Universal access to health fundamental

Walter Mswazi

THE 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights communicates to a right to health, which is also ingrained in the right to life to all and member states that include Zimbabwe have acceded to a number of treaties thereafter.

Universal access to health is fundamental and everyone should not be limited as it is not conditional for any nation to live up to its populace’s expectations on this right.

However, research has shown that a number of African countries fail on the treaties or declarations on health despite having ratified them.

As human beings, health is the most central part of our lives and comes first before other things like education or social amenities. It is what and who we are as without health there is no human being, hence the need to jealously guard against its decay as enshrined in a number of international and regional treaties.

As espoused by the World Health Organisation in its constitution in 1946, health is a state of complete physical, mental and social being without factoring in the absence of diseases or infirmity.

It further asserts that the implementation of the highest attainable standard of health ascribes to the fundamental rights of every human being regardless of one’s race or religion.

The right to health encompasses other rights such as economic rights, social and cultural rights, as enshrined in our constitution.

Every state under the auspices of the UN has ratified one or more treaties on universal access to health, as enshrined in the international treaty, regional or native declarations and policies acknowledging the right to health as a supreme right for all.

In April 2001, African states met in Abuja, Nigeria to chart a course on how governments can invest towards their health and came up with an agreement.

The agreement signed by 26 countries asserts that every member should commit at least 15 percent of its national annual budget to health.

The gathering was but historic as it was meant to chart a new trajectory on health issues with a bias towards tuberculosis (TB) and HIV.

It is now 19 years since the treaty was signed and ratified by many countries but only a sizeable number have successfully adhered to the 15 percent threshold or surpassed. Zimbabwe is also found wanting since it has not lived up to the declaration’s expectations.

Zimbabwe’s 2019 health budget remains foully derisory to bank roll the health sector, which is by its nature, critical.

The budget reserved a paltry nine percent leaving a deficit of six percent in sharp contrast with the agreement. The gap means the Government’s commitment to universal access to affordable health remains a pipe dream and a paradigm shift is needed.

The ravaging incidences of cholera in Harare in 2018 claimed about 55 lives and saw more than 2 000 people being diagnosed with the deadly disease.

Government was found wanting in that it took the benevolence of our all-weather friend, UNICEF and other health service organisations to come to the rescue as central government was overwhelmed.

The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development however, mobilised and availed funding towards the endemic disease which mostly affected Harare.

If the allocation for health was adequate, disease outbreaks could easily be nipped in the bud and partners would come in to complement Government efforts.

There is over reliance on donor funding yet events on the ground show that there is growing donor fatigue since the economic recession in 2017. The pulling out of Britain from the European Union block (Brexit) is likely to have an adverse effect on donor funds to Africa, Zimbabwe included.

In September 2006, African Ministers of Health met in Maputo (Mozambique) and signed a declaration where member states agreed on achieving universal access to sexual and reproductive health services in Africa by 2015.

At the meeting, the ministers agreed that Africa was not going to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGS) without significant improvement on sexual reproductive health of the people of Africa which was crucial in addressing MDG 1, which was poverty reduction.

This saw the same 191 UN nations coming up with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) where good health and well-being is on number three.

The same countries also held a review meeting in Gaborone, Botswana in October 2015 where they came up with a continental framework on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights which was also approved by African Union Heads of State.

While the treaties put emphasis on improving access and protecting people’s rights to health, there is a responsibility that goes with such entitlements, as people should be responsible so that they can remain healthy.

Community Working Group on Health Director Mr Itai Rusike said health issues should be discussed using a bottom up approach where communities are expected to have a sense of belonging and define the destiny of their health.

“First the right to health is not negotiable as it is a constitutionally granted right, as the right to life,” said Mr Rusike.

“For people to have access to health and be responsible for their health, the issues should be discussed from community perspectives.

This will inform policy, as the people who matter most are included. Communities should be the first to benefit from health and not the last  — thus a bottom up approach,” he said. @walterbmswazie2

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