[afro-nets] Food for a thought to be enshrined in law (3)

[Claudio Schuftan <claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn>]

Food for a thought to be enshrined in law (3)
---------------------------------------------

Human Rights Reader 100

A Primer for a National Action Plan to Operationalise the Right
to Health Care (within the broader framework of the Right to
Health). Part 3 of 3

Specific actions under the Action Plan

A. Government and Ministry of Health actions (contd):

A12. Preparation of a National-Accident-Policy with the estab-
lishment of appropriate accident and trauma services in all dis-
trict government and private hospitals.

A13. Taking concrete steps to eliminate-spurious-drugs-and-sub-
standard-medical-devices.

A14. Assuring-universal-access-to-mental-health-care.

A15. Enactment of a Public-Health-Protection-Act that defines
the norms for nutritional security, drinking water quality,
sanitary facilities and other key underlying determinants of
health. [Such an act will complement the existing acts regarding
environmental protection and working conditions to ensure that
citizens enjoy the full range of conditions necessary for the
preservation of health, along with the right to access good
quality health services].

A16. Instituting a Health-Rights-Redressal-Mechanism at national
and provincial level to investigate and take action in a timely
manner in cases of denial of health care.

A17. Introduction of a set of Health-Sector-Reform-measures that
will ensure the health rights of all through the strengthening
of public health systems, and by making private care more ac-
countable and equitable. [The minimum aspects of a Health Sector
Reform framework that will strengthen public health systems must
be laid down as an essential precondition to securing health
rights of all and must include provisions to guarantee free
health care to those who cannot afford it].

A18. Taking the necessary steps to effectively-decentralize-
health-services-management [both in terms of decision-making and
of decentralized budgets].

A19. Ensuring full-availability-of-essential-drugs in the public
health system with transparent drug procurement and efficient
drug distribution procedures and adequate budgetary outlays. The
new drug policy should also promote fair drug prices and their
rational use in the private sector. [Copies of the drug formu-
lary and prices will be displayed in all government facilities
and (with an approved mark-up) in private health facilities.
Regular updating of the formulary should be ensured and mecha-
nisms be set up for users to table complaints].

A20. Development and wide distribution of treatment-protocols-
for-common-diseases to health professionals in the public and
private sectors.

A21. Adoption of a nationwide-community-health-worker programme
with adequate provisioning and support, so as to reach out to
the most marginalised rural and urban areas, providing basic
primary care and strengthening community level mechanisms for
preventive, promotive and curative care.

A22. Adoption of a detailed essential-secondary-care-services-
plan that includes emergency care services.

A23. Public-identification/notification-of-medically-
underserved-areas together with ad-hoc-plans-to-close-these-gaps
in a time bound manner.

A24. Adoption of an integrated-human-resource-development-plan
to ensure adequate availability of health humanpower including
the most peripheral levels.

A25. Adoption of transparent-non-discriminatory-health-
workforce-management-policies, especially on transfers and post-
ings, so that health personnel are fairly treated when working
in rural areas, and so that specialists are sent to serve in
secondary care facilities according to public interest.

A26. Adoption of improved-vigilance-mechanisms to respond to and
limit corruption, negligence and different forms of harassment
within both the public and private health systems.

A27. Implementing relevant actions-on-food-and-nutrition-
security, nutrition-surveillance, early-childhood-development-
and-school-feeding-programmes to address food and nutrition in-
security and malnutrition, which are a major cause of ill-
health.

All the above will be taken as a base minimum by provincial gov-
ernments, and modified to match the specific health situation in
each province. To this effect, these governments will also in-
crease their health budget over the next three to four years to
levels needed to respect the right to health care of its citi-
zens. Corresponding monitoring mechanisms with civil society in-
volvement will be set up in all districts to monitor rural
health services, as well as in towns and cities to monitor urban
health services.


B. National Human Rights Commission actions (if none exists yet,
setting one up is in-itself a priority for civil society)

The NHRC will:
B1. Oversee the monitoring of health rights at the national
level by initiating and facilitating proactive monitoring ac-
tivities and by appointing Special Rapporteurs on Health Rights
in each province.

B2. Review all laws/statutes relating to public health from a
human rights perspective to make appropriate recommendations for
the Government to make commensurate, human rights-compliant
amendments.

B3. Oversee the implementation of redressal measures being im-
plemented in a timely manner.


C. Civil society organizations actions

C1. Work for the widest possible awareness-raising on health
rights as set out in this Action Plan and work on an empowering
'health rights literacy' with all sectors of health rights claim
holders of the country --especially the currently more marginal-
ized.

C2. Act as a watchdog on the progressive implementation of the
elements of this Action Plan and denounce all procrastination by
the respective duty bearers in this respect.

--
Claudio Schuftan
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
mailto:claudio@jgmc.netnam.vn

Adapted from National Public Hearing on the Right to Health Care
organised by the National Human Right Commission & JSA (PHM In-
dia) in New Delhi, 16-17 December 2004. (courtesy of Abhay
Shukla at CEHAT, Mumbai).