Adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on November 20, 1989
Summary of Article 24: Health and health services
“The child has a right to the highest standard of health and medical care attainable. Nations shall provide special emphasis on the provision of primary and preventive health care, public health education and the reduction of infant mortality. They shall encourage international cooperation in this regard and strive to see that no child is deprived of access to effective health services.”
Comment: The Convention on the Rights of the Child has been ratified by every nation except two. Somalia is unable to proceed to ratification as it has no recognized government. The only other nation that has failed to ratify the Convention is… the United States! The ratification process has been halted at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Where is the outrage? Americans certainly would support the concepts of the Convention, but they remain uninformed. It is our responsibility to disseminate information about the Convention and about the political
process that is suppressing social justice in our nation. Start writing those articles, letters and editorials now.
Complete information on the Convention is available at:
(Thanks to Jane G. Schaller, M.D., President-elect of the International Pediatric Association, for today’s quote.)