Joseph Harris is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Boston University and Vice Chair of the International Studies Association’s Global Health Section. He is the author of Achieving Access: Professional Movements and the Politics of Health Universalism (Cornell University Press, 2017). He runs the Global Health Politics Workshop and is co-founder of the Global Health and Development Interest Group. Dr. Harris serves as Deputy Editor of the Journal of Health & Social Behavior and was formerly Associate Editor at Social Science & Medicine. He is Chair-Elect of the Nominations Committee for the American Sociological Association’s Section on Medical Sociology and past Council Member for Development Section. He has served as a consultant to UNDP and the World Bank (as Specialist on the Political Economy of Health Reform) and is recipient of the Henry Luce Scholarship and two Fulbright awards for his work on the politics of health policy. He is a contributor to major media outlets, including National Public Radio, the Washington Post, U.S. News and World Report, and The Progressive.
400
Million people still lack access to one or more essential health services globally
100
Million people are pushed into poverty each year due to out-of-pocket health expenditure
79
Countries devoted less than 10% of government expenditure to health in 2010
70+
Countries sought WHO technical assistance to move towards universal health coverage in 2012 and 2013 alone
36.9
Million people worldwide currently live with HIV/AIDS
13.5
Million people living with HIV in low and middle income countries receive AIDS treatment
“Access to health care should be viewed as a right and not charity.”
–Dr. Sanguan Nitiyarumphong
Photo (Thai man): REUTERS/Damir Sagolj