Tuesday, June 14, 2005
DOW Participates in Emory University Conference on Human Rights-Based Approach to Health
Atlanta, GA – Doctors of the World - USA (DOW) Program Director Vandana Tripathi, human rights expert Mehlika Hoodbhoy and US Program Manager Rachel Porter were featured speakers at Emory University’s major conference “Lessons Learned From Rights Based Approaches to Health” in Atlanta, Georgia this year. Their presentations introduced DOW’s innovative human rights approach to children’s health projects in Kosovo and Russia, and documenting evidence of torture of asylum seekers within the United States.
The April 14-16th conference, with over 300 attendees and such esteemed plenary speakers as former President Jimmy Carter and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson, was organized by the Institute of Human Rights at Emory University in collaboration with CARE USA, the human rights offices of the Carter Center, the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Doctors for Global Health and the World Health Organization.
Tripathi and Hoodbhoy’s presentation on April 14th entitled, “Evaluating Rights Impacts: Lessons Learned from DOW’s Children’s Health Projects,” emphasized the importance of incorporating human rights analysis into program development design and implementation, along with an effective evaluation process, to ensure sustainable impacts on both health and human rights on the ground. Having conducted recent evaluations of DOW projects for children in Kosovo and Russia, they highlighted their key findings from DOW’s Kosovo Deinstitutionalization Project – which provides neglected and institutionalized children with disabilities housing and rehabilitative services while raising community awareness. The evaluation found that DOW’s project enabled significant human rights impacts at the individual and community level, but that creating human rights impacts at the system and civil society level were essential for sustainable change.
The following day, Rachel Porter discussed DOW’s Human Rights Clinic, which links torture survivors seeking asylum in the US with medical doctors and mental health professionals trained by DOW to recognize the signs and symptoms of torture and prepare legal affidavits on their behalf. Her presentation, “Documenting Evidence of Torture: the Role of Health Providers,” described findings from a small study of HRC volunteer activities and case characteristics. The study was designed to examine the signs and symptoms of torture, the content of interviews, and the consistency of the examination process. Findings confirmed the need for formal training and understanding on how to approach torture victims and identify signs of torture, in order to maintain objective analysis and avoid re-traumatizing clients. Porter emphasized that such reviews of program activities are critical in developing consistent, standardized guidelines for documenting torture, and protecting the human rights of torture survivors.