The Health Ministers of the Americas agreed in a council meeting of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to work to improve access to health care for disadvantaged groups by promoting and monitoring compliance with international human rights treaties and standards. The United States is a member organization.

The PAHO released a statement entitled, "Countries to Promote Access to Health Care as a Human Right." The statement reads, "Health leaders from throughout the Americas agreed today to work to improve access to health for vulnerable groups by promoting and monitoring compliance with international human rights treaties and standards." Read the entire statement.   

Watch a short video of Javier Vasquez, PAHO advisor on human rights and law, explaining the context of this declaration and the role of the human right to health in PAHO’s work over the next decade.