This philosophically and legally grounded volume explores the human right to health in Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on corporate responsibility. Combining practical insights with thorough scholarship, it analyzes the universal legal basis of the right, the responsibilities it entails, and how it is applied within specific African contexts.
Health has long been recognized as a fundamental human right, protected by Article 25 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 12 of the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. While the obligation of states to uphold this right is clear, the extent of corporate responsibility, legally and in stakeholder expectations, remains unclear. This book fills that gap by advocating for a strategic and context-aware approach to corporate health obligations in Africa. It emphasizes that such responsibilities should stand apart from the capacity or political will of states to fulfill their own human rights commitments.
The book gathers contributors from diverse countries and disciplines, such as law, political science, ethics, and medicine. It examines whether, and how, corporations, businesses, and other private entities can be held to binding human rights duties, especially concerning the right to health. It also discusses how these duties might be implemented in African settings through policies, regulations, public health programs, and corporate accountability systems.
A distinctive feature of the book is its engagement with African intellectual traditions to strengthen the normative concept of corporate responsibility. It also emphasizes the importance of shared responsibility between public and private actors in addressing structural health challenges on the continent.
The Human Right to Health and Corporate Responsibility in Sub-Saharan Africa is a timely academic and research resource for scholars and students in law, philosophy, ethics, business, public health, and the social sciences. It is also of interest to policymakers, NGOs, and human rights advocates seeking to align corporate conduct with fundamental human rights in African settings.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Health Rights and Corporate Responsibility in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Introduction. - Part I. Conceptualization and Justifications. - 1. Realizing Health as a Human Right in Sub-Saharan Africa: Ethical and Legal Normative Analysis. - 2. African Concept of Health as Human Right: A Justification. - 3. Claim Rights and Liberty Rights: The Problem of the Right to Health in Modern Political Theory. - 4. Global Health and Epistemic Justice: Understanding the Political Subalternization of Traditional Medicines in the Face of the COVID 19 Pandemic in Cameroon. - 5. Social Representations of health and the Right to Health in Cameroon: An Exploratory Analysis. - 6. Global Health and Epistemic Justice: Understanding the Political Subalternization of Traditional Medicines During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Cameroon. - Part II. Foundations and Ethics. - 7. The Corporate Responsibility to Respect the Human Right to Health. - 8. À là á fí à : Holistic Health from Yoruba Perspective and Ethical Foundation For The Promotion Of Human Rights. - 9. Codification and Implementation Of The Right To Health In Agro-Industrial Companies In An African Context: Analysis Of Western & ‘ Modernity’ & Versus Traditional Values. - Part III. Law and Policy. - 10. Appraising the Corporate Tyranny of Indiscriminate Installation Of Mast By Telecommunication Companies And Its Implication On The Right To Quality Health Of Nigerians. - 11. China’ s Debt and Development Investments: Implications for Health and other Human Rights on the Continent. - 12. Overcoming the Weakness of African States’ Legal Framework on the Human Right to Health: A Case for a Legal Mandate in Domestic and International Law. - 13. The Responsibility of Insurance Corporations in the CIMA Region Regarding the Human Right to Health: The Case of Health Coverage in Mali. - 14. The Enforcement of the Right to Health Against Business Corporations in Nigeria. - 15. Right to Health and Corporate Responsibility of Transnational Oil Corporations in Nigeria: Unveiling the UNGPs on Responsibility to Respect. - 16. The Role of Non-State Actors in The Realization of the Human Right to Health in South Africa. - Part IV. Applications and Case Studies. - 17. Corporate Responsibility For High-Cost Care For Common Diseases: Example Of Dialysis In Sub-Saharan Africa. . - 18. Rights to Health and Cameroon's Responsible Business Conduct: Case of Orange Cameroon. - 19. The Corporate Responsibility To Respect The Human Right To Health In Africa: Case Study Of The Nigerian Petroleum Industry. - 20. The Responsibility Of Pharmaceutical Industries In The WAEMU Area: The Example Of Mali. - 21. Health Injustices In Chad’ s Soil Industry.
