International Declaration of Health Rights | Johns Hopkins

Based on a statement created by the students, faculty, and alumni on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health.

We as people concerned with improving health and well-being globally, do hereby commit ourselves to the pursuit and promotion of health rights of all human beings. The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being. It is not a privilege reserved for those with power, money, ability, or social standing.
Health is more than the absence of disease, but includes prevention of illness and injury, development of individual potential and a positive sense of physical, mental, and social and spiritual well-being.
Access to affordable health care is a human right. Health services should be effective, safe, equitable, and responsive to individual needs.
Health care for older adults should preserve dignity, respect, and aim to support quality of life.
Health begins well before a pregnancy that is freely chosen; continues with the healthy development of the child in a safe, stable, and nurturing environment, supported by community; and extends through adulthood and across generations.
Health depends on our environment, local, and global. Work across disciplines and national boundaries is necessary to safeguard our planet and its impact on the health of all people.
Health depends on the access to basic life essentials including food, clean water and air, safe and adequate housing, quality education, and productive employment.
Health depends on protection from exploitation and discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, ability, religion, political belief, or economic or social condition including citizenship and caste.
Health requires peace, with communities able to thrive free of oppression, conflict, and war.
Achieving health equity is everyone’s responsibility and requires a commitment to advancing the physical, environmental, economic, social, and political conditions necessary to support all people in the world attaining their full health potential.