The right to access healthcare and health beliefs : a comparative study between Zimbabwe and South Africa

Abstract

The study aims to provide a more localised and practical definition of the right to access healthcare. The current medicalised format and definition of the right to access healthcare leads to the exclusion of potentially transformative framing of the right to access healthcare. Medicalised healthcare determination limits the potential of social determination of health, including health beliefs that could contribute positively to public health policy.

The mainstream legal order has neglected indigenous laws and knowledge systems, but they have a role to play in both preventive healthcare and the promotion of access to healthcare. There is a need to acknowledge the inherent failings of imported medical systems and systems of government while embracing the transformative potential of local health systems. It is also necessary to recognise that local legal orders and their custodians are best suited to regulate local health systems.