CRIN - Child Rights Information Network
The right to health is enshrined in article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as other treaties such the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Article 12).
A rights-based approach to health assesses how internationally agreed human rights principles and standards can be used in practical ways to protect the lives, health and dignity of all children. This includes identifying and addressing the underlying determinants of ill-health such as poverty and access to safe and affordable water and sanitation. It also means shifting the emphasis from paternalistic or top-down health policies and programmes towards interventions that focus on access, empowerment, accountability and participation. Making special efforts to reach those most vulnerable to ill-health is essential. Identifying how often and how severely certain population groups suffer illness may reveal inequitable health care provision. Disaggregating data by such variables as ethnicity, sex and age can help to eliminate disparities in health resulting from social disadvantage and provide an important tool for poverty reduction. A key means of implementing children's rights standards may be through training and raising awareness about basic health care issues. Agencies can facilitate participation by giving workshops in basic health and sanitation, listening to what children have to say, and encouraging the active participation of children in programming and policy formulation. This is essential to secure the good governance, political accountability and legal redress mechanisms needed to achieve sustainable, quality health care.
It is acknowledged in the Convention on the Rights of the Child that the rights to economic, social and cultural rights, such as the right to health, are ideals that may be difficult to attain – particularly in States with fewer resources. Article 4 states:
With regard to economic, social and cultural rights, States Parties shall undertake such measures to the maximum extent of their available resources and, where needed, within the framework of international cooperation. And Article 24(4) also requires that:
States Parties undertake to promote and encourage international cooperation with a view to achieving progressively the full realisation of the right recognised in the present article. In this regard, particular account shall be taken of the needs of developing countries.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child held a Day of General Discussion in 2008 on the subject of what, in practice, is meant by the allocation of resources to the maximum possible extent. For information on the discussions, click here.
Resources: World Health Organisation, Human Rights Based Approach to Health: http://www.who.int/trade/glossary/story054/en/index.html
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