GI- ESCR submits a parallel report to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on the impact of private actors on the right to health in Italy during COVID-19

GI-ESCR submitted a parallel report to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ahead of their review of the sixth periodic report by Italy. GI-ESCR’s submission focused on for-profit actors’ involvement in healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the right to health in Italy.

Our submission is informed by a 2021 GI-ESCR policy brief report  titled  ‘Italy’s Experience during COVID-19: the Limits of Privatisation in Healthcare’  where we compared the regions of Lombardy and Veneto in Italy to demonstrate how the marketisation of healthcare delivery in Lombardy contributed to the region’s poor response during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to Veneto which had a legacy of more public provision and governance of healthcare.

The submission highlights the need for the Italian government to prioritise strengthening quality, holistic public health care systems across the regions with the private actors only supplementing the system. The submission also calls for the Italian government to undertake a human rights impact statement on the increasing number private actors in healthcare.