#Right To Health

[raffaellopalandri]

World Health Day 2024: My Health, My Right

Every year on April 7th, the World Health Organization (WHO) celebrates World Health Day, a global event dedicated to raising awareness of a specific health issue. This year’s theme, “My health, my right”, shines a light on the fundamental principle that everyone, regardless of background or circumstance, deserves access to good health. Why is Health Essential? Our health is one of the…

[indizombie]

The main grudge of the protesting doctors of Rajasthan is the clause in the bill according to which any resident of the state will have the right to emergency treatment and care without prepayment at all hospitals and healthcare centres. This of course upsets the “business model” on which most private healthcare set ups work. The anxiety of the doctors about this clause is twofold: First, who decides what can be classified as a medical emergency, and second, the bureaucratic and political control and arm twisting when it comes to admitting or reimbursing payment for these patients. Both the apprehensions are justified but are not enough to be grounds to oppose a unique, first of its kind initiative by any Indian state in safeguarding the health of its citizens.

Shah Alam Khan, ‘Doctors must embrace Right to Health Bill, not protest against it’, Indian Express

[sayruq]

Palestinian girls and women are forced to use tents as pads. People boost. Donate if you can

[icarusinfreefall]

reminder that adhd medication isn't a luxury or preference, but a lifesaving medication. a 10 year long study in the usa showed that, when properly medicated, the rate of car crashes people with adhd get into goes down significantly--men's rate drops by 38%, and women's by 42%. the med shortage, denial of meds by doctors, rising prices, and the "war on drugs" has killed--with such a car dependent society, not driving frequently isn't an option, which means we need better healthcare and need it now.

https://shorturl.at/8VD8B

edit because i forgot to explain: short link is to an article by the washington post, it should be free to read

[universalhealthcoverageday]

Launch of WHO book 'Health inequality monitoring: harnessing data to advance health equity'.

Over the past decades there have been remarkable improvements to human health around the world. Yet, further progress remains hampered by persistent inequalities between and within populations. Robust health inequality monitoring systems and practices are needed to identify and address unfair differences in health and ensure no one is left behind in the pursuit of better health for all.

The forthcoming WHO book Health inequality monitoring: harnessing data to advance health equity is a comprehensive and contemporary resource for health inequality monitoring, consolidating foundational and emerging knowledge in the field. It aims to support the expansion and strengthening of health inequality monitoring practices across different applications around the world, in service of the broader goal of advancing health equity.

The book covers a range of topics, spanning the importance and general applications of health inequality monitoring, to ways to align monitoring activities to generate impact. It details strategies for sourcing and using data for health inequality monitoring, as well as techniques for analyzing, interpreting and reporting health inequality data. The book was developed for a diverse readership, including technical experts (e.g. statistical, planning, and monitoring and evaluation officers), public health professionals, researchers, analysts and students.

Launch event

A webinar will be held on 11 December 2024, 13:00-14:15 CET to mark the release of the WHO book, Health inequality monitoring: harnessing data to advance health equity. Book contributors will introduce this new resource, and a panel of health equity experts will explore the theme “harnessing data to advance health equity”.

Language interpretation will be available in Arabic, French and Spanish. 

Agenda

Welcome: Pavel Ursu, Acting Director, Department of Data and Analytics, WHO

Opening remarks: Marnie Johnstone, Executive Director, Health Equity Policy Directorate, Strategic Policy Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada 

Introduction to health inequality monitoring at WHO: Ahmad Hosseinpoor, Lead, Health Inequality Monitoring, Department of Data and Analytics, WHO

Overview of book contents: Nicole Bergen, Consultant, Health Inequality Monitoring Team, Department of Data and Analytics, WHO

Endorsements from the Expert Review Group

Panel discussion: 

Ana Estela Haddad, Secretary of Information and Digital Health, Ministry of Health, Brazil

Anthony Adofo Ofosu, Deputy Director-General, Ghana Health Service, Ministry of Health, Ghana

Yukiko Asada, Investigator, Department of Bioethics, National Institutes of Health, USA

Arash Rashidian, Director, Science, Information and Dissemination Division, Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office, WHO 

Hope Johnson, Special Advisor to the CEO and Director of Measurement, Evaluation and Learning, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

Rajat Khosla, Executive Director, Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health 

Alia el-Yassir, Director, Department for Gender, Equity, Diversity and Rights for Health, WHO

Moderator: Devaki Nambiar, Consultant, Health Inequality Monitoring Team, Department of Data and Analytics, WHO

Learn more about WHO's work on health inequality monitoring

If you would like to receive periodic emails from the WHO Health Inequality Monitoring team about events, resources and training opportunities, please sign up here. 

[victusinveritas]

[bunnie-the-idiot]

the kids online safety act passed the u.s. senate.

long story short (for anyone who hadn't heard of this before) the kids online safety act, aka kosa, is a bill that will censor online content and resources for lgbtq+ matters, reproductive healthcare, activism (INCLUDING PALESTINE AND LIKELY OTHER CRISES GOING ON LIKE IN CONGO OR SUDAN), mental health, etc. everywhere--its effects likely won't be contained to just america.

today, july 30th, 2024, the senate passed it 91-3. it has officially moved to the house of representatives.

is this a pretty massive setback? yes. do you have every right to be scared, sad, angry, or whatever else about this happening? absolutely. but should you give up hope completely? NO!

even though kosa passed the senate, the house is on break/august recess at the moment. we have around an entire month to get emails, calls, and faxes in to house reps, maybe more depending on when they decide to vote on it.

should it pass the house and get signed into law, we still have a whole 18 months before it actually goes into effect. this is plenty of time for digital rights orgs (e.g. fight for the future, the electronic frontier foundation) and other groups that oppose it to file a lawsuit against it. even if, worst-case scenario, it flies through the house immediately after the recess ends, we can still fight this up to march 2026.

so, yes, remember what's at stake here, but also remember that it's not over yet. we lost a battle, not the war.

below are some resources to learn more about kosa and how to contact your reps (first link) + a page that lets you directly contact progressive house reps, sign an open letter opposing the bill, and view others' testimonies against it (second link):

FIGHT. FIGHT. FIGHT.

[destielmemenews]

source 1

source 2

[floral-ashes]

Someone anonymously messaged me to tell me that writing about detrans folks makes me a traitor to trans people, because all detrans people want to push conversion therapy on us and forcibly detransition us.

That’s precisely the kind of narrative that ends up pushing detransitioners into the arms of TERFs and the religious far-right.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with detransitioning. Sometimes people realize that transitioning no longer suits them, or never really did. And that’s fine.

When we systematically push them away regardless of their politics, we make people feel like the only places they can get support are among transphobes. That’s not a good thing. Building de/trans solidarity is an critical tool for disarming anti-trans movements.

[batboyblog]

Things the Biden-Harris Administration Did This Week #39

October 18-25 2024.

President Biden issued the first presidential apology on behalf of the federal government to America's Native American population for the Indian boarding school policy. For 150 years the federal government operated a system of schools which aimed to destroy Native culture through the forced assimilation of native children. At these schools students faced physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, and close to 1,000 died. The Biden-Harris Administration has been historic for Native and Tribal rights. From the appointment of the first ever Native American cabinet member, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, to the investment of $46 billion dollars on tribal land, to 200 new co-stewardship agreements. The last 4 years have seen a historic investment in and expansion of tribal rights.

The Biden-Harris Administration proposed a new rule which would make contraceptive medication (the pill) free over the counter with most Insurance. The new rule would ban cost sharing for contraception products, including the pill, condoms, and emergency contraception. On top of over the counter medications, the new rule will also strength protections for prescribed contraception without cost sharing as well.

The EPA announced its finalized rule strengthening standards for lead paint dust in pre-1978 housing and child care facilities. There is no safe level of exposure to lead particularly for children who can suffer long term developmental consequences from lead exposure. The new standards set the lowest level of lead particle that can be identified by a lab as the standard for lead abatement. It's estimated 31 million homes built before the ban on lead paint in 1978 have lead paint and 3.8 million of those have one or more children under the age of 6. The new rule will mean 1.2 million fewer people, including over 300,000 children will not be exposed to lead particles every year. This comes after the Biden-Harris Administration announced its goal to remove and replace all lead pipes in America by the end of the decade.

The Department of Transportation announced a $50 million dollar fine against American Airlines for its treatment of disabled passengers and their wheelchairs. The fine stems from a number of incidences of humiliating and unfair treatment of passages between 2019 and 2023, as well as video documented evidence of mishandling wheelchairs and damaging them. Half the fine will go to replacing such damaged wheelchairs. The Biden administration has leveled a historic number of fines against the airlines ($225 million) for their failures. It also published a Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights, passed a new rule accessible lavatories on aircraft, and is working on a rule to require airlines to replace lost or damaged wheelchairs with equal equipment at once.

The Department of Energy announced $430 million dollars to help boost domestic clean energy manufacturing in former coal communities. This invests in projects in 15 different communities, in places like Texas, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Michigan. The plan will bring about 1,900 new jobs in communities struggling with the loss of coal. Projects include making insulation out of recycled cardboard, low carbon cement production, and industrial fiber hemp processing.

The Department of Transportation announced $4.2 billion in new infrastructure investment. The money will go to 44 projects across the country. For example the MBTA will get $400 million to replace the 92 year old Draw 1 bridge and renovate North Station.

The Department of Transportation announced nearly $200 million to replace aging natural gas pipes. Leaking gas lines represent a serious public health risk and also cost costumers. Planned replacements in Georgia and North Carolina for example will save the average costumer there over $900 on their gas bill a year. Replacing leaking lines will also remove 1,000 metric tons of methane pollution, annually.

The Department of the Interior announced $244 million to address legacy pollution in Pennsylvania coal country. This comes on top of $400 million invested earlier this year. This investment will help close dangerous mine shafts, reclaim unstable slopes, improve water quality by treating acid mine drainage, and restore water supplies damaged by mining.

Data shows that President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act (passed with Vice-President Harris' tie breaking vote) has saved seniors $1 billion dollars on out-of-pocket drug costs. Seniors with certain high priced drugs saw their yearly out of pocket costs capped at $3,500 for 2024. In 2024 all seniors using Medicare Part D will see their out of pocket costs capped at $2,000 for the year. It's estimated if the $2,000 cap had been in effect this year 4.6 million seniors would have hit it by June and not have had to pay any more for medication for the rest of the year.

The Department of Education announced a new proposed rule to bring student debt relief for 8 million struggling borrowers. The Biden-Harris Administration has managed despite road blocks from Republicans in Congress, the courts and law suits from Republican states to bring student loan forgiveness to 5 million Americans so far through different programs. This latest rule would take into account many financial hardships faced by people to determine if they qualify to have their student loans forgiven. The final rule cannot be finalized before 2025 meaning its fate will be decided at the election.

The Department of Agriculture announced $1.5 billion in 92 partner-driven conservation projects. These projects aim at making farming more susceptible and environmental friendly, 16 projects are about water conservation in the West, 6 support use of innovative technologies to reduce enteric methane emissions in livestock. $100 million has been earmarked for Tribal-led projects.

[charles-breaks-beakers]

HETEROSEXUAL CIS-PEOPLE LOOK HERE

Snaps my fingers at you as you scroll past this post

Look at me. Listen.

I'm not the best at serious posts, but that article up there reminded me of how important it is that people like you stand up for us. So hold on while I try to get this out of my mushy end-of-work-day brain.

We could fight this fight ourselves for decades trying to reach the equal laws, gender affirming trans healthcare that doesn't have a 2-5+ soul-eating years of waiting time, medical care with equal knowledge of lgbtqia+ bodies, and, what is often forgotten, inclusion in the little everyday areas of life like our way of speaking or things being set up or designed with the existence of queer people in mind.

But you joining in could get us there so much faster.

The power you have as a hetero cis person is that you set the standard for what is seen as the average way of treating us among other hetero cis people. You have been given the power of deciding what's "normal" and I'm begging you to use it.

Richard Green is a great example of to what extent your actions can help our situation, and smaller ways of support still add up to a great impact on society, and could make the days of the queer people you interact with.

Educate yourself before you speak up, but don't be silent.

[creature-wizard]

Since folks are exhausted from hearing about Project 2025 and Agenda 47, here are some reasons to feel hopeful about Harris

(It would be wonderful if folks could reblog this, a lot of people are feeling very discouraged right now and could use the morale boost!)

[indizombie]

The issue of overcrowding in prisons evident in this report is an important reminder of our overreliance on incarceration and the need for alternatives. Ministries of health play a critical role in protecting the basic human right to health. This report highlights the value of a health and human rights-focused approach in dealing with offenders, providing important insights into the specific steps that can be taken to improve our systems, for people in prison and for all of society.

Carina Ferreira-Borges, WHO regional advisor for alcohol, illicit drugs and prison health

[ujaglobaladvisory]

Right To Health In India: Constitutional Perspective

“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services…”

Article 25 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights

Health is an essential prerequisite for human beings and plays a vital role in national development. The right to health is an essential right, without which one cannot exercise its basic human rights.

WHO has given a widely acceptable definition of “health” in the preamble of its constitution; according to the World Health Organization[1], “health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease.”

Through this definition, WHO has helped to move health thinking beyond a limited, biomedical, and pathology-based perspective to the more positive domain of “well-being.”. Also, by explicitly including the mental and social dimensions of wellbeing, WHO has fundamentally stretched the scope of health and, by extension, the role and responsibility of health professionals and their relationship to the larger society.

The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India; it aims to secure social, economic, and political justice. The Constitution of India does not categorically provide for the right to health as a fundamental right. The state is required under the Constitution to take action to enhance the quality of healthcare available to the public. The Directive Principles of State Policy are an expansion and elaboration of the preamble. Nonetheless, the state’s fundamental law protects individual liberties and advances the welfare of the country.

It is the duty of the state to provide an effective mechanism for the welfare of the public at large.

In spite of various health schemes and policies, the condition of healthcare is deteriorating beyond our control. The framers of the Indian Constitution have rightly mentioned various provisions regarding the health of the public. Additionally, the Supreme Court of India plays a vital role in safeguarding the general public’s health through a variety of rulings. The current issue shall be managed by the efficient application of laws passed in accordance with constitutional provisions. The fundamental right to health is not officially recognized by the Indian Constitution. However, a fundamental right to life and personal liberty is guaranteed under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. In this article, “life” refers to a humane life, not just a life of survival or animal existence. Its definition is far broader and covers things like the right to a better standard of living, the workplace and leisure areas being hygienic, and more.

The Indian Constitution contains a number of provisions that address public health in general. To safeguard the general public’s health, the Indian Constitution’s founding fathers correctly included the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP).

Everyone has the right to the best possible level of physical and mental health, which includes access to all medical services, hygienic surroundings, enough food, appropriate housing, safe working conditions, and a clean environment. This is known as the human right to health. As a result, access to the provision of healthcare must be guaranteed without prejudice.

“Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization as adopted by the International Health Conference, New York, 19–22 June 1946; signed on 22 July 1947 by the representatives of 61 States (Official Records of the World Health Organization, no. 2, p. 100), and entered into force on 7 April 7, 1948″

Right To Health Under Fundamental Rights

Right to Health an integral part of right to life which is fundamental for all human beings under Article 21 of the Constitution. The Supreme Court has given identification to right to Health vide different techniques of interpretation. Right to Health is also one of the rights, which is implied under right to life and personal liberty as guaranteed by the Constitution of India.

Article 21-Protection of Life and Personal Liberty

Article 25 and Article 26

Article 51- A

Article 243-W

Article 23

Right To Health In International Human Rights Law

International human rights treaties recognizing the right to health:

The 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination: art. 5 (e) (iv)

The 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: art. 12

The 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: arts. 11 (1) (f), 12 and 14 (2) (b)

The 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child: art. 24

The 1990 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families: arts. 28, 43 (e) and 45 ©

The 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: art. 25

Conclusion

The severe weaknesses in India’s healthcare system have been made clear by the pandemic.

The lack of legislation that upholds a fundamental right to health is a major contributing factor to India’s poor public health. In order to help India deal with the issues, it is necessary to establish the right to health as a fundamental right and to put it into practice within the parameters of legal mechanisms and the human rights principles of solidarity, proportionality, and transparency. Thus, it is imperative that the values of openness, proportionality, and solidarity be applied in the implementation of the right to health.

It is the need of the hour that the govt. should now focus on amendments to the current legislation and laws of India. The present health care services should be reviewed, and accordingly, new ones should be made with the involvement of the people.

Therefore, the importance of recognizing the right to health cannot be overstated. While it’s not explicitly stated in the Constitution, the World Health Organization considers health a fundamental human right. This implies that every individual, regardless of background, deserves access to the highest attainable standard of health. Despite the Supreme Court of India affirming the right to healthcare through various judgments, the state has not fully acknowledged its significance. The court’s broader interpretation of Article 21 has equated the right to health with the right to life, affirming its status as a fundamental right

[genderqueerdykes]

i want to take the time to talk about a series of disabilities that no one takes seriously or even recognizes as a disability, which is food intolerances, and allergies. if a person can get sick if they eat the wrong foods, they are disabled, as this illness will make them unable to function all because they ate the wrong food. it's not okay to guilt someone for seeking foods that won't injure them.

in 2022, i began to lose my ability to digest land meats (pork, chicken, cow, etc.), animal milks, and eggs. it started slowly but quickly progressed to every type of land meat. i am only able to digest seafood, plants, nuts, seeds safely without becoming horribly sick. i tried to buy cow's milk because it is cheaper recently and became so ill it was genuinely traumatic. i have never been that sick in my life before. i cannot safely ingest cow's milk, the cheaper option, because it will injure me for several days or even weeks at a time. this happens to me with all land meats as well.

i cannot eat eggs. i cannot fried rice that has egg, i cannot eat most sauces like mayo or ranch dressing because of their high egg content. i cannot eat anything dressed in mayo as a sauce. anything that is baked or brushed or washed with egg is a risk. my digestive system really hates eggs in particular and they are inescapable.

people who can't digest or process lactose, gluten, meats, seafood, eggs, nuts, seeds, beans, fiber, certain fats, proteins or sugars don't have their needs considered very often, nor taken seriously, especially when that person is poor. people with digestive issues need to be able to eat foods that don't hurt us- it's not our faults that alternative milks, breads, pizzas, snacks, sauces, dips, spreads, meats and more are significantly more expensive. we still need to be able to eat foods that don't harm us regardless of how much money we make.

[politijohn]

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