Partners

C-HELP aims to contribute to health and well-being that is achievable for all, using law as a critical paradigm through which this social good can be attained. The centre believes that the appropriate and effective use of law and policy, both as legislated and implemented, is vital in addressing various aspects of social justice, including inequities in health. Any public health issues need to be effectively countered through key public health and social interventions, supported by the evidence-informed and rational deployment of legislation, enforcement, and policy guidance. C-HELP adopts this approach in its advocacy efforts to influence policies related to health.  It also aims to use law in conjunction with other disciplines – economics, sociology, anthropology, public health, communication, governance, etc. – to find holistic and systemic solutions to inequities in health. C-HELP presently takes a three-pronged approach while working on health.

Technology and health - C-HELP undertakes research, advocacy, and literacy through the examination of law, policy, and practice in relation to digital health, and the use of technology in health-related systems and delivery.

Legislating health - It considers the robust implementation of extant laws as a crucial concomitant to legislating health. C-HELP produces knowledge to support and critique such efforts, including legislative drafting, review, and literacy.

Health and Policy – C-HELP examines the role played by policy in ensuring the right to health, intersecting where it does with other areas of governance.

About the Project:

MHI is partnering with the Centre for Health Equity, Law & Policy, Indian Law Society to translate a Policy Brief on law & policy concerns of LGBTQI persons and relationships in India into 9 languages – Bengali, Hindi, Kannada, Manipuri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Tamil, and Telugu.

In consultation with law, policy, and rights experts from the queer community, C-HELP authored and published the Policy Brief “Happy Together: Law & Policy Concerns of LGBTQI Persons and Relationships in India” in 2021. The objective of the brief is to address the post-decriminalization law and policy concerns that were emerging for the LGBTQI community, particularly focused on queer relationships in the context of extant debates on gay marriage in the country.

The policy brief was well received by experts, NGOs working on related issues, lawyers and community members. It has now been placed before the Supreme Court in a petition recently filed, which seeks to broaden the issues and prayers sought beyond the issue of queer and trans marriage by highlighting concerns of single and unmarried queer and trans people. In order to make it accessible to more stakeholders, the Policy Brief is now being translated into 9 regional languages.