Section outline

  • The learning outcome of this Topic is: To be able to discuss a human rights perspective to the provision of health services.

    As identified by the World Health Organisation in Health and Human Rights, “The right to the highest attainable standard of health” requires a set of social criteria that is conducive to the health of all people, including the availability of health services, safe working conditions, adequate housing and nutritious foods. Achieving the right to health is closely related to that of other human rights, including the right to food, housing, work, education, non-discrimination, access to information, and participation.

    The right to health includes both freedoms and entitlements.

    • Freedoms include the right to control one’s health and body (e.g. sexual and reproductive rights) and to be free from interference (e.g. free from torture and from non-consensual medical treatment and experimentation).

    • Entitlements include the right to a system of health protection that gives everyone an equal opportunity to enjoy the highest attainable level of health.

    Health policies and programmes have the ability to either promote or violate human rights, including the right to health, depending on the way they are designed or implemented. Taking steps to respect and protect human rights upholds the health sector’s responsibility to address everyone’s health.

    • Yet, more than one billion people cannot obtain the health services they need, because those services are either inaccessible, unavailable, unaffordable or of poor quality. Widening inequities across the world mean that an estimated 100 million people are pushed into poverty every year when they pay out-of-pocket for health services.

    The late Paul Farmer's video I believe in health care as a human right is short and is a good introduction to the topic.

    The resources below, provide more information about the issues raised above.