While the right to the highest attainable standards of health has been proclaimed both by WHO and the UN to be a universal human right and recognized as such by the vast majority of the states, there are enormous differences in the health burdens across the world, both between and within states. A renewed effort is strongly required to improve the global commitment to the right to health and to give particular attention to those that have the highest burdens.
This report focuses on global cooperation to improve the health situation of the world’s poorest people, based on the universal human right to health. The recognition of the human right to health by states constitutes a commitment to treat health as a publicly protected good. That commitment should be taken seriously. What this may mean in practice is what the report examines.
The report is commissioned by the Norwegian Directorate of Health and is written by Asbjørn Eide, professor emeritus and former Director, Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo. A reference group was convened to discuss the draft.