Key Facts

• The organization’s constitution affirms that the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being.
• The right to health includes access to acceptable and affordable health care of the right quality at the right time.
• Despite this, every year about 150 million people in the world suffer from financial disasters, and 100 million people fall into poverty due to spending on health care.
• The right to health means that states must create conditions in which everyone can be as healthy as possible. It does not mean the right to be healthy.
• Vulnerable and marginalized groups in society tend to bear an undue burden of health problems.
• Another advantage of rights-based approaches is meaningful participation. Participation means ensuring that national stakeholders – including non-state actors such as NGOs – are involved in all phases of programming: evaluation, analysis, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

The right to health also includes, according to the General Comment, a “fundamental content” relating to the lowest essential level of that right. Although it is not possible to define this level theoretically due to the differences that exist between the countries involved in its implementation, there are basic elements indicated that enable to guide the process of setting priorities.

Among the issues included in the core content are:

• Basic primary health care
• Minimum amount of basic foods and nutritious foods
• sanitation
• Pure and potable water
• Essential medicines