Health is a Human Right

Health is a Human Right!

The international community has long recognized the centrality of health, and identifies health—including its social, economic and cultural dimensions—as a basic human right. Below is a list of major international documents and laws where governments, including the United States, have recognized the human right to health. The People’s Health Movement unites concerned activists, academics and health workers since 2000 to press governments to fulfill their human rights commitments.

• WHO Charter (1945) • Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) • Declaration of Alma Ata (1978) • Millennial Development Goals (2000) • UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health (2002) • Commission on the Social Determinants of Health (2005) • Rio Political Declaration on Social Determinants of Health (2011) • Sustainable Development Goals • Declaration of Astana (2018) • Political Declaration of the High-level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage (2019)