Full Description
In a world facing multiple intersecting crises, the push for healthier, more resilient societies has never been more urgent. This timely book reveals how empowered and organised communities can lead this change. It offers policy makers, academics, and activists research-driven insights, decolonial perspectives and real-world examples of organising and collective actions from across the global North and South.
By centring on the power of community development, participation, and social movements, the book delivers actionable frameworks to tackle inequality and advance the right to health, making it an essential resource for anyone committed to health justice and for building equitable and sustainable health systems worldwide.
Contents
PART I: Participation, power, and public health: historical influences and modern imperatives
1. Introduction
2. History of community participation in public health: from primary care movement to UHC
3. 'Communities', power, and participation: unpacking concepts from praxis
PART II: Pathways to health justice: community organising, collective action and accountability
4. Engaging communities at the margins to tackle health inequalities
5. Building sustainable social movements for the right to health
6. Addressing political, economic, and commercial forces shaping health
7. Strengthening accountability for the right to health
PART III: Tools for transformation and organising for change: arts, media, and participatory action research
8. Community activism in action
9. The role of arts, social media, and participatory action research in advancing health rights
10. Conclusion: Community organising and collective action as countervailing power for healthy and just societies
