The Right of Health

It is not our job as health professionals to deem whether a group of individuals is deserving or non-deserving of health care. Good health is a right of every human being and it is our obligation as professionals in public health to ensure that vulnerable populations are given this right. The indifference from the Italian citizens on the death of the 2 young gypsy girls is sickening. It is astonishing that they could allow their corpses to lay unattended to on a beach for 3 hours, while vacationers enjoyed a picnic and others a game of frisbee! Where is the humanity?

For those of us in public health, it is our job to give a voice to these vulnerable and discriminated populations because they lack the power and resources to represent themselves. Whatever their lifestyle may be, we do not have the authority to deny care. If we can provide health care to some of society's most cruelest criminals in prisons worldwide, how can we discriminate and withhold care from these helpless groups?

In the globalized world we live in today, the socioeconomic and health status of these individuals affect their host country and the world politically, socially, and economically. This correlation needs to be recognized worldwide and programs that improve the lives and health of vulnerable populations must be developed and implemented.