Goethe University: Public Responsibility for Health – Call for Papers
Sebastian Mense
The human right to health reflects not only the recognition that people rely heavily on maintaining or restoring their health to lead a self-determined life, but it also assigns the primary responsibility for protecting and promoting health to the state. The rise of pandemics, the increasing frequency of extreme weather events due to global climate change, and the spread of non-communicable diseases clearly demonstrate that social and environmental factors play a decisive role in the health outcomes of a population. Addressing these threats and combating the health damage they cause is far less a matter of individual health behavior than a political responsibility. Against the backdrop of the human right to health, it therefore makes sense to speak of a "public responsibility for health" in a dual sense: the state, or government, is the primary addressee of the human right to health, and it also holds the legitimate political authority to regulate health matters, implement policies, or manage and oversee health initiatives conducted by third parties.
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