A . Introduction Every person wants to live a good quality life and have a sense of well- being. As far back as , the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stated: “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of oneself and one’s family including food”. Yet, many of the environmental conditions and our own lifestyles affect our health, sometimes having harmful effects.
At the outset let us define “health”. The world’s premier organisation concerned with health, the World Health Organisation (WHO) defines health as “a state of complete mental, physical and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease”. Disease means impairment of body health, alteration/disruption/derangement in function of some part or organ of the body, interrupting normal functions and deviating from a state of complete well-being. Health is a fundamental human right.
All persons, irrespective of age, gender, caste, creed/religion, place of stay (urban, rural, tribal) and nationality, throughout their lives, should have the opportunity to achieve and maintain the highest attainable state of health.