Health as a Fundamental Right and its Provision to the General Population

Health as a Fundamental Right
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[Institutional Affiliation]
Health as a Fundamental Right
Giving health a status of one of the fundamental human rights is experiencing an extensive debate at academic and institutional scales. One of the most common hurdles in declaring health as a fundamental human right is the absence of a reliable definition of health and the ways to attain it. The health and its definition are associated with several legislative, economic, and political developments. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as, “a state of complete mental, physical, and social well-being and not merely an absence of disease or infirmity”. The definition seems to be complete but the perception of the “well-being” differs from one community to another. From the definition provided by the WHO it is also clear that the health systems should be able to integrate the social, economic, and religious determinants of their patients during the treatment processes. The legislative development, social and political platforms, and educational institutes play a vital role in identifying and creating a reliable definition and requirements of health at community levels. In this essay, an essay is critically reviewed with respect of community development, and the perception of health at community levels of United States in accordance to international standards set by the United Nations (UN).
The last decade has seen an increase in the debate of considering health as a fundamental right and its provision to the general population. The focus of the reviewed essay was the legislation, however, the legislative authorities are heavily relying on society’s perception of health and its access. The United States which represents itself as the biggest advocate of human rights; has not been able to provide free medical care to its population. The United States’ health system relies on the insurance coverage and socio-economic statuses of the patients. For instance, if a patient belongs to a disadvantaged class or is simply homeless than the health system of the country is not able to provide any sustainable treatment to him/her. Most of these people are simply given first aids and left on the street until their next visit to an ER room.
From the discussion so far, it is clear that the health system of the United States represents the socio-economic division of society. The point to be concerned here is the fact that the unwillingness of the health care system in the country to include underprivileged c...