Comparative Studies and the Right to Health (Harvard Series on Health and Human Rights)

The right to health has been acknowledged as part of the most important human rights for economic and social development. Considerable research has been carried out on the international dimensions of this right by scholars and international officials. However, few efforts have been made to assess the problems and prospects for the realization of this right in the context of national health systems. This book seeks to fill that gap by examining, in comparative perspective, how health and the right to health have been dealt with in six countries, namely, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Ghana, and Peru. For each of these countries, researchers with considerable experience in health and human rights explore the evolution of the health system and the advances and failings in efforts--by government, civil society, and international partners--to secure this critical right. The introduction identifies cross-cutting issues and problems. The book contains core interpretative documents on the right to health and a detailed index.