The Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has participated in a call for inputs by the Special Rapporteurship on Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights (REDESCA) of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The submission related to the next thematic report of the Special Rapporteur on: “Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and Human Rights in the Inter-American System and the implications of prevention and treatment in relation to the obligations of States in light of the Inter-American legal framework”.

In the Submission, GI-ESCR highlighted that fragmented healthcare systems and the commercialisation of healthcare services can negatively impact prevention, treatment and rehabilitation for non-communicable diseases. Drawing on research conducted in urban informal settlements in Nigeria and Kenya during the COVID-19 pandemic, GI-ESCR has highlighted that commercialised and fragmented healthcare systems might prevent marginalised populations from accessing healthcare services for respiratory diseases, like pneuomonia, mental health conditions such as depression and chronic pathologies such as kidney disease.

Likewise, GI-ESCR underlined that applying a narrow biomedical approach, i.e. solely focusing on biological factors without addressing the social determinants of health, to NCDs is not effective in ameliorating health inequalities and health outcomes. GI-ESCR has recognised the value of research showing the multiple benefits of a holistic, psychosocial approach to the treatment of mental health conditions.

Participating in this discussion is part of GI-ESCR’s strategic priority on disseminating research on how public, well-coordinated, and universal healthcare services are essential for prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of a wide range of medical services. This contributes to our overarching goal of creating a narrative on reversing the commercialisation of healthcare including with United Nations Human Rights Institutions.