title: The Right to Health of Older People.
abstract: A focus on the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health (hereinafter, "the right to health") draws attention to the health needs of older people, including the most marginalized among them. Many factors that influence vulnerability or impede the enjoyment of health and access to quality services result from an inability to freely exercise these human rights. A human rights approach can help to address the legal, social, and structural barriers to good health for older persons, clarifying the legal obligations of State and non-State actors to uphold and respect these rights. However, despite growing impetus for action, this area has historically received limited attention. Drawing on practice examples from different regions, this article unpacks the meaning of the right to health and other related human rights of older people in practice, covering both health care and underlying determinants of their health. Questions of availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality are highlighted from the perspective of older people's health and well-being. The article brings together knowledge, principles, norms, and standards from the human rights law, health, and ageing arenas. By making links between these arenas, it is hoped that the article fills a gap in thinking on how to achieve the progressive realization of the right to health of older people and the effective promotion and protection of their other related human rights, which are crucial for the enjoyment of health.
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific Region, Manila, Philippines. baerb@wpro.who.int.
authors.forename: Britta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Baer
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific Region, Manila, Philippines.
authors.forename: Anjana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bhushan
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean Region, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Hala Abou
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Taleb
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization Regional Office for the Americas/Pan-American Health Organization, Washington, District of Columbia.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vasquez
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Rebekah
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Thomas
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D014943:Global Health; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006806:Human Rights; D006801:Humans; D057766:Policy; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014480:United Nations
keywords: Access to and utilization of services; Health; Human rights; Quality of life