Gulabo put her head in my lap and pleaded, “Bhaiyaji, mujhe bacha lo!” (Brother, please save me!) And shortly afterwards took her last breath. Just two days ago, I had freed her and her family from intergenerational bondage in a brick oven in Mahendragarh, Haryana. She died of severe tuberculosis and malnutrition. Overwhelmed with anger and grief after cremating Gulabo’s body, I walked up the street until I reached the chamber of the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India, Judge PN Bhagwati.
Two years after that meeting, the landmark 1984 injunction in the Bandhua Mukti Morcha v Union of India case established that the constitutional right to life in relation to workers includes the right to health. At the time, I was the general secretary of Bandhua Mukti Morcha. Moved by the plight of Gulabo and many others in slavery-like situations, Judge Bhagwati brought to light the limits of the country’s health system to serve the poorest.
That reality is more glaring today. Forty years after Gulabo, countless children are still dying from inadequate health care. In the midst of the pandemic, the frantic cries for oxygen, hospital beds, medicine, and even a place to cremate your own have exposed our failure to extend dignity to both life and death. Now combine this with loss of income, debt, food insecurity and illiteracy. That is the situation for many families in India today. The biggest loss, however, is people’s confidence in the ability of the country’s health system to protect them. It is the primary responsibility of elected officials to restore this belief.
The right to equality guaranteed in Article 15 upholds non-discrimination based on religion, race, caste, gender, place of birth, etc. However, decades of dismal public health investments have made health care accessible to a select few. The constitutional right to health is critical to breaking discriminatory structures that would otherwise perpetuate inequality in all areas of life, including education, opportunity, prosperity and social mobility.
The judicial interpretation of the right to life and liberty under Article 21 in several judgments including health was decisive, but it has its limits. Universal access to health care today is just as achievable as it is indispensable. People’s rights do not stagnate and must evolve as the country develops. Ayushman Bharat is an ambitious program with great potential, but there is a difference between a rights and a service model of development. If health is a fundamental right, it will provide a backbone to the entire health ecosystem, empower doctors and health care professionals, and ensure transparency, inclusivity and accountability. In addition, it will pave the way for special laws, high performing institutions, increased budgets, medical education and research, wellness and prevention, and the range of services; This creates immense trust and a positive attitude among the citizens.
The right to education was also implicitly linked to the right to life for a long time before the constitutional amendment, which made it an independent right. Today, the primary school enrollment rate is over 95 percent, a goal that was thought impossible 15 years ago. Even if there is still much to be achieved in terms of quality of education, learning outcomes, infrastructure, teacher training and social equality, progress can be measured. In healthcare, however, a family’s entire life-saving capital is lost if even one member becomes seriously ill. This is unacceptable.
We need a fundamental shift in our approach to healthcare. We don’t need to look at it as an expense, but as a high-yielding investment that can significantly reduce future expenses and also increase performance. The evidence is in front of us today. As we strive to tackle a monumental health crisis with a collapsing health system, we witness its grave economic impact. If the current health model doesn’t change, we risk finding our children in the same situation.
Our collective suffering can be translated into permanent change. Over the past few weeks I have written to the Prime Minister and all Members of Parliament to take this recommendation into account. Many MPs have expressed themselves unanimously. Universal access to health care today is just as achievable as it is indispensable.
This is the time for a constitutional change that will make health a fundamental right. India faces a pivotal moment in its history and our children today will pay the price for our choices. At this point I am reminded of Gandhiji’s talisman: “If you have doubts or if the self becomes too much for you, use the following test. Remember the face of the poorest and weakest man (woman) you may have seen, and wonder if the move you are considering will be of use to him (her). ”Let this be ours Be the guiding light.
The author is a Nobel Prize winner
source https://dailyhealthynews.ca/why-access-to-healthcare-needs-to-be-a-fundamental-right/
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