Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights Related to Health
The right to health extends further. It includes a wide range of factors that can help us lead a healthy life. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the body responsible for monitoring the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, calls these the “underlying determinants of health”. They include:
- Safe drinking water and adequate sanitation (the rights to water and sanitation);
- Safe food (the right to food);
- Adequate housing (the right to adequate housing);
- Healthy working and environmental conditions (the right to safe and healthy working conditions);
- Health-related education and information (the right to education);
- Gender equality.
Today, more than 2 billion people still lack safely managed drinking water, over 3 billion do not have access to safely managed sanitation services, and around 2 billion people lack even a basic handwashing facility with soap and water at home. These deprivations are not simply technical or logistical problems—they are clear indications that States are failing to fulfil their obligations to ensure the minimum conditions for a dignified and healthy life.
