The right to health is NOT the same as the right to be healthy. A common misconception is that the State has to guarantee us good health. However, good health is influenced by several factors that are outside the direct control of States, such as an individual’s biological make-up and socio-economic conditions. Rather, the right to health refers to the right to the enjoyment of a variety of goods, facilities, services and conditions necessary for its realization. This is why it is more accurate to describe it as the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental.
