[afro-nets] The right to health: more than rhetoric (3)

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

The right to health: more than rhetoric (3)
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From: "Intal - Wim De Ceukelaire" <wim.deceukelaire@intal.be>

It's true that the Lancet editorial made a selective reading of
the report. On the other hand, Paul Hunt's report is also rather
reductionistic.

You can find the whole report (which makes reference to PHM's
right to health and health care campaign) here:
http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/4session/A.HRC.4.26.pdf

I pasted the report's conclusions below:

90. In 2006, the Special Rapporteur explained to the Human
Rights Council that, working in close collaboration with others,
he hoped to have sufficient resources to identify and examine
the key features of a health system that were reflective of the
international human right to health (see E/CN.4/2006/48, para.
21). In the interactive dialogue following the presentation of
his report, the Special Rapporteur was encouraged to take this
idea forward. Although the subject is extremely ambitious and
his resources equally limited, the Special Rapporteur is trying
to respond to this interest by beginning to explore this
challenging issue.

91. The right to the highest attainable standard of health can
be understood as a right to an effective and integrated health
system, encompassing health care and the underlying determinants
of health, which is responsive to national and local priorities,
and accessible to all. More specifically, however, when looking
at a health system from the right-to-health perspective, what
are the key components that need to be present? For example,
from a human rights perspective a health system will have to
include an adequate system for the collection of health data;
otherwise, it will be impossible for the State, or any other
interested party, to monitor the progressive realization of the
right to health. Moreover, the data must be disaggregated on
certain grounds, such as sex, age and urban/rural, otherwise it
will be impossible to monitor the progressive realization of the
right to health in relation to vulnerable populations, such as
women, children and those living in remote rural communities.

92. Also, from the right-to-health perspective, a health system
will have to include a national capacity to produce a sufficient
number of well-trained health workers who enjoy good terms and
conditions of employment; a process for the preparation of
right-to-health impact assessments before major health-related
policies are finalized; arrangements for ensuring, as much as
possible, "bottom-up" participation in the formulation of health
policies; effective, transparent and accessible mechanisms of
accountability; and so on.

93. These are some of the issues that the Special Rapporteur is
beginning to explore with a view to identifying some of the key
features of a health system from the right-to-health
perspective. He invites others to support and collaborate with
him in this very major undertaking and he hopes to have the
opportunity to report further to the Council as this work
unfolds.