Social Work Interventions and Strategies to promote Health Rights ? A Panel Discussion

Social Work Interventions and Strategies to promote Health Rights – A Panel Discussion

Ragland Remo Paul*

Introduction:

Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the General Assembly of the United Nations on the 10th December 1948 states as follows;

“(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.”

This is the basis on which the concept note of this conference has been formulated. People’s Health Assembly on the 8th December 2000 endorsed the People’s Charter for Health, which states as follows,

“HEALTH AS A HUMAN RIGHT – Health is a reflection of a society’s commitment to equity and justice. Health and human rights should prevail over economic and political concerns. This Charter calls on people of the world to:

9. Support all attempts to implement the right to health.

10. Demand that governments and international organizations reformulate, implement and enforce policies and practices, which respect the right to health.

11. Build broad-based popular movements to pressure governments to incorporate health and human rights into national constitutions and legislation.

12. Fight the exploitation of people’s health needs for purposes of profit.”

Violations or non-existence of human rights and in specific in health rights is not a result of any single factor. Health is not merely a physical issue. It is a social, economic and political issue and above all a fundamental human right. Inequality, poverty, exploitation, violence and injustice have been instrumental in the violation of health rights for the poor and marginalized (and in some cases the rich and those with access to health care.)

Here today at this panel discussion we are going to try and explore the interventions and strategies that we as social workers can do to promote health rights. This paper does not claim to provide for the entire list of interventions and strategies to promote health rights, but will certainly look at some critical areas. The main attempt of this paper is to set our minds thinking in this critical area of human rights, to innovate and formulate strategies to promote health rights.