WHO WE ARE

The FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University is an interdisciplinary center that works to protect and promote the rights and wellbeing of children, adolescents, youth and their families in extreme circumstances worldwide. The Center pursues this goal by conducting and supporting research, teaching, advocacy, and targeted action.

Intensive Course in Health & Human Rights

The FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, in conjunction with the Department of Executive and Continuing Professional Education, is hosting a four-day intensive course at the Harvard School of Public Health on June 10-13, 2013. The course is designed to equip mid-career professionals with the skills to integrate the concepts of health and human rights into their professional activities. Please visit the ECPE website for further information and to register.

Homepage photo credits: Vanessa Boulanger, Angela Duger, Petru Zoltan

An Expert Resource for Advocates and Policymakers

The FXB Center has been a source of expertise in health and human rights for both the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. government. Such opportunities for education have been helpful to policymakers as they fine-tune legislation, present information and questions at Congressional hearings, and set out strategies for moving confidently forward to improve global health programs.

We translate our findings into policy recommendations and practice by engaging with international entities and relevant levels of government and civil society. For example, we contributed to improving the standards applied to unaccompanied children who seek asylum; helped define mental health policy in post-conflict Sierra Leone; and participated in the drafting of the General Comment of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on a child’s right to health. We also prepared the Technical Guidance on a rights-based approach to preventable maternal morbidity and mortality for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which was subsequently adopted by the UN Human Rights Council.

Additionally, the FXB Center has helped provide students and advocates with the evidence base necessary to make compelling arguments for improved global health policy. By hosting various policy briefings, the FXB Center works to increase public awareness of current issues and debates, rallying public support for solutions to identified global health problems.

Harvard Scholars at Risk

The FXB Center is host to the Scholars at Risk program of Harvard University. As a member of an international network of participating universities, Harvard SAR has provided sanctuary to dozens of professors, lecturers, researchers, writers, and other intellectuals who have come under threat because of the content of their scholarly work of because of their ethnicity,religion, gender, sexual orientation, or political opinions. While at harvard, fellows interact with faculty, participate in events, and share discussions with students for whom they are inspiring models of courage and integrity. Fellows, who are hosted by Harvard academic departments and/or institutes, receive tuition-free English language courses and career counseling from the Extension School (HUDCE) and teaching support, should they need preparation for the transition into the classroom. After completion of the fellowship year, some scholars return to their home countries; when safe return is not possible, Harvard SAR helps scholars apply for permanent residency or asylum and to identify opportunities for work in the United States or abroad. Read more about the program.

Student Engagement

FXB Center programs and projects receive critical research support from interns and work-study students, both in the Boston office and in the field. RPCGA interns and work-study students served as research assistants for the Somali Bantu Refugee Community Project, the Family Strengthening Intervention, the Longitudinal Study of War-Affected Youth, and the SAFE Project. Student researchers worked with the Shanu Project and the Haiti Child Protection Initiative on exploring the use of mobile technology in data collection.