuse to provide abortion services.
“The international human rights system has recognised that a right to abortion falls within a number of established human rights norms, such as the: right to life, right to health, right to privacy, right to be free from discrimination, and right to be free from torture and other inhumane or degrading treatment. In the context of the right to health, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has recognised that the right to sexual and reproductive health is an integral part of the broader right to health, and that the right to elective abortion is situated within the right to reproductive health.”
Professor Danielle Mazza AM, Professor and Head of General Practice, Monash University, and Director of the SPHERE NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health in Primary Care
Contact details: +61 423 208 747, danielle.mazza@monash.edu
Read more of Professor Mazza’s commentary at Monash Lens
- Improving access to abortion and contraception
- Primary care provision of women’s health services (GPs, nurses and pharmacists)
- Preconception care.
The following can be attributed to Professor Mazza:
“While essential women's health services such as abortion and IVF services continue to be restricted in the US, Australia has made some positive steps towards increasing access.
“Affordability of care is a critical issue, the other is supporting our workforce to deliver services particularly in rural and regional Australia and in priority populations."
Read more about issues around reproductive rights on Monash Lens.
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For any other topics on which you may be seeking expert comment, contact the Monash University Media Unit on +61 3 9903 4840 or media@monash.edu
