JUDICIAL INTERPRETATION OF THE RIGHT TO HEALTH AND ACCESS TO MEDICINES: A PATHWAY TO PROTECTING THE RIGHT TO LIFE IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This paper examined the role of judicial interpretation of the right to health and access to medicines in Nigeria as a vital mechanism for protecting and promoting the right to life. Interestingly, while the Nigerian Constitution does not explicitly recognized the right to health as justiciable, the courts have increasingly invoked provisions like the provisions of section 33 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) to spread the tentacles of the scope of health related rights. This study adopted the doctrinal cum analytical methodology in exhuming some relevant judicial pronouncements to demonstrate the manner Nigerian Courts have interpreted socio-economic rights within the broader human rights framework, stressing the relationship between access to essential medicines and the enjoyment of right to life. The paper argued that the role of the judiciary cannot be underestimated in advancing the course of health justice despite seemingly weak political will, comatose healthcare system and inexplicable migration of the healthcare providers in Nigeria. The paper found out that a robust and rights-based judicial approach can be the magic wand that will catalyze the needed legal reform and health policy accountability that will metamorphose into the promotion and sustainability of the right to life through improved health services. It is hereby recommended that the judiciary must not merely serve as an arbiter of disputes but must consistently serve as a constitutional guardian of the fundamental rights of people and the protector and promoter of human right to life in Nigeria.