The tenth anniversary of the publication of Lawrence Gostin’s seminal treatise Global Health Law affords us the opportunity to reflect on his enduring legacy as a preeminent scholar, and one of the field’s founding thought leaders.
I have known Larry since the earliest days of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, a period that has spanned more than four decades. Throughout this time, Larry evolved into the world’s leading expert and the most influential figure in the world on global health law. He has built his career on the principle that the law is a powerful and essential tool to solve the most pressing challenges in global public health.
As a preeminent mental health advocate in the United Kingdom, he wrote the British Mental Health Act and brought seminal cases to the European Court of Human Rights, including the right to vote and to humane treatment. He has fought tirelessly for the rights of people living with HIV. Most recently, he was involved in negotiations for and drafting of the World Health Organization (WHO) Pandemic Treaty and the International Health Regulations.
During the HIV crisis, Larry provided critical legal and bioethical advice to the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services while serving on the NIH Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council. He later served on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Advisory Committee on HIV and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) Prevention, and the FDA’s Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee. More recently, his dedication to national and global health security has been well established through his leadership in advising NIH, CDC, WHO, the World Bank, and numerous other agencies, foundations, and organizations on a wide range of global health threats.
Larry has been repeatedly recognized for his efforts by leading institutions in our field. He was awarded the National Academy of Science’s Adam Yarmolinsky Medal, the American Public Health Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and is the recipient of 3 honorary degrees from distinguished universities.
Beyond these accolades, Larry has cemented his legacy in the field of global health through his unrelenting commitment to training and establishing the next generation of scholars. Larry’s foundational role in the establishment of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law stands out as an enduring legacy of his career. His textbooks, lectures, and writings have inspired untold numbers of students both in the United States and globally to enter the growing fields of public and global health law.
As we honor Lawrence Gostin’s remarkable legacy, we also celebrate the profound impact of his Global Health Law text. Since its publication, Global Health Law has literally defined and founded the field, viewing global health challenges through the lens of law, justice, and equity. It has guided policy makers, scholars, and practitioners in developing ethical and impactful health policies worldwide.
In 2017, Larry wrote in a poignant essay about his 102-year-old father: “In the world’s richest country, is it too much to ask that we treat everyone when they are sick, care for them when they are suffering, and allow them to die humanely and with dignity when the journey is over?”
This one sentence captures all that Larry believes in and fights for as a global health scholar and advocate. I have had the privilege of knowing and working with Larry for many years. Beneath the ferocious warrior for human rights and justice is one of the kindest, most gentle, most considerate persons whose life is guided by the highest level of integrity. I feel fortunate to call him my friend and colleague.
Congratulations, Larry, on your extraordinary achievements. Your work continues to provide a beacon for those seeking justice in global health.
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