On Healthcare and Human Rights

Human rights are generally understood to be universal and egalitarian. They are inalienable, indivisible, and derived from the ideology of natural law which seeks to uphold universally accepted moral principles. Providing comfort and assistance to the physically and emotionally ill is one of those universally accepted moral obligations, yet the question remains whether healthcare is a human right or just another commodity to be rationed. Those who support the idea of healthcare being a human right can cite several historically honored documents. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which was adopted in 1948 by the United Nations, in response to the mayhem of World War Two, identified 30 internationally recognized human rights which subsequently formed the groundwork for human rights policy around the world. Article 25 of the UDHR 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, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”

In 1966, the United Nations elaborated on the core principles of the UDRH in the treaty known as the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Article 12 of the ICESCR elaborates on the right to heath by stating, “The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.” Further advocacy for healthcare as a human right came from the Declaration of Alma-Ata, a brief document written in 1978 at The International Conference on Primary Health Care. The declaration expressed the need “for action by all governments, all health and development workers, and the world community to protect and promote the health of all people of the world.” Article 1 of the Declaration of Alma-Ata states “The Conference strongly reaffirms that health, which is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, is a fundamental human right”. Almost all of the member nations of the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund attended The International Conference on Primary Health Care and supported its right to a health initiative.