Chapter - 6 ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS A. Right to Health 6.1 Intrinsic to the dignity and worth of a human being is the enjoyment of the right to health. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to which India is a State Party, specifically recognizes that ‘the enjoyment of the highest a�ainable standard of health’ is the right of every human being. It must therefore be treated as a State responsibility, with the State having an obligation to ensure that this right is respected, protected and promoted. 6.2 The NHRC has adopted a pro-active role with regard to the issue of right to health and consistently taken the view that the State must ensure that the people of the country, in particular the vulnerable sections, have access to be�er and more comprehensive health care facilities. 6.3 During 2009-2010, the NHRC drew its a�ention towards illegal medical practices of doctors having fake certificates/degrees, presence of quacks in the medical profession, inadequate health care facilities in the tribal areas, and the production and distribution of spurious medicines/ drugs in the country. 6.4 In order to ensure that people in the country have access to quality health care, the NHRC organized a one-day Meeting of the Health Secretaries of all the States/Union Territories on “Illegal Medical Practices and Health Care Facilities in the Tribal Areas” at the National Institute of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi, on 29 January 2010. 6.5 Apart from the Health Secretaries of the States/Union Territories, the Meeting was a�ended by the representatives of the Medical Council of India, Delhi Medical Council, NGOs, civil society organizations, Members of NHRC’s Core Advisory Group on Health and Members and senior officers of the NHRC. Justice Shri G.P. Mathur, the Acting Chairperson of the NHRC inaugurated the Meeting. 6.6 The Meeting was conducted in three plenary sessions. Session I was devoted to the issue of ‘Illegal Medical Practice by Fake Doctors/Quacks in India’. The focus of Session II was on ‘Health Care Facilities in Tribal Areas : Problems and Gaps’. Session III dealt with ‘Spurious Drugs’. Silicosis 6.7 Silicosis is an occupational disease caused by inhalation, retention and pulmonary reaction to crystalline silica during mining, stone crushing, quarrying and such other activities. It profoundly affects the work productivity, economic and social well-being of workers, their NHRC 87