The right to the highest attainable standard of health

This chapter introduces the right to the highest attainable standard of health, which is enshrined in several international treaties, as well as numerous national constitutions, giving rise to legally binding obligations on States. It outlines the complementary relationship between public health and the right to the highest attainable standard of health, and provides a framework for analysing this human right. This analytical framework, which deepens understanding of, and helps to identify appropriate responses to, public health issues, is then applied, by way of illustration, to neglected diseases, mental disability, sexual and reproductive health, and water and sanitation. The conclusion identifies the key features of a health system from the perspective of the right to the highest attainable standard of health.