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People's Health Rights
One of the most critical challenges facing India today is reduction
of funds allocated for the health of its people. In fact, the State
has discreetly withdrawn from the public health system in the country,
handing over more and more services, treatment and medications to
the corporates, making it impossible for those with low incomes
to pay their way through. Espousing the WHO’s broad definition of
health as, “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being
and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”, the People’s
Health Rights Initiative (PHRI) focuses on making the government
invoke human rights enshrined in the Constitution of India and ensure
the right to life and health through the use of law.
Issues Of Concern
- Right to life
- Right to health
- Universal access to treatment
- Free access to treatment for the poor and marginalized
- Universal access to essential drugs
- Right to information
- Right to informed consent
- Right of choice
- Medical negligence
- Reasonable care
Source
Key facts
- The WHO Constitution enshrines “…the highest attainable standard
of health as a fundamental right of every human being.”
- The right to health includes access to timely, acceptable,
and affordable health care of appropriate quality.
- Yet, about 100 million people globally are pushed below the
poverty line as a result of health care expenditure ever year.
Vulnerable and marginalized groups in societies tend to bear
an undue proportion of health problems.
- Universal health coverage is a means to promote the right
to health.
Introduction
“The right to the highest attainable standard of health” requires
a set of social criteria that is conducive to the health of all
people, including the availability of health services, safe working
conditions, adequate housing and nutritious foods. Achieving the
right to health is closely related to that of other human rights,
including the right to food, housing, work, education, non-discrimination,
access to information, and participation.
The right to health includes both freedoms and
entitlements.
Freedoms include the right to control one’s health
and body (e.g. sexual and reproductive rights) and to be free from
interference (e.g. free from torture and from non-consensual medical
treatment and experimentation).
Entitlements include the right to a system of health protection
that gives everyone an equal opportunity to enjoy the highest attainable
level of health.
Health policies and programmes have the ability to either promote
or violate human rights, including the right to health, depending
on the way they are designed or implemented. Taking steps to respect
and protect human rights upholds the health sector’s responsibility
to address everyone’s health.
Source
Interviews
We plan to do einterviews with MBBS doctors to understand 4 things
1) Tests or questions you ask in first few meetings
2) What it means in medical terms
3) What it means in non medical terms
4) What should the patient or care takers do
We might interview Aurvedic doctors, homeopathic doctors, Yoga teachers
on this health issue
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