The right to health: from rhetoric to reality

Human Rights Day on Dec 10 marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). A year ago, in the run up to this important milestone, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched a campaign that aimed to increase knowledge and awareness of human rights. During the course of the year, many governments and educational, cultural, and human rights institutions have reaffirmed their commitment to the values and principles of the UDHR. The health sector has been strikingly silent, which is tremendously disappointing given that the foundation for the right to health is laid out in this historic document. Perhaps one of the reasons why the health sector has been so quiet is the general lack of understanding about what the right to health is and what it means in practice./.../