20 March 2014
The ICB has intervened several times on the issue of health in previous documents, examining the series of factors which affect it and emphasising how, in addition to biological data, health also depends on resources such as education, work conditions, the housing situation, a healthy environment and behaviours as well as individual choices.
In recognition of the close interweaving of all these factors, the NBC has sought, in this Opinion, to dwell in particular on the bond between each person with their own health and collective responsibility.
Maintaining an efficient health service aimed at as many users as possible is in the interests of all citizens, but it also requires personal commitment to contribute as far as possible, to the maintenance of one’s own health.
Starting with a brief description of the current situation, the document highlights the importance and the connection between the right to health of citizens and the duty of social solidarity.
Recalling the different paths of social and health policies, the Committee stresses the importance of a wide cultural activity that sets in motion the whole of society through various levels of intervention: educational (regarding school and family), social (providing information and training) and State.
The final recommendations make explicit some suggestions aimed at finding an effective synergy between the responsibility of individuals for their own health and the State's responsibility to protect health, which is recognised as a fundamental right of every person.