The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted on Dec 10, 1948, established a modern human
rights foundation that has become a cornerstone of global health, central to public health policies, programmes, and
practices. To commemorate the 70th anniversary of this seminal declaration, we trace the evolution of human
rights in global health, linking the past, present, and future of health as a human right (figure 1). This future
remains uncertain. As contemporary challenges imperil continuing advance ments, threatening both human
rights protections and global health governance, the future will depend, as it has in the past, on sustained po
litical engagement to realise human rights in global health.