Action for Global Health calls EU Member States for Action to Right to Health

Background

Sixty years ago, after two world wars demonstrateded our capacity for horror, the world turned to what was needed for the definition and protection of human rights. The universal Declaration of Human Rights has been ratified and is now the basis of international law. Among the right to freedom and to live a decent life, the Declaration also states the right to health as fundamental right (Art 25).

Yet, sixty years later, there are still inequalities, and the right to health is far from being a respected in most parts of the world, in developing countries and in our rich western societies.

Reaffirming the Right to Health as a Priority

Action for Global Health - which advocates for Member States and the EU to respect their commitments regarding aid development to the developing countries and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals - calls for real action from EU governments and the international community in order to fulfill the right to health for everyone of the world.

In this statement, AfGH expresses its belief that far from being fair, health is still subject of big inequalities between countries and within countries. The right to health can be realised only through a holistic and multi-sectorial approach, taking social determinants into account. As mentioned in the WHO and UNHCR’s Factsheet on The right to health : A Resource Manual for NGO, states have an obligation to respect, protect and fulfill the right to health. This is the only way to manage to reach the MDG.

Call for action

AfGH calls for : a) Governments to put in place legal structures and policies that will protect the right to health, provide a holistic development framework and integrate a gender mainstreaming approach;

b) Governments, donors, European Commission and international agencies to implement policies that ensure women, children and all other vulnerable and marginalised groups have equal access to primary health care, and tackle the underlying social determinants of health that limit access;

c) Governments, donors, European Commission, international agencies to actively engage with civil society and ensure community participation in designing and implementing policies and in holding them to account and

d) Donor governments to allocate 0.1% of their gross domestic income to official development assistance for health, and partner governments to allocate sufficient domestic resources to health.

In Africa this requires governments to meet the Abuja Target of allocating 15% of their national budgets to health.

For further information :

AfGH’s Statement