PHM is embarking upon a global Right
to Health and Healthcare campaign (RTHHC) which involves coordinated
national and international level action. The overall idea of the
campaign is to change the international approach to health and
development, and, via a ‘Global Action Plan on the Right to Health
Care,’ convincingly show how quality essential health care services
(based upon the Alma Ata Primary Health Care model
http://www.who.dk/AboutWHO/Policy/20010827_1) could be made available
NOW to every human being on earth, provided certain key reallocation of
priorities and resources. The 2008 World Health Assembly (2008 is the
30th anniversary of the Alma Ata Declaration) will be asked to adopt a
‘Declaration on the Right to Health for All’ that will call for
time-bound, progressive implementation of the Right to Health and will
put in place mechanisms for monitoring and redressal of this right in
all countries. PHM will use a consultative process in about 40
countries to involve thousands of people in making this demand. PHM has
gotten attention and credibility at the international level because it
is seen as representing a large constituency of grassroots health
workers, activists, and citizens and so the involvement of many people
is key.
The first phase involves the production of rights-based evaluations of
national health policies in countries with PHM circles. The global
coordinating group has developed The Assessment of the Right to Health
at the Country Level: A People's Health Movement Guide for national PHM
circles to use to produce consistant reports using human rights law.
The process will generate lobbying/activist strategies to use on the
national and international level. Key strategic allies within
international organizations will be enlisted. The reports will be
presented in a coordinated fashion at regional assemblies leading to
the 2008 World Health Assembly. The regional assembly process will
generate the Global Action Plan. (See Executive Summary of the campaign
below.)
Towards attaining the Right
to Health Care...
The Government of India has been unable to fulfill it’s commitment of
‘Health for All by 2000 A.D.’ till now. In fact, primary health care
services are becoming more and more difficult to obtain especially for
people living in urban slums, villages or remote tribal regions. The
condition of government hospitals is worsening day by day. Nowadays, in
most of the government hospitals there is inadequate staff, the supply
of medicines is insufficient and the infrastructure is also inadequate.
The facilities for safe deliveries or abortions are also very
inadequate. Given the fact that women do not even get adequate
treatment for minor illnesses such as anaemia, services for problems
such as the health effects of domestic violence remain almost
completely unavailable. At the village level, there is no resident
health care provider to treat illnesses or implement preventive
measures. All hospitals are located in cities, and here too public
hospitals are increasingly starved of funds and facilities. Thus there
is lack of availability of government health care services on one hand
and the exorbitant cost of private health services on the other. This
often leaves common people in rural areas with no other option but to
resort to treatment from quack doctors who often practice irrationally.
Thus most of the population is being deprived of the basic Right to
Health Care, which is essential for healthy living.
The Indian Constitution has granted the ‘Right to Life’ as a basic
human right to every citizen of India under article 21. In article 47
of the Directive Principles of the Indian Constitution, the
Government’s responsibility concerning public health has also been laid
down. Yet the Government is backtracking from fulfilling this
responsibility. This is obvious from the fact that the Government’s
proportion of expenditure on public health services has been declining
every successive year.
What can be done in the near future to
establish the Right to Health Care?
The year 2003 was the silver jubilee year of the ‘Health for All’
declaration. On this occasion, Jan Swasthya Abhiyan launched a
nationwide campaign to establish the Right to Health Care as a basic
human right. Some of the following activities are being taken up as
part of this campaign:
* Documentation of individual case studies involving denial of health
care. Information is being collected in a specific format with the help
of questionnaires. The cases where denial of health services has led to
the loss of life, physical damage or severe financial loss of the
patient are being emphasised. These case studies will be presented to
the National Human Rights Commission. It is hoped that they would help
us to depict the real status of provision of the primary health
services by the government and strengthen our demand for improving
public health services as well as help us in dialoguing with the
public health system.
* Similarly, situations of structural denial of health care, where
Primary Health Centres, Community Health Centres or public hospitals
are regularly denying basic health services to people are being
documented. Questionnaires have been prepared to help in such
documentation, based on which the demand for adequate services and
facilities may be raised.
* Jan Sunwais on the Right to Health Care are being organised at the
local, district and state level. JSA linked organisations can organise
such Jan Sunwais to highlight the state of public health services, and
instances of denial of health care / structural denial of health care
can be presented in these programmes.
* The National Human Rights Commission, in collaboration with Jan
Swasthya Abhiyan, is organising Public Hearings on Health and Human
Rights in various regions of the country from mid-2004 onwards. These
regional hearings would be followed by a national public hearing. JSA
linked organizations and individuals can present case studies during
these public hearings and ask for effective action by state health
authorities and investigation by the NHRC.
These are some of the steps being planned to move towards establishing
the Right to Health Care. Let us join this campaign and strengthen the
movement to achieve health care and Health for All!
http://www.caleidoscop.org.ro/Members/janina/news/the-global-2018right-to-health-and-health-
care-campaign2019/?searchterm=None
