(NEW YORK) — Doctors of the World-USA, a 19-year old global health and human rights organization, announced today that it is changing its name to HealthRight International (www.healthright.org). The new name was chosen to more accurately communicate the mission and activities of the organization, founded in 1990 by pioneering physician and human rights advocate Dr. Jonathan Mann. HealthRight works closely with local community partners to deliver health services. At the same time, HealthRight provides training and equipment and improves systems to enable its partners to deliver services on their own.

"HealthRight simply and powerfully reflects the principles on which we were founded: that health is a human right; and that health and human rights are inextricably linked," said HealthRight Executive Director Tom Dougherty. "Our name and logo have changed, but our mission, priorities and programs remain focused on the same core values — creating lasting change that supports access to health while strengthening human rights."

HealthRight partners with local organizations, governments and health workers in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin American and the United States to build local capacity to provide sustainable health care and related education and support services. By training and equipping local health workers and community members, and working together with non-governmental organizations and governments to create model programs, HealthRight strengthens health systems nationally and regionally. HealthRight addresses health and social crises made worse by human rights violations, with a particular focus on:

o HIV/AIDS, TB, and Malaria, including the rights of people living with these diseases to care, and to protection from stigma and discrimination. For example, HealthRight's MAMA+ Project in Vietnam is building access to HIV services for at-risk and marginalized groups, including HIV-positive mothers and their children.

o Women's health, including women's right to safe and effective maternal and neonatal care, as well as information and equal access to protection and quality health services in general. In western Kenya, HealthRight provides safe and accessible health education and treatment to HIV-positive women through its HIV/AIDS project, as well as quality pre- and postnatal care through its Partnership for Maternal & Neonatal Health.

o The health and welfare of orphans and other at-risk children and youth, whose wellbeing may be endangered when they lack supportive families or social networks. In Russia, where social and economic upheaval has affected families and social structures, HealthRight has established a range of projects to provide access to health and social services - including HIV prevention and treatment - to homeless and abandoned youth. The program is designed to serve as a model within the government's nationwide plans to reform child welfare.

o Care and support for survivors of human rights violations such as torture, trafficking, and domestic and gender-based violence. In the United States, HealthRight's Human Rights Clinic works with survivors of torture and other human rights abuses applying for asylum. After careful training, volunteer physicians and mental health professionals provide comprehensive medical and psychological exams, bear legal witness to torture and abuse, and assist victims in gaining legal asylum.

"HealthRight believes that health professionals and communities themselves have a central role to play in restoring, promoting, and protecting human rights," said Tom Dougherty. "Human rights violations can create and worsen health crises, while access to health strengthens other human rights. The connection between health and human rights has always been central to our work, and is now clearly reflected in our name. We're sure our new name will increase our impact, allow us to attract a broader audience, and help us fulfill our mission."

Information about HealthRight's mission and programs around the world is available at http://www.healthright.org.

HealthRight International (formerly Doctors of the World-USA) is a global health and human rights organization working to build lasting access to health for excluded communities. HealthRight works closely with communities, establishing local partnerships to deliver health services, providing training and equipment, and improving systems to enable partners to deliver services on their own. Since its founding in 1990 by the late Dr. Jonathan Mann, HealthRight has worked in over 30 countries, with current projects in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the United States.

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