Advisory on Right to Health

With the advent of the second wave of COVID-19, the situation has worsened and India is now facing a public health emergency of unprecedented proportion and severity. Critical gaps are apparent in the system related to patients’ access to life-saving healthcare, including availability of critical care beds, oxygen supplies, essential medicines, emergency transport, and other facilities. Acute shortage of these resources is resulting in high mortality and putting a huge burden on the hospitals and healthcare professionals, beyond their capacity, so much so that the healthcare infrastructure of the country appears to be on the verge of a breakdown.

Keeping in view the above-mentioned concerns and the urgency of redressal in the present context, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) hereby issues a second advisory on right to health in the context of COVID-19, to protect the human rights of the patients and public in general so as to enable them to effectively access the requisite healthcare.