Diabetes, Insulin Treatment, and International Human Rights Law

Upholding the Right to Health During a Global Insulin Crisis

Abstract

The availability of medications for communities across the globe faces great disparity. Accessibility varies from person to person, and for some, can mean life or death. In a world of international human rights regulations, which seek to protect the people from preventable injustice and harm, the state of the global health system is simply unacceptable. This paper will seek to address the accessibility of medications, particularly of insulin, in various parts of the world. It will weigh the importance of this accessibility in upholding the right to the highest attainable standard of health, and the right to the benefits of scientific progress, as outlined in various parts of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights' (OHCHR) human rights bodies and documents. Further, it will analyze the theories of international trade law in proving the need for greater accessibility. Various nations and case studies will be discussed and scrutinized in order to develop a holistic depiction of the global health system and its shortcomings. Research will also be used to explain the underlying reasons for disparities across the globe. Finally, realistic solutions that would alleviate the damages of inaccessibility to insulin treatments will be deliberated and expanded upon for further application.