Action On Poverty Today Issue 16 Spring 2007

This book critically examines the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) and evaluates its impact from a multi-disciplinary perspective. The book includes both a domestic and international analysis of the effectiveness of the HRA, and also considers possible future developments in policy and practise as well as contemplating the potential for a British Bill of Rights. The editors have collected pieces from contributors drawn from diverse spheres, all of whom are internationally recognised for their impact in the field of human rights law. Contributors include members of the bench in the United Kingdom and Australia, academics, researchers, members of NGOs, and campaigners as well as people’s testimony of lived experiences in relation to the Human Rights Act. Valuable contributions from the likes of Costas Douzinas, Keith Ewing, Helen Fenwick, Lady Hale, Irene Khan, Michael Kirby, Francesca Klug, Peter Tatchell and others have resulted in a book which draws out the connections between legal framework, theory, and the actual experience of the protection afforded to groups and individuals by the HRA. Confronting the Human Rights Act 1998 will be of particular interest to scholars and students of Law, International Studies and Political Science.

In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.