The Geneva Launch of the Lancet and O’Neill Commission Report will take place on 5 February 2020 at UNAIDS and focus on the legal determinants of Health.

The law is central to virtually all aspects of public health. Tobacco control laws aim to reduce smoking, food product regulations encourage healthy nutrition, vaccination laws have saved millions of lives, pollution laws and environmental regulations safeguard the public’s health in a myriad of ways, accessible justice systems allow communities to demand their health rights, anti-discrimination laws help ensure no one is left behind, and of course, law and regulation establish systems for universal health coverage (UHC).  At the same time, laws can also have negative consequences for equitable health outcomes, leading to stigmatization of vulnerable populations or restricting the authority of governments to regulate for the public good.

During this Geneva-based launch, panelists will discuss the report’s findings on the immense power of the law to advance the right to health and will demonstrate how the law is currently being used all around the world to strengthen health systems and to improve health outcomes. These discussions will focus on the role of law in three thematic areas: achieving UHC, criminal law as a barrier to accessing health care, and governance and cross-sectoral collaboration.
 

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