The right to health : a human rights perspective with a case study on Greece

Abstract

Seven decades since its recognition in the preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization (1946), the right to health has increasingly attained a prominent position in human rights law. Nevertheless, worldwide people, especially those most in need, face serious impediments when it comes to the enjoyment of their right to health. Therefore, despite the absence of worldwide consensus as to its meaning and its various aspects, we need to move from the conception and recognition of the right to health to its actual realization, namely beyond the international formulation of the right to health. This requires a better understanding of the State measures required with the aim of bringing the right to health closer to national realities (e.g., economic austerity etc.)and in the daily lives of individuals. Τhis research aims to examine the national implementation of the right to health and particularly the Greek context as it relates to the right to health. For this reason, the main questions that are analyzed: i. What primary standards derive from the right to health on the basis of human rights law? and ii. Is the right to health being (effectively) implemented in Greece (or not)?