The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948 and is considered the foundation of international human rights law.

According to the WHO, the right to health is not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, but a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being.

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), adopted in 1976, explicitly recognizes the right to health as a human right in Article 12.

States have three core obligations under the right to health: to respect, protect, and fulfill the right. This means that states must refrain from interfering with the right to health, take steps to protect it from being violated by others, and take positive steps to ensure that everyone can enjoy the right to health.

The principle of non-discrimination is a fundamental principle of human rights law, including the right to health. This means that the right to health should be enjoyed by everyone without discrimination on any grounds, such as race, gender, religion, or socioeconomic status.

International human rights mechanisms, such as the Human Rights Council and the treaty bodies, play a crucial role in promoting and protecting the right to health by monitoring and reporting on states' compliance with their human rights obligations, including the right to health.

There are numerous challenges to realizing the right to health globally, including poverty and inequality, lack of access to healthcare services, discrimination against marginalized groups, and weak health systems.

Civil society organizations play a vital role in promoting and protecting the right to health by advocating for policies and programs that promote the right to health, providing healthcare services to underserved communities, monitoring and reporting on human rights violations related to the right to health, and educating the public about the right to health.

There are several key strategies for promoting and protecting the right to health, including investing in universal health coverage, addressing the social determinants of health, empowering communities to take action for their health, and holding states accountable for their human rights obligations.

The right to health is interdependent and indivisible from other human rights, meaning that it is closely linked to and mutually reinforcing with other human rights, such as the right to life, the right to food, and the right to education.

The principle of progressive realization recognizes that states may not be able to immediately fulfill the right to health to the maximum extent of their resources, but they are obligated to gradually improve the realization of the right over time.

States have specific obligations under the right to health to take special measures to protect the health of vulnerable groups, to ensure that vulnerable groups have equal access to healthcare services, and to address the specific health needs of vulnerable groups.

International cooperation plays a crucial role in promoting and protecting the right to health by providing financial assistance to developing countries for health programs, sharing knowledge and best practices on health issues, and coordinating efforts to address global health challenges.

There are several key challenges to ensuring access to essential medicines as part of the right to health, including high prices of medicines, lack of availability of essential medicines in some countries, and intellectual property rights.

The WHO plays a vital role in promoting and protecting the right to health by setting global health standards and norms, providing technical assistance to countries on health issues, and coordinating global efforts to address health challenges.