title: Health systems and the right to health: an assessment of  194 countries.
abstract: 60 years ago, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights laid the foundations for the right to the highest attainable standard of health. This right is central to the creation of equitable health systems. We identify some of the right-to health features of health systems, such as a comprehensive national health plan, and propose 72 indicators that reflect some of these features. We collect globally processed data on these indicators for 194 countries and national data for Ecuador, Mozambique, Peru, Romania, and Sweden. Globally processed data were not available for 18 indicators for any country, suggesting that organisations that obtain such data give insufficient attention to the right-to-health features of health systems. Where they are available, the indicators show where health systems need to be improved to better realise the right to health. We provide recommendations for governments, international bodies, civil-society organisations, and other institutions and suggest that these indicators and data, although not perfect, provide a basis for the monitoring of health systems and the progressive realisation of the right to health. Right-to-health features are not just good management, justice, or humanitarianism, they are obligations under human-rights law.
authors.affiliation: Nordic School of Public Health, Gothenburg SE-402 42, Sweden. gunillabackman@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Gunilla
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Backman
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.forename: Rajat
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Khosla
authors.forename: Camila
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jaramillo-Strouss
authors.forename: Belachew Mekuria
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Fikre
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rumble
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pevalin
authors.forename: David Acurio
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Páez
authors.forename: Mónica Armijos
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Pineda
authors.forename: Ariel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Frisancho
authors.forename: Duniska
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tarco
authors.forename: Mitra
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Motlagh
authors.forename: Dana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Farcasanu
authors.forename: Cristian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vladescu
mesh_terms: D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003906:Developing Countries; D014943:Global Health; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006806:Human Rights; D006801:Humans; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014480:United Nations / Q000592:standards*