Sakharov Debate: What Price Health? Health, human rights and public trust

The 10th annual Sakharov Debate is coming (virtually) later this month. We hope you'll join us as we bring together expert academics, lawmakers, and activists to discuss the topic What Price Health? Health, human rights and public trust. 

This event is co-hosted with the European Parliament Liaison Office in the United Kingdom.

Nearly all policies affect health and well-being, whether for good or for ill. Optimally protecting population health may, among other things, require regulating manufacturers to reduce air pollution, protecting children’s health by controlling the advertising of junk foods, or closing bars and cafes to reduce chains of disease transmission. In Europe, some of this is done nationally, some sub-nationally and some jointly by countries acting through the EU.  

While the EU has long been committed to systematically considering the implications for all policies on population health and health equity, the World Health Organisation and many NGOs go beyond this, arguing that health is a human right. Nonetheless, policies that put health first have often struggled to gain sufficient acceptance from across the political spectrum, not least where different levels of policy intervention are involved. Communities from businesses, to libertarians, to political conservatives, to privacy activists, and the alt-right have all expressed scepticism about what they perceive as the encroachment of the state in ways that is either counter-productive or itself threatens rights. COVID has further exacerbated these tensions.

Health policy is at a crossroads. Where does the right balance lie between individual freedom and the collective good? At what level – regional, national or European – can that collective good best be served?  Are better ways available of making the case for prioritising health to sceptical audiences? Does advocating for health as a human right help? And can trust be maintained in interventionist health policies in the face of minorities who object to them?

Hashtag for the event: #SakharovUK

SPEAKERS:

Peter LIESE MEP (Germany), Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, European Parliament

Prof James WILSON, Professor of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts & Humanities, UCL Philosophy

MODERATOR:

Emma NELSON, Presenter and reporter for France 24 , Classic FM , Monocle24 , and BBC London News

Watch past debates on our YouTube channel.