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International Commission on Human Rights
The right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health is a fundamental human right. It includes timely and appropriate healthcare, access to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, nutritious food, housing, healthy working conditions, and a clean environment. Health rights are essential for human dignity and are indispensable for the exercise of many other human rights.
Yet, billions of people around the world face preventable illness and premature death because they cannot access quality healthcare or the underlying determinants of health. Health systems are overstretched, inequities persist, and marginalized populations often experience discrimination, neglect, and systemic barriers that prevent them from receiving the care and protection they deserve.
The International Commission On Human Rights (ICOHR) works globally to defend the right to health. We advocate for universal health coverage, protect vulnerable communities, address structural determinants of health, and hold governments and corporations accountable for fulfilling their obligations to respect, protect, and fulfill health rights.
Global health inequities reveal the urgency of ensuring everyone has access to quality healthcare and the conditions needed to live a healthy life.
ICOHR tackles the most pressing health rights challenges through advocacy, evidence-based research, legal action, and on-the-ground partnerships.
Advocating for health systems that guarantee affordable, quality healthcare for all without financial hardship. We promote equitable financing, essential health service packages, and strong primary healthcare.
Ensuring women, newborns, and children have access to respectful, high-quality care before, during, and after childbirth. We address preventable deaths, promote immunization, and support reproductive health services.
Championing mental health as an integral part of the right to health. We expand community-based support, reduce stigma, and push for parity between mental and physical health services.
Strengthening public health surveillance, access to vaccines, diagnostics, and treatment, while promoting transparent communication and rights-based approaches to outbreak response.
Providing life-saving health services amid crises and displacement. We ensure continuity of care, protect health facilities from attack, and uphold medical neutrality in conflict zones.
Addressing the health impacts of climate change, pollution, and environmental degradation. We advocate for clean air and water, resilient health systems, and just transitions to sustainable economies.
The right to health is grounded in universal principles that guide governments and duty-bearers in delivering equitable, quality care for all people.
States must ensure a sufficient quantity of functioning public health and healthcare facilities, goods, services, and programs, including trained health professionals and essential medicines.
Health facilities and services must be accessible to everyone without discrimination, physically reachable, economically affordable, and information on health must be freely available.
All health services must respect medical ethics, be culturally appropriate, and sensitive to gender and life-cycle requirements, ensuring dignity and privacy for patients.
Health services must be scientifically and medically appropriate, with skilled health professionals, safe facilities, evidence-based protocols, and high-quality medicines and equipment.
The right to health is firmly established in international human rights law, including the Constitution of the World Health Organization, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 25), and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Article 12). Additional frameworks such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities further clarify state obligations to ensure equitable access to health services and the underlying determinants of health. ICOHR works with governments, UN agencies, and civil society to monitor compliance and push for robust, rights-based health policies.
We combine advocacy, accountability, and partnerships to close health equity gaps and uphold the right to health across diverse contexts.
We promote rights-based health legislation, universal health coverage reforms, and budget commitments that prioritize equity, accountability, and community participation in health governance.
ICOHR documents health rights violations, supports community-led monitoring, and engages national and international mechanisms to demand remedies, transparency, and systemic reforms.
We partner with health authorities to build resilient systems, enhance workforce capacity, improve supply chains, and integrate human rights standards into health planning and delivery.
ICOHR elevates community voices, supports health rights defenders, and equips grassroots organizations with tools to advocate for respectful care, transparency, and inclusive decision-making.
We coordinate rapid responses to health emergencies, secure humanitarian access, and ensure health services remain available, safe, and equitable during crises and recovery phases.
ICOHR mobilizes international support, engages multilateral health institutions, and advocates for fair access to medicines, vaccines, and innovations that save lives and protect communities.
Realizing the right to health demands collective action. By working together, we can dismantle barriers to care, close equity gaps, and build resilient systems that protect everyone. Support ICOHR's global efforts to defend health rights and ensure every person can live a healthy, dignified life.
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