Each year, worldwide, almost seven million children under the age of five years die.1 The majority of these children die from diseases that are treatable (gastroenteritis, pneumonia and malaria are three of the main causes). The main reason that these children die is that neither they nor their parents have access to healthcare. The two main reasons why people do not have access to healthcare are financial and geographical. Unfortunately, in many countries, healthcare is considered a commodity rather than a right. Many parents, therefore, cannot afford to purchase either the treatment or even the consultation that their child needs. This is highlighted in the paper by Njuguna et al2 who describe how parents of children with cancer in a single centre in Kenya have to withdraw their children from treatment because of inadequate financial resources.

Access to healthcare

Healthcare is a basic human right. In 1948, the United Nations released the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 25 stated: ‘Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and wellbeing of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control’. The failure of governments to provide universal healthcare results in the death of a significant number of children. This applies to high-income countries as well as low-income countries. The lack of universal healthcare is one of …