Author : Dr. Shahab Shabbir
Assistant Professor, Department of Law
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh
Abstract
Being healthy doesn’t mean being free from illness or disease but health also refers to one's physical, mental, and social well-being. Everyone has the right to immediate access to high-quality medical treatment. Children's right to health is especially important because they are weak people who are more prone to illness and health problems. Children who are protected from disease and have an access to better health care can develop into healthy adults and so contribute in the creation of vibrant and successful civilizations. The COVID-19 epidemic affected individuals all across the world, and the vulnerable members of society, particularly children of all ages and in every region on the globe were inexorably affected. But the harmful effects of the pandemic were not distributed equally. It turned out to be most damaging for children in the developing and underdeveloped countries. And Maldives, being a developing nation, was at the forefront of children vulnerability and health risks. Nonetheless, the legal arrangements in the Maldives as well as the international measures and protocols turned out to be an elixir for the health risks and health rights of children. A close examination of these medico-legal arrangements gives the idea that the risk to the health of children could be addressed and mitigated in the times of pandemic and the present papers deals with the same.
Introduction
Maldives acceded to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1991. That same year, the parliament ratified the Law on the Protection of the Rights of the Child to give domestic effect to its state obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). This act has mentioned children’s and pregnant women’s health care rights. According to Section 14 of this act, parents should ensure that the child gets proper health care and medicines when needed. The government also has a responsibility to provide proper health care services and control child and infant mortality.
A new child rights protection act was ratified on November 20, 2019, which replaces the Child Rights Protection Act of 1991. This act defines a child as an individual person from conception to the attainment of 18 years of age after birth. According to Article 35 of the Constitution of the Maldives, children and young people have the right to get special protection from their family, state, and the community.
As we know, this pandemic has brought many changes to our lives. Due to many factors, the impact on child rights, especially health care rights, and breach of child rights cases has increased during this pandemic. In this paper, I will discuss the impacts of COVID-19 on children’s right to health care with reference to related laws.
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