Colonial Neglect and the Right to Health in Puerto Rico After Hurricane Maria

The humanitarian crisis revealed as a result of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico demonstrates a long history of US colonial neglect and human rights violations. This reality has made it especially difficult for the people of Puerto Rico to achieve their right to the highest attainable standard of heal...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of public health (1971) 2020-10, Vol.110 (10), p.1512-1518
Main Authors: Joseph, Samantha Rivera, Voyles, Caroline, Williams, Kimberly D., Smith, Erica, Chilton, Mariana
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Access to Care
AJPH s
Bankruptcy
Colonialism
Colonies & territories
Crises
Discrimination
Economic impact
Emergency management
Emergency preparedness
Emergency response
Health care access
Human Rights
Human rights violations
Humanitarianism
Hurricanes
Politics
Poverty
Presidential elections
Public health
Quality of life
Storms
Violations
Voting rights
Water quality
Wealth
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The humanitarian crisis revealed as a result of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico demonstrates a long history of US colonial neglect and human rights violations. This reality has made it especially difficult for the people of Puerto Rico to achieve their right to the highest attainable standard of health. The impacts are pervasive, resulting in disparities in Puerto Rican health, including water access and quality; wealth, including economic loss and disinvestment; and sustainability of the island’s resources. As a result of failed governmental protection and support, public health issues related to access to care, a failing infrastructure, and discrimination all contributed to crisis on the island. A human rights framework is necessary to assess the ongoing human rights violations of the quality of life to support millions of American citizens on the island. This essay utilizes a rights-based approach to reveal historical disenfranchisement of Puerto Rico before the storms, identifies the specific human rights violations that resulted from the US government’s lack of emergency preparedness and responsiveness, and demands rebuilding the island to reconcile all that has been lost.
ISSN:0090-0036
1541-0048
DOI:10.2105/AJPH.2020.305814