Public Health Ethics and Rights in Healthcare Programmes

Abstract

The chapter explains the nature of public health in Africa and discusses the development of public health ethics as an academic discipline. Also, it introduces the reader to basic theoretical frameworks for public health interventions, including the most important ethical principles of public health (e.g. necessity, proportionality, reciprocity, beneficence, consideration, community engagement, common good, common sense, solidarity). Lastly, it describes the context of public health ethics in Africa and discusses the challenges of ethics in the implementation of research and health programmes that affect the public – like quarantine for infectious diseases and the public health concerns of mass immunisation. It is critically important to apply the mentioned principles and to balance between personal rights and choices, and public safety and well-being while only choosing necessary, effective, appropriate and proportional means.