World Health Organization
Health and Human Rights
Fact Sheet No. 323
Key facts
- The WHO Constitution enshrines “…the highest attainable standard of health as a fundamental right of every human being.”
- The right to health includes access to timely, acceptable, and affordable health care of appropriate quality.
- Yet, about 100 million people globally are pushed below the poverty line as a result of health care expenditure ever year.
- Vulnerable and marginalized groups in societies tend to bear an undue proportion of health problems.
- Universal health coverage is a means to promote the right to health.
