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Access to basic health care as a fundamental human right
Introduction
The right to health is inclusive of a number of factors, which are the determinants of health. These factors comprise of safe food, safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, healthy environmental condition, as well as gender equality. Apart from these factors, the most vital component that determines the right to health includes getting access to healthcare services. It is also necessary to consider the fact that the rights to health comprises freedoms such as the right to freedom from non-consensual medical treatment and freedom from torture, and degrading human treatment.
When discussing the aspect of rights to health, it is vital to consider that it contains entitlements such as having access to most of the essential medicines, the right the control, treatment and prevention of diseases and the right to a health protection system. The protection systems should provide equity and opportunity for every individual to enjoy a high level of health. This paper looks into some of the implications of the propositions to health care as a fundamental human right, further establishing the organization responsible for ensuring that all human beings have access to health care. Additionally, the paper looks into what it would take to guarantee health care provision, including the reasons as to why not everyone has the access to healthcare.
Implications of access to basic health
Mountains Beyond Mountains brings about some critical questions that address the issue of health care, as well as the distribution of wealth across the globe. The book gives a glimpse of some of the works that Dr. Farmer is involved in, in his quest to ensure change in the world, condemning some of the developmental issues in Haiti that neglect the improvement of the health practices of the people in the country. It is possible to equate the quest for Dr. Farmer to seeking justice for the people that are not in a position to access health care as a basic right. The particular sense of health rights in this case has to do with the distribution of scarce resources, which comprises of the overall requirements that ensure a healthy people. The understanding of distributive fundamental rights in this case ensures a fair distribution of health benefits and burdens among the different individuals in the society.
It is vital to take recognition of the fact that it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that its subjects have access to health care. Every individual in society has the right to a specific standard of living, which ensures adequacy in terms of health care access for him or herself, as well as his or her family. The state has the responsibility if ensuring that the citizenry enjoy the adequacy of food, housing social services, clothing, adequate sanitation and health care services. These needs are indispensable components of an adequate standard of living that improves the people’s well-being and health.
Some of the factors that the government or state should take care of to ensure an uncompromised living standards for its people include ensuring an adequate distribution of clean water to its people, making sure that they maintain a sufficient supply of food to its people and establishing sufficient standards of sanitation. Those factors that relate directly health include the provision of maternal and prenatal healthcare, educating the citizenry on malnutrition as well as disease prevention, and finally the administration of widespread medication and vaccination. All these are the responsibilities of the state or government, which are measures of providing some of the fundamental rights to the people inhabiting the subject community.
Quality health care includes making sure that the government meets its mandate of health care education provision, provision of good sanitary measures, as well as making certain that the citizenry have access treatment facilities. With all these considerations, it is vital to mull over prevention as the best determinant to a successful health care system, which is a way of ensuring that people have access to good quality health care. Dr. Farmer emphasizes on the distribution of risks for suffering and disease, which is an approach of delivering good quality health care. Dr. Farmer accentuates the fact that suffering and disease are not random events, but entail human agency.
Dr. Farmer incorporates the term structural violence, as indicated in the book, which refers to violations that are economic and political in nature, and are against the human rights. The consequence of the violations includes poverty, human suffering and disease. An example in this case s the flooding of the Artibonite Valley in Haiti, which led to the creation of water refugees, who were at risk of diseases, suffering and malnourishment. The water refugees had no livelihood means after the floods, and they comprised of Dr. Farmer’s poorest patients. Dr. Farmer insinuates that the suffering that the people were going through was not a result of random events, but they were consequences of decisions made by human beings. Dr. Farmer argues that the events are structured in a systematic way, whose consequences violate the fundamental human rights of accessing basic health care.
Ways of guaranteeing this right
The explanation for poor health or disease is possibly a derivative of economic social and political force, which shapes the outcome of the health. Some of the violations of the core human rights emanate from lack of social and economic opportunities. Education is one of the critical factors that determine the economic and social position of individuals; this is a precursor to their health. For this reason, it is possible to determine that individuals with low education levels are of a poor health status. The other economic factor that is important for determining the health of an individual is the income level, which is a modifiable factor that determines the health and well-being of individuals. The most transparent way of ensuring prioritization of health support, which is a way of fulfilling the human rights health needs, it would be necessary to ensure an equitable distribution of resources. Provision of preventive measures to the people, which might be inclusive of providing vaccinations to the people, is another way that the government can use to make sure that they provide the basic human health rights to the people. On the political front, the legislators are responsible for coming up with policies that promote health rights among the people. With all these considerations, it is vital to consider that obtaining the basic health rights has not been universally possible. It is possible to argue that shortcomings of the social economic and political responsibilities have affected the acquisition of health care as a basic human right. Not all people have access to the fundamental human rights, especially in relation to health issues.
