Summary

As the world scales up public health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, countries are being urged to take decisive action to control the epidemic and provide necessary services and diagnostics to the people who need them. Countries are being requested to take a comprehensive approach tailored to their circumstances, with containment as the central pillar. However, as in all acute epidemics, especially where casual person-to-person transmission occurs, there is a need to ensure that the response is grounded firmly in human rights. This document provides principles for a rights-based and community-centred approach to addressing the COVID-19 epidemic.