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ZADHR's position on the 8th Parliament legislative agenda
Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR)
September 20, 2013

The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights would like to commend the President of Zimbabwe for placing strong emphasis on the right to healthcare and other health related issues in his speech at the opening of the 8th Parliament of Zimbabwe. In setting out the legislative agenda the President stated that; “The new constitution imposes on the state the obligation to take concrete and reasonable measures to prevent the spread of diseases and to treat healthcare as an inalienable right for every Zimbabwean citizen. The Health Services Act, the Medical Services Act, the Public Health Act and such other pieces of legislation will therefore be urgently amended to reflect this perspective. Over and above, government will continue to work on the improvement of the conditions of employment of our health workers.”

The President’s remarks are, indeed, a cause for celebration particularly considering that the current Public Health Act was enacted in 1924 and had long ceased to be responsive to emerging health challenges. The Public Health Act (1924) was enacted during an era when human rights were not given precedence.

Further, in realigning our statutes to be in consonance with the new supreme law, we urge the legislature to ensure a rights based approach to legislation. All legislation undergoing review by the 8th parliament must be premised and predicated on the promotion of human rights, particularly the right to health. In so doing, the legislature must derive guidance from international standards, principles and benchmarks for health. The right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health must be basis upon which all health related issues placed before parliament and the government of Zimbabwe must be formulated and implemented. It must also be realised that the right to health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. As such we urge the government and parliament to realize that the right to health is a cross cutting inclusive right, extending not only to timely and appropriate health care, but also to the underlying determinants of health, such as access to safe and potable water and adequate sanitation, healthy occupational and environmental conditions, and access to health-related education and information, including on sexual and reproductive health.

It is also important for the Parliament to adopt, incorporate and domesticate international treaties, covenants and instruments that address the right to health. In so doing, there should be achievable timelines, political will and commitment by the government and state actors. Citizens’ political participation and engagement are also crucial in our democracy if the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health is to be realised. Urgent action must be taken to address our challenges relating to water and sanitation as well as food. The right to food and water are crosscutting and they affect every other right as they touch on the very existence of humanity. In the absence of food and water, there can be no life. These two rights are essential for the preservation of all Zimbabweans.

Visit the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights fact sheet

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