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9 Pub. Int. L.J. N.Z. 47 (2022)
The Right to Health and COVID-19 Lessons for the New Health System

handle is hein.journals/piljnz9 and id is 51 raw text is: ARTICLE The Right to Health and COVID-19: Lessons Learned for the New Health System ANITA YIU-HAN CHUNG* New Zealand's health system is widely characterised as a system of inequities. Vulnerable populations such as Maori and Pasifika continue to fall behind in health outcomes, including life expectancy and disease incidence. COVID-19 exists against this background of inequity, exacerbating it in some circumstances. This article uses a right to health framework to evaluate New Zealand's COVID- 19 policies. The right to health, as stated in art 12 of the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), is the right to the highest attainable standard of health. The core obligations of the right to health are access to healthcare, minimum essential food and housing; the provision of essential medicines; and the implementation of a national public health strategy. This article uses Audrey Chapman's interpretation of the content of the core obligations (the respect, fulfil and protect criteria) as a basis for its evaluation framework. This article finds that, while the government improved its care for vulnerable populations during COVID-19 in line with the right to health, existing inequities prevented it from fully meeting its obligations. These inequities also led to a high level of expenditure during the pandemic. Focusing on the right to health can ensure a stronger baseline for health outcomes before public health crises emerge, and can also help lessen their burden on resources when they do arise. New Zealand should create a human rights-based health system by implementing a right to health mandate in future health and disability legislation and developing key indicators for a right to health strategy. * BHSc/LLB(Hons), University of Auckland. This article was originally submitted as a dissertation in partial fulfilment for the requirements of an LLB(Hons) degree, supervised by ProfessorJaime King. All opinions included within this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of her employer.

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