Constitutionalizing Access to Health Care and Its Impacts

Constitutionalizing access to health care has been a positive force for Brazil and South Africa to improve people’s wellbeing. Since the establishment of the constitutional right framework, health has become a universal right and a responsibility of the state in Brazil and South Africa. In both countries, the right to health has been mobilized by a wide variety of actors from civil society that rose specifically in a constitutionalized space to take advantage of the context to judges and politicians. Furthermore, the right to health care creates an environment that brings together the network of people living with disease with civil societies to frame demands for treatment as a constitutional right in both public campaigns and in court filings. Constitutionalization also helps Brazil and South Africa alleviate health care disparities by playing a part on the initiation of a set of the national rural health mission.