There is a growing recognition that law as a discipline has a major role to play in framing effective public health strategies at global, transnational, regional and national levels. To respond to this evolution, in 2020, EUPHA established a new Law and public health section (also known as EUPHA-LAW).
Legal interventions can stimulate progressive change through both regulation and litigation. The law is expected to help societies respond to pressing global health challenges. Law has been at the foundation of many public health successes and has the potential to support many more. The examples of sanitation, HIV, road safety and tobacco control are often given to illustrate the power of law to promote changes in social norms. However, there are many more that have been – or could be – envisaged to address major public health challenges, including air pollution, unhealthy diets and other risk factors for the growing prevalence of non-communicable diseases; antimicrobial resistance and the ongoing challenge of infectious diseases; access to medicines; and universal health coverage.
Period
2020 → …
Held at
Section Law and Public Health, European Public Health Association, Netherlands