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ZIMBABWE ASSOCIATION OF DOCTORS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
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Rights-Based Approaches to Health: Possibilities for Zimbabwe
‘A human rights-based approach differs from
the basic needs approach in that it recognizes
the existence of rights… A need not fulfilled
leads to dissatisfaction. In contrast, a right
that is not respected leads to a violation’
UNFPA
Defining the Right to Health
The right to health includes the entitlement to
timely and appropriate health care and also
encompasses underlying determinants of
health, such as access to safe and potable water, adequate sanitation, an adequate supply of
safe food, nutrition, housing and access to
health-related education and information. Participation by the population in all healthrelated decision making is also important.
INSIDE
THIS ISSUE:
Rights-Based
Approaches to
Health: Lessons
1
for Zimbabwe
The MoHCW’s
100 Day Health
Action Plan
3
Monitoring the
Right to Health:
Training Report
4
Prison Health in 5
Zimbabwe: The
Case for Reform
What’s Coming
Up?
6
Contact Us
6
The right to health has the following characteristics which are true of all human rights:
− it is inherent
− it focuses on the dignity and integrity of
every human being
− it is universal, interdependent, indivisible
and interrelated with all other rights
− it applies to all individuals on the basis of
equality and non-discrimination
− it must be guaranteed by law
− it cannot be arbitrarily taken away or
waived
− it can and should be claimed.
Health care and the underlying determinants of
health are measured by:
− Availability of functioning public health
facilities and health care and of the underlying determinants: safe and potable water,
sanitation, food etc
− Acceptability which requires respect for
medical ethics and cultural appropriateness
− Accessibility including non-discrimination,
physical accessibility, economic accessibility (affordability) and access to information
− Quality which requires all health facilities,
good and services to be of good quality.
What is the Rights-Based Approach?
A rights-based approach to health means integrating human rights norms and principles in
the design, implementation, monitoring, and
evaluation of health-related policies and programmes. As the premise of all human rights
is the inherent dignity of every human being, a
rights-based approach to health focuses on
human dignity. The principles of equality
and non-discrimination, also central to human rights, are key elements of this approach
and in this vein, attention is paid to vulnerable
and marginalized groups and efforts are made
to ensure that the health system is equitably
accessible to all.
The rights-based approach empowers communities by ensuring their participation in decision-making processes which affect them and
allowing them to set their own priorities both
at community and national level.
Human rights require legal protections and
similarly a rights-based approach to health
must have legal protections for health. It is
important that the government operates in a
transparent manner that allows it to be held
accountable for its actions pertaining to
health.
Implementation of the rights-based approach
requires fulfillment by the government of its
obligations and participation and claiming of
rights by communities—the rights holders.
Source: UNFPA