Brigit Toebes awarded a Royal Decoration

During the launch of her book ' Dat maak ik zelf wel uit' ( That's for me to decide ) on 20 April, Brigit Toebes (Hattem, 1969) was awarded a Royal Decoration. Toebes is Professor of Health Law in a Global Context at the UG. She received the insignia belonging to the Royal Decoration in the category of Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau from Deputy Mayor Mirjam Wijnja of the Municipality of Groningen.

A great passion for human rights

With her strong moral compass, conscientious attitude, modest character, solid academic knowledge, and a deep passion for human rights, Brigit Toebes is a unique source of inspiration for many. Her entire academic career has been shaped by her conviction that health is a universal human right and that people therefore have a right to an environment that does not make them ill. She has always strongly advocated for a world in which healthy living is the foundation, and she inspires everyone around her to follow her example. In her view, doctors and other healthcare and support workers have a unique responsible role in recognizing, identifying, and addressing violations of human rights, including the right to health. In this context, she never loses sight of the fact that human rights in healthcare only become meaningful when patients, clients, relatives, and healthcare professionals all benefit from them in practice.

A leader in her field

Both at home and abroad, Toebes is a leader in her field and a valuable contributor to public health. This began as early as 1999 when she completed her thesis, entitled The Right to Health as a Human Right in International Law, thereby making a significant contribution to the development of the international right to health within United Nations (UN) legal practice. She subsequently repeatedly provided advice to the UN on issues such as the right to health, climate change, corruption in healthcare, and the development of the law.

Looking beyond legal boundaries

Toebes studied, worked, and conducted research in Europe and the United States, and in 2013, she became a Rosalind Franklin Fellow at the Faculty of Law in Groningen. In 2018, she was appointed Professor of Health Law in a Global Context. With her impressive and pioneering research and multidisciplinary approach, she has made significant contributions to health law, always emphasizing the need to look beyond legal boundaries. Ten years ago, Toebes founded the Groningen Centre for Health Law. She subsequently served as Academic Director of the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health. The school's mission — more healthy years — fits perfectly with her preventive focus on health. As a true successor to Aletta Jacobs, she calls for placing human values above economic gains. To promote a healthy living environment, she believes it is necessary to regulate unhealthy products and behaviour.

Commitment with impact

In the course of her academic career, she has written hundreds of groundbreaking papers and has been able to translate these for a wider audience. The common thread running through her work is her commitment to discouraging smoking, alcohol consumption, and the consumption of unhealthy food. The impact of that commitment is significant. Time and again, she has succeeded in mobilizing scientists, doctors, and the general public behind her mission. For instance, she consistently ensured that her research findings reached the right authorities, and her thorough research has led to necessary policy changes. This also apples to her fight against the exorbitant prices of drug patents. Closer to home, it is partly thanks to her that Groningen is the first city to have smoke-free zones on the streets.

‘Exorbitantly priced pills’

Alongside her work as a professor, Toebes has devoted herself wholeheartedly to various associations and committees, including the Association for Health Law (Vereniging voor Gezondheidsrecht), the Dutch State Committee on MDMA, and the Johannes Wier Foundation for Healthcare and Human Rights. She also advised the Pharmaceutical Accountability Foundation (PAF), which aims to achieve fair prices through legal proceedings, so that medicines and medical technologies remain available, affordable, and accessible to everyone. And with success: in the Leadiant case, concerning the exorbitant prices of a medicine for a rare genetic disease, the Court spoke of ‘a textbook example of abuse of a dominant market position.’ The whole affair gained national attention thanks to the VPRO Tegenlicht documentary Peperdure pillen (Exorbitantly priced pills).

A warm, committed mentor to many

In the field of health law education, too, Toebes is a leading figure. For instance, thanks to her vision, a Master's programme has been established that combines health and technology, and is unique in Europe. She has always championed the training of a new generation of modern health lawyers. More generally, she believes it is important that all medical students — the public health experts of the future — acquire sufficient knowledge of human rights and the right to health. Furthermore, she has a keen eye for talented students and young researchers, whom she actively advises and supports, for example by giving them access to her extensive network. For many colleagues, PhD candidates, and students, she has always been a warm and committed  mentor who loves to put colleagues in the spotlight, offers space and encouragement, and always has an eye for her surroundings and her team, even in difficult times.

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Brigit Toebes