Health (Right to)

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The Center for Health Human Rights and Development & 4 others v. Nakaseke District Local Administration, Civil Suit No. 111 of 2012

On May 5, 2011, Irene Nanteza arrived at Nakaseke Hospital with her husband. Although a nurse confirmed the signs of obstructed labor and called the doctor on duty, the doctor did not arrive until Nanteza had been in labor for about 8 hours. The patient died of a hemorrhage and ruptured uterus. Despite the hospital administrator’s awareness of Nanteza’s condition and the doctor’s absence prior to her death, the Court noted that it was not shown that he made any effort to transfer her to another hospital.

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Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Inquiry concerning the Philippines (CEDAW/C/OP.8/PHL/1)

In 1991, the Philippines delegated responsibility for “people’s health and safety” to the local level. In exercise of this power, an executive order 003 (“EO 003”) was issued in Manila, in 2000 which declared that the city would take an “affirmative stand on pro-life issues”. In response to a joint submission from NGOs in 2008, the UN Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women (Committee) conducted an inquiry into alleged human rights violations resulting from the enforcement of EO 003.  

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Insufficient measures related to access to health for undocumented migrants in Spain

Members and allies, in collaboration with the Strategic Litigation Working Group, assess the decision of the Spanish Government to restore undocument migrants' access to health services

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Case “Special Care Unit 13” (Pabellón 13) regarding patients with HIV-AIDS brought against the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases (INER) and other authorities (AR 378/2014)

On December 20, 2012, three patients of the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases “Ismael Cosío Villegas” (INER) brought the indirect amparo action 1669/2012 against various authorities held responsible, including  the National Commission of Social Protection in Health, the Technical Committee of the Trust for the System of Social Protection in Health and the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases “Ismael Cosío Villegas” (INER), for the failure of said authorities to take all necessary measures to guarantee and implement the patients’ right to the enjoyment of the highest attainabl

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Court on Its Own Motion v. Union of India (W.P. 5913/2010 )

Following a newspaper report regarding a destitute woman who died on a busy street four days after giving birth to a baby girl, the Court brought this public interest litigation (PIL) on its own motion. The Court also asked the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), an ESCR-Net member organization, to file an amicus brief on the status of maternal health for destitute pregnant and lactating women in Delhi, and to suggest appropriate remedies. HRLN’s amicus outlined myriad state failures to implement government schemes providing for food and health services to women and marginalized groups.

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Prakash Mani Sharma v. Gov’t of Nepal (SCN, Writ No. 064)

In 2007, petitioners brought a case seeking mandamus to enforce obligations of women’s reproductive health rights under Article 20 (2) of the Interim Constitution and international human rights treaties to which Nepal is party. Petitioners argued that despite budgetary allotments by the government, no meaningful or effective programs had been initiated by the State to address the problem of uterine prolapse, as evidenced by the hundreds of thousands of women suffering from the condition. 

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Case of the Indigenous Community Xákmok Kásek v. Paraguay

The Xákmok Kásek indigenous community, who has originally lived in the Paraguayan Chaco area, filed a petition before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights requesting acknowledgement of their traditional territory. Paraguay sold and split up the land without taking into consideration the indigenous population. The Salazar ranch was founded in the land that had been the home of the Xákmok Kásek community for years.  The community’s ability to survive and to develop its way of life was restricted, and the State failed to fulfill its duty to guarantee the community’s territorial rights.

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Tutela action filed by Orlando José Morales Ramos against Drummond Ltd.

Colombia's Constitutional Court reviewed a tutela action case (action seeking protection of constitutional rights) which looked into whether the mining operations of the company Drummond had violated the rights to life, to a healthy environment, to privacy and to health of a citizen and his family living near the Pribbenow open-pit mine, located in La Loma, municipality of El Paso, department of Cesar, in the North of Colombia.  Based in the United States, Drummond develops and processes coal in both the US and Colombia.

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Pascua Lama Case

Diaguita communities and individuals living in the Huasco river's high basin, in the Atacama region of Chile, filed an action to protect constitutional rights against Compañía Minera Nevada SpA (a subsidiary of Canada-based Barrick Gold) and the Comisión de Evaluación Ambiental (Chile's government agency dealing with environmental issues).

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Bayer Corporation and Anr v. Union of India & Ors

In March 2008, Bayer HealthCare LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bayer Corporation, was granted a subject patent by India’s Patent Office, pursuant to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 (DCA) and Drugs and Cosmetics Rules 1945 (DCR),  for “sorafenib tosylate” (ST), commonly prescribed for treatment of advanced renal cancer.  Bayer HealthCare LLC subsequently assigned its titles to the patented drug in India to Bayer Corporation (“Bayer”).

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