How Should Health Care Organizations Limit Roles of Human Trafficking in Their Labor and Supply Chains?

Abstract

There has been little attention given to roles played by human trafficking in health care organizations' supply chains. Hand sanitizers and gloves, for example, might be produced by forced labor, which tends to increase in prevalence during pandemics, mass violence, migration, or other global crises. This article considers the nature and scope of health care organizations' corporate and social responsibilities to procure products and personnel justly, offers recommendations to minimize possibilities that supplies are produced by forced labor, and advocates for a public health approach to limiting human trafficking in organizations' supply chains.