[EQ] Does ratification of human-rights treaties have effects on population health?

Does ratification of human-rights treaties have effects on population health?

 

Alexis Palmer, Jocelyn Tomkinson, Charlene Phung, Nathan Ford, Michel Joff res, Kimberly A Fernandes, Leilei Zeng, Viviane Lima,

Julio S G Montaner, Gordon H Guyatt, Edward J Mills

Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC, Canada (A Palmer MPH, J Tomkinson MPH, C Phung MPH, N Ford, M Joff res MD, L Zeng PhD); British Columbia Centre for Excellence in

HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, BC, Canada (K A Fernandes MSc, V Lima PhD, Prof J S G Montaner MD, E J Mills PhD); and Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON,

Canada (Prof G H Guyatt MD, E J Mills)

 

The Lancet, Volume 373, Issue 9679, Pages 1987 - 1992, 6 June 2009

 

URL: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(09)60231-2/fulltext

 

“….Human-rights treaties indicate a country’s commitment to human rights. Here, we assess whether ratification of human-rights treaties is associated with improved health and social indicators. Data for health (including HIV prevalence, and maternal, infant, and child [<5 years] mortalities) and social indicators (child labour, human development index, sex gap, and corruption index), gathered from 170 countries, showed no consistent associations between ratification of human-rights treaties and health or social outcomes. Established market economy states had consistently improved health compared with less wealthy settings, but this was not associated with treaty ratification.

The status of treaty ratification alone is not a good indicator of the realisation of the right to health. We suggest the need for stringent requirements for ratification of treaties, improved accountability mechanisms to monitor compliance of states with treaty obligations, and financial assistance to support the realisation of the right to health….’

 

 

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