The Role of Who in Promoting Health Rights

Global Health- Do People Have a Right to Health Care?

People's health is a matter of daily concern. Regardless of one's gender, race, age, ethnic background and socio-economic status, human health must be treated as the most essential and basic asset (Cohen, 2013). Often, ill health can keep people from going to work, school or from participating in family and community responsibilities. This means that when talking about a person's well-being, we are often referring to health.

The right to healthcare is a basic component of the human rights. People are entitled to the right to enjoyment of the highest achievable standard of mental and physical health. Globally, this right was originally articulated in the World Health Organization (WHO), Constitution of 1946, which defines health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." Further, the preamble stipulates that "the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition" (Cohen, 2013). Besides, article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) mentions health as an element of the right to an adequate living standard. Again, the International Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966), widely considered as the central protection instrument for the right to health, recognized the right to health as a human right. This Covenant provides both physical health and mental health that has been previously ignored equal consideration.

Our right to health is an inclusive right. Often, we associate people's right to health with the building of hospitals and access to healthcare. Even with its correctness, it seems the right to healthcare extends further. It covers a range of variables that could help people lead a healthy life. The Global Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights refers to these as the "underlying health determinants" (Jerome, 2015). They comprise:

Safe food, water and adequate sanitation

Adequate housing and nutrition

Gender equality and Healthy environment and working conditions

Though the current constitution does not explicitly stipulate our right to healthcare, the Supreme Court's ruling in the domains of people's right to bodily integrity and privacy indicates the Constitution implicitly grants us the right to access healthcare services at our personal cost from willing medical organizations. Nevertheless, concerns about access to healthcare are not often related to access where an individual has the ability and means to pay for healthcare. On the contrary, such issues entail cases where an individual is unable to afford healthcare services. Therefore, the question is not whether an individual holds the right to health care but whether the government must provide such care to people who cannot afford (Jerome, 2015).