Specific actions under the Action Plan
A. Government and Ministry of Health actions (contd):
A12. Preparation of a National-Accident-Policy with the establishment of appropriate accident and trauma services in all district government and private hospitals.
A13. Taking concrete steps to eliminate-spurious-drugs-and-sub-standard-medical-devices.
A14. Assuring-universal-access-to-mental-health-care.
A15. Enactment of a Public-Health-Protection-Act that defines the norms for nutritional security, drinking water quality, sanitary facilities and other key underlying determinants of health. [Such an act will complement the existing acts regarding environmental protection and working conditions to ensure that citizens enjoy the full range of conditions necessary for the preservation of health, along with the right to access good quality health services].
A16. Instituting a Health-Rights-Redressal-Mechanism at national and provincial level to investigate and take action in a timely manner in cases of denial of health care.
A17. Introduction of a set of Health-Sector-Reform-measures that will ensure the health rights of all through the strengthening of public health systems, and by making private care more accountable and equitable. [The minimum aspects of a Health Sector Reform framework that will strengthen public health systems must be laid down as an essential precondition to securing health rights of all and must include provisions to guarantee free health care to those who cannot afford it].
A18. Taking the necessary steps to effectively-decentralize-health-services-management [both in terms of decision-making and of decentralized budgets].
A19. Ensuring full-availability-of-essential-drugs in the public health system with transparent drug procurement and efficient drug distribution procedures and adequate budgetary outlays. The new drug policy should also promote fair drug prices and their rational use in the private sector. [Copies of the drug formulary and prices will be displayed in all government facilities and (with an approved mark-up) in private health facilities. Regular updating of the formulary should be ensured and mechanisms be set up for users to table complaints].
A20. Development and wide distribution of treatment-protocols–for-common-diseases to health professionals in the public and private sectors.
A21. Adoption of a nationwide-community-health-worker programme with adequate provisioning and support, so as to reach out to the most marginalized rural and urban areas, providing basic primary care and strengthening community level mechanisms for preventive, promotive and curative care
A22. Adoption of a detailed essential-secondary-care-services-plan that includes emergency care services.
A23. Public-identification/notification-of-medically-underserved-areas together with ad-hoc-plans-to-close-these-gaps in a time bound manner.
A24. Adoption of an integrated-human-resource-development-plan to ensure adequate availability of health humanpower including the most peripheral levels.
A25. Adoption of transparent–non-discriminatory-health-workforce-management-policies, especially on transfers and postings, so that health personnel are fairly treated when working in rural areas, and so that specialists are sent to serve in secondary care facilities according to public interest.
A26. Adoption of improved-vigilance-mechanisms to respond to and limit corruption, negligence and different forms of harassment within both the public and private health systems.
A27. Implementing relevant actions-on-food-and-nutrition-security, nutrition-surveillance, early-childhood-development-and-school-feeding-programs to address food and nutrition insecurity and malnutrition, which are a major cause of ill-health.
All the above will be taken as a base minimum by provincial governments, and modified to match the specific health situation in each province. To this effect, these governments will also increase their health budget over the next three to four years to levels needed to respect the right to health care of its citizens. Corresponding monitoring mechanisms with civil society involvement will be set up in all districts to monitor rural health services, as well as in towns and cities to monitor urban health services.
B. National Human Rights Commission actions (if none exists yet, setting one up is in-itself a priority for civil society
Both as a duty-bearer and as a conduit for claim-holders, the NHRC will:
B1. Oversee the monitoring of health rights at the national level by initiating and facilitating proactive monitoring activities and by appointing Special Rapporteurs on Health Rights in each province.
B2. Review all laws/statutes relating to public health from a human rights perspective to make appropriate recommendations for the Government to make commensurate, human rights-compliant amendments.
B3. Oversee the implementation of redressal measures being implemented in a timely manner.
C. Civil society organizations actions (mostly as a conduit of claim-holders)
C1. Work for the widest possible awareness-raising on health rights as set out in this Action Plan and work on an empowering ‘health rights literacy’ with all sectors of health rights claim holders of the country –especially the currently more marginalized.
C2. Act as a watchdog on the progressive implementation of the elements of this Action Plan and denounce all procrastination by the respective duty bearers in this respect.
Claudio Schuftan, Ho Chi Minh City