The role of research in the right to health and the universal provision of health care

It is common for governments to promise universal health care coverage during electoral campaigns; indeed, it is something that hardly anyone could not aim for. Research can play a major role in the evaluation of health systems. Research thus contributes to the public debate regarding the health and wellness ef-fects of different systems as well as the degree to which different systems realize the universal right to health. Research can be used both by policy makers concerned with achieving effective coverage as well as by social movements interested in fostering public debate and social mobilization to demand governmental enforcement and protection of the universal right to health enshrined in international human rights law.