Sara L.M. Davis, PhD ("Meg"), is a

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

advocate, author and researcher.

Early life

Born in France, Davis speaks French, English, and Mandarin. She received her doctorate from

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

and held postdoctoral fellowships at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and the

University of California Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the Cal ...

Career

Davis is senior researcher on the Digital Health and Rights Project at the

Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (, abbreviated IHEID), commonly referred to as Geneva Graduate Institute, is a graduate-level research university in Geneva, Switzerland dedicated to international relations, dev ...

in Geneva. She previously taught courses on sexual violence in conflicts and emergencies at the Geneva Centre for Education and Research in Humanitarian Action. She was Senior Human Rights Advisor at

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (or simply the Global Fund) is an international financing and partnership organization that aims to "attract, leverage and invest additional resources to end the epidemics of HIV/AIDS, tu ...

, where she led the process of establishing minimum human rights standards for grant agreements in 140 countries that receive Global Fund support; launched a human rights complaints procedure at the Global Fund Office of the Inspector General; and published and implemented grant guidance on funding human rights programs as part of Global Fund HIV, TB, Malaria and Health System Strengthening grants. Prior to joining the Global Fund she was the founder of Asia Catalyst, a nonprofit organizations that works with marginalized communities in East and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. Davis founded Asia Catalyst in 2006. Before that, she conducted research and advocacy for

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

and

Open Society Institute Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is an American grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with the s ...

. Davis has worked on issues related to

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

and human rights, police abuse, housing rights, environmental rights, and rule of law in China, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia and Indonesia.

Research

Davis is the author of numerous articles on Health and Human Rights, as well as two books: ''The Uncounted: Politics of Data in Global Health'' (Cambridge University Press, 2020) and ''Song and Silence: Ethnic Revival on China’s Southwest Borders'', (

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's la ...

, 2005 and Silkworm Books, 2006). With Carmel Williams, she co-edited a special issue of ''Health and Human Rights'' on "Big data, technology, artificial intelligence and the right to health". Her articles have appeared in the Journal of the International AIDS Society, Health and Human Rights, Wall Street Journal Asia,

International Herald Tribune The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France, for international English-speaking readers. It published under the name ''International Herald Tribune'' starting in 1967, but its ...

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remaine ...

, HIV Law and Policy Review, Harm Reduction Journal, and

Modern China The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the Y ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Sara Living people American human rights activists American women human rights activists University of Pennsylvania alumni Writers from New York City Writers from Yunnan Activists from New York City Year of birth missing (living people) Academic staff of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies