<br><span class="gmail_quote">From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Ruggiero, Mrs. Ana Lucia (WDC)</b> <<a href="mailto:ruglucia@paho.org">ruglucia@paho.org</a>><br>crossposted from: <a href="mailto:EQUIDAD@listserv.paho.org">EQUIDAD@listserv.paho.org</a><br>
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<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><b><font face="Arial" color="maroon" size="2"><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: maroon; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF ALL HUMAN RIGHTS, CIVIL, POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS</span></font></b></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><font face="Arial" color="navy" size="2"><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health<br>
<b><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><br>Paul Hunt, The Human Rights Centre, University of Essex, United Kingdom</span></b></span></font></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><i><font face="Arial" color="navy" size="1"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Report on health systems and the right to the highest attainable standard of health. This report (A/HRC/7/11)<br>
was submitted to the Human Rights Council on 31 January 2008.</span></font></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><font face="Arial" color="navy" size="2"><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Available online [25p.] at: <a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://www2.essex.ac.uk/human_rights_centre/rth/docs/A-HRC-7-11.doc" target="_blank"><font color="navy"><span style="COLOR: navy">http://www2.essex.ac.uk/human_rights_centre/rth/docs/A-HRC-7-11.doc</span></font></a> </span></font></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><font face="Arial" color="navy" size="2"><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">"……At the heart of the right to the highest attainable standard of health lies an effective and integrated health system, encompassing health care and the underlying determinants of health, responsive to national and local priorities, and accessible to all.</span></font></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><font face="Arial" color="navy" size="2"><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> The Human Rights Council, in its decision 2/108, requested the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health to identify and explore the key features of an effective, integrated and accessible health system from the perspective of the right to health, bearing in mind the level of development of countries. This report is a response to that request. </span></font></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><font face="Arial" color="navy" size="2"><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> There is a growing recognition that a strong health system is an essential element of a healthy and equitable society. In any society, an effective health system is a core social institution, no less than a fair justice system or democratic political system. However, according to a recent publication of the World Health Organization, health systems in many countries are failing and collapsing.</span></font></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><font face="Arial" color="navy" size="2"><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> The report briefly identifies some of the historical landmarks in the development of health systems, such as the Declaration of Alma-Ata on primary health care (1978). Taking into account health good practices, as well as the right to the highest attainable standard of health, the report identifies a general approach to strengthening health systems (chap. II, sect. C). This general approach should be applied, consistently and systematically, across the numerous elements - or "building blocks" - that together constitute a functioning health system. By way of illustration, the report takes the general approach outlined in the report and begins to apply it to two of the health system "building blocks" (chap. II, sect. E).</span></font></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><font face="Arial" color="navy" size="2"><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> Section F signals how the right to a fair trial has helped to strengthen court systems and argues that, in a similar way, the right to the highest attainable standard of health can help to strengthen health systems….: "</span></font></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1in"><font face="Arial" color="navy" size="2"><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> </span></font></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><b><font face="Arial" color="navy" size="2"><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Content:</span></font></b></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><font face="Arial" color="navy" size="2"><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">I. INTRODUCTION</span></font></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><font face="Arial" color="navy" size="2"><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">II. HEALTH SYSTEMS AND THE RIGHT TO THE HIGHEST ATTAINABLE STANDARD OF HEALTH </span></font></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><font face="Arial" color="navy" size="2"><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">A. Health systems: some historical landmarks </span></font></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><font face="Arial" color="navy" size="2"><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">B. Definitions </span></font></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><font face="Arial" color="navy" size="2"><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">C. In general terms, a right-to-health approach to strengthening health systems </span></font></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><font face="Arial" color="navy" size="2"><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">D. The "building blocks" of a health system </span></font></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><font face="Arial" color="navy" size="2"><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">E. Applying the general approach: some specific measures for health system strengthening </span></font></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><font face="Arial" color="navy" size="2"><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">F. The right to health helps to establish a health system in the same way as the right to a fair trial helps to establish a <br>
court system</span></font></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><font face="Arial" color="navy" size="2"><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">III. CONCLUSIONS </span></font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><br clear="all">
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<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><font face="Arial" color="navy" size="2"><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> </span></font></p>
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