In A Workshop Organized by the Al-Urdon Al-Jadid Research Center on the Right to Health

Dr. Hamzah: There is a very dangerous rule that says Medical Services is a commodity whose price is determined by the "seller" and not the "buyer

The Human Rights Program at the Al-Urdon Al-Jadid Research Center conducted a workshop entitled "The Right to Health in the National Law and International Agreements" at the Center's Headquarters.

The Workshop which was attended by a select group of experts from the Public Health Sector, Lawyers, and activists in the Social and Human Rights fields, was headed by H.E. Dr. Ishaq Maraqah, and the main working paper was presented by Dr. Zeid Hamzah.

Dr. Hamzah commenced his paper by describing the historical right to health, indicating that the international health legislations were focused on establishing the World Health Organization in 1948, and the historical turning point was the "Alma Ata Declaration" that was issued by the World Health Society and which stressed that the right to health is indisputably one of the major human rights.

He also indicated that the commitment to a human beings' right to health varies from one country to another, and that in some small countries, like Jordan for example, we find that healthcare is provided to most of its citizens, as opposed to a country like the United States of America, where there are 37 million Americans that do not receive any kind of healthcare service.

In a preview of world events, Dr. Hamzah said that the some people think that the trend to privatize the health sector began with the fall of the Soviet Union, whereas in reality this trend was started in 1961 at the University of Chicago, questioning the feasibility of the Governments renouncing the health sector.

As for the Right to Health in Jordan, Dr. Hamzah said that despite the fact that the 1952 Jordanian Constitution does to stipulate any provision regarding the right of Jordanians to healthcare, the Ministry of Health has been providing free healthcare services to the citizens within its means, it also established a Health Insurance System for government employees in 1965, and in 1986 issued Medical Treatment Cards to all the employees in the Kingdom who wish to benefit from its services. He also indicated that during the early 1980's people began to criticize the free medical healthcare services because their costs are a burden on the country. Dr. Hamzah also expressed surprise as to why the National Charter did not contain any reference to the right to health.

At the end of his presentation of the working paper, Dr. Hamzah said that the Health Insurance provided by the Government should not be considered a replacement for the Private Health Sector, and questioned, with surprise, why the Public Sector was being cancelled in favor of the Private Health Sector instead of allowing them to compete in order to ensure better services. He said that canceling, or marginalizing the Public Health Sector, which is the aim of the World Bank, leaves the field open for the Private Health Sector to determine whatever it wants not on a competitive basis but on a very dangerous one that stipulates that medical services are the only commodity which are determined and endorsed by the seller and not the buyer, who also sets its value.

Following the presentation of the Working Paper, an extensive discussion took part in which the attendees discussed the standard of healthcare services that the Jordanian Citizens enjoy, and the quality and cost of these services.