Healthcare: a fundamental right

 

Covid-19 pandemic has shown how fragile we are as humans and access to adequate heathcare without discrimination is necessary to function not only individually but collectively.

 

This begs the question whether heathcare is a human right and is it constitutionally protected in various countries around the world?

 

Article 25 of the United Nations' 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:

 

"Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services."

 

The 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights also recognizes the right to healthcare as a “human right.”

 

Countries that have ratified the international human rights convention along with other international treaties have a duty to transpose the rights in their national legislation. The right to healthcare is inseparable and interdependent on all other rights that include: education, housing, food, and employment.

 

The very nature of interdependence shows that healthcare should be the top most priority to ensure that all other sectors provide the baseline for a sustainable society.

 

A healthy society ensures a healthy economy. This pandemic has shown how the best of economies have struggled to function effectively which is owed to vulnerability of a wide populace to a contagious virus.

 

The measurement and assessment of provision of adequate healthcare in all countries including projections of ability to handle a pandemic will only ensure sustainability of healthy societies and eventually lead to robust economies.

 

For instance, healthcare that leads to discrimination on basis of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, social status, nationality and so forth will lead to inequality, whereas all inclusive health care measured against potential inequalities will lead to a robust governance structure that ensures sustainability in all sectors, that will eventually yield gains in socioeconomic status of a country.

 

Constitutional protections for healthcare are rare, for instance, out of 191 countries only 14% of the countries guaranteed the rights to public health, 38% provide provision for medical care and 36% mention overall health in their constitutions, according to a survey in 2011.  Around 86 countries including a few developed countries do not protect this basic right, constitutionally. A few countries that provide such guarantees include: Uruguay, Latvia, and Senegal.

 

Healthcare must be considered a fundamental right in all national legislations and constitutional guarantees must be provided to ensure that it is available to all without discrimination. Public policy should thus consider access to adequate healthcare as primal factor to gauge performance of a government. This will help achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 3 of the United Nations 2030 agenda: Health and Well Being.

 

The right to healthcare is fundamental and inalienable human right and is thus inextricably linked to economic, social and cultural rights. Healthy societies can be ensured if healthcare is measured against all other sectors of an economy with it being of principal significance. Countries that do not protect as a constitutional right should reform to transpose this universal right in their national legislation. Countries that seek to achieve sustainability should ensure transparent disclosure of assessments and measurements and thus form public policy accordingly.

 

Access to adequate healthcare for all is a non-negotiable right. Do you agree?

 

Is healthcare constitutionally protected in your region? Do you believe that healthcare is inextricably linked to all other rights?

 

We at Polyown Think Tank, value your opinion, share your comments and thoughts with us.

 

 Credits: Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay