Still Getting to Know You: Global Health Law and the Right to Health

Abstract

What is the relevance of the human right to health to global health law? In many respects the answer is obvious. If the aspiration of global health law is to create regulatory standards that contribute to positive health outcomes, then it aligns with the international human right to health which imposes a legal obligation on states to take ‘appropriate measures’ individually and collectively to improve the health of individuals. As such, the development of the field of global health law could be seen as an example of an ‘appropriate measure’ that contributes to the realization of the right to health. In this sense, global health law becomes a means to an end, namely the realization of the ri..