Constitutional Court decision regarding the failure of the Ministry of Health and District Secretary of Health of the Santa Fé of Bogotá to provide free meningitis vaccines to children of mothers participating in the informal sector of the economy and therefore without access to healthcare.
The Court confirmed the lower court’s order that required the relevant municipal authorities to establish a free vaccination program for impoverished children in Bogotá. The Court built on this right in later cases involving the right to treatment of children with disabilities and the right of children to treatment overseas when the necessary treatment is not available in Colombia.
This case was part of the Constitutional Court’s expansion of the right to health as a fundamental constitutional right. Importantly, the Court determined that the right to health was always justiciable in the case of subjects of special constitutional protection (“sujetos de protección constitucional especial”), such as children (in this case), pregnant women, and older adults.
For their contributions, special thanks to ESCR-Net member: the Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy (PHRGE) at Northeastern University.
