Access To Healthcare Services As A Human Right
Keywords:
Healthcare access, Human rights, Health equity, Social justice, Legal frameworksAbstract
Access to healthcare services is increasingly recognized as a fundamental human right, essential for achieving health equity and promoting social justice. This article explores the legal and ethical dimensions of healthcare access, emphasizing its implications for individuals and communities. It examines international human rights frameworks, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which underline the obligation of states to ensure that healthcare services are available, accessible, acceptable, and of good quality. The article also discusses barriers to accessing healthcare, such as socioeconomic disparities, geographic challenges, and systemic discrimination. Through an analysis of case studies from various countries, the paper highlights successful strategies for enhancing healthcare access and provides recommendations for policymakers to address persistent inequalities. Ultimately, recognizing access to healthcare as a human right is crucial for fostering an inclusive society where all individuals can attain the highest standard of health, thereby advancing human dignity and equality.
References
Bollyky, T. J. (2002). Balancing private rights and public organisations: Constitutionally mandated compulsory licensing of HIV/AIDS related treatments in South Africa. South African Journal of Human Rights, 18(3), 530.
Carstens, P. (2009). The involuntary detention and isolation of patients infected with extreme resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB): Implications for public health, human rights, and informed consent. Obiter, 30(2), 420.
Chetty, C. (2002). The right to health care services: Interpreting section 27 of the Constitution. South African Public Law, 17(2), 453.
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. Section 27(1)(a).
Council for Medical Schemes. (2009–2010). CMS News, Issue 3: Relationships in the industry – what all beneficiaries need to know.
Department of Health. (2009–2010). Annual Report of the Department of Health.
Freeman, T. (2007). Performance measurement and improvement. In K. Walshe & J. Smith (Eds.), Healthcare Management (p. 300).
Government Gazette Notice 657 of 1994.
Medical Schemes Act No. 131 of 1998, as amended.
Medicines & Related Substances Act No. 101 of 1965, section 226, as amended.
Minister of Health, Western Cape v Goliath, 2009 (2) SA 248 (C).
National Health Act No. 61 of 2003, section 5.
National Health Act, sections 90(1)(u) and (v), and corresponding regulations.
Ngwena, C. (2002). Access to health care and the courts: A note on Minister of Health v Treatment Action Campaign. South African Public Law, 17(2), 463.
Peters, D. H., El-Saharty, S., Siadat, B., Janovsky, K., & Vujicic, M. (Eds.). (2009). Improving Health Service Delivery in Developing Countries.
Pharmacy Act No. 53 of 1974, section 22A, as amended.
Slabbert, M. (2009). One heart, two patients: Who gets a donor organ? Stellenbosch Law Report, 1, 124.
Soobramoney v Minister of Health, 1997 12 BCLR 1696 (CC).
Traditional Health Practitioners Act No. 35 of 2004.
Van Bueren, G. (2010). Health. In M. H. Cheadle, D. M. Davis, & N. R. L. Haysom (Eds.), South African Constitutional Law: The Bill of Rights (looseleaf, updated 2010), section 22.3.1, pp. 494–497.
Van Rensburg, H. C. J. (Ed.). (2004). Health and Health Care in South Africa (1st ed.), pp. 385–387.
Vawda, Y. A. (2009). Ensuring access through the Medicines and Related Substances Amendment Act 72 of 2008 – Another lost opportunity. South African Law Journal, 126, 667.
