The right to health must guide responses to COVID-19

(May 2020)

Pūras, Dainius; de Mesquita, Judith Bueno; Cabal, Luisa; Maleche, Allan; Meier, Benjamin Mason. Lancet. New York : Elsevier Science Inc. ISSN 0140-6736. eISSN 1474-547X. 2020, vol. 395, iss. 10241, p. 1888-1890. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31255-1. [Science Citation Index Expanded (Web of Science); Scopus; MEDLINE] [IF: 79,323; AIF: 5,182; IF/AIF: 15,307; Q1 (2020, InCites JCR SCIE)] [CiteScore: 91,50; SNIP: 23,639; SJR: 13,103; Q1 (2020, Scopus Sources)] [M.kr.: M 001] [Indėlis: 0,200]

Abstract:
Human rights scrutiny in the COVID-19 pandemic has largely focused on limitations of individual freedoms to protect public health, yet it is essential to look at the broader relevance of realising human rights to promote public health in the COVID-19 response.
The human right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health provides binding normative guidance for health-care systems, broader social responses, and global solidarity. As recognised in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the right to health requires that states take steps for the “prevention, treatment and control of epidemic, endemic, occupational and other diseases” and to assure “medical service and medical attention in the event of sickness”. The right to health requires that health goods, services, and facilities are available in adequate numbers; accessible on a financial, geographical, and non-discriminatory basis; acceptable, including culturally appropriate and respectful of gender and medical ethics; and of good quality. Read more