The Public Health Program works to build open societies in which all people’s health and human rights are valued.
The Public Health Program works to fight discrimination and abuse in health care settings.
We support communities that receive substandard care or face barriers to services because of who they are—including Roma and other minorities, transgender and intersex people, people with intellectual disabilities or with lived experience of mental health problems, sex workers, people who use drugs, and migrants and refugees.
We seek to advance an inclusive vision of health as a public good in which health care is available to all, laws and policies governing health are transparent and democratically accountable, and medical innovation delivers solutions that are accessible to everyone—from affordable medicines to palliative care.
We are active in Asia, Eurasia, Europe, Latin America, North America, and sub-Saharan Africa.
Featured Work
Dignified End-of-Life Care
Governments Should Follow Moldova’s Lead and Ensure Universal Access to Palliative Care
Over decades, Open Society’s funding for palliative care has improved access globally. However, while philanthropy plays a large role in this sector, palliative care must ultimately be publicly funded and universally available.
publication
Working Together to Address Health Workforce Mobility in Europe
In Europe, the migration of health workers from east to west has had significant impacts—including the loss of skilled health professionals. This policy brief offers six key insights concerning policies that are needed across the EU.
Learning from Experience
10 Lessons from HIV for the COVID-19 Response
Harm reduction thinking, minimal police involvement, and the need to keep the price of medicine low—these are some lessons from HIV that we need for the COVID-19 response.