Mechanisms of Accountability for the Realization of the Right to Health in China

Qiu, Shengnan; Macnaughton, Gillian

N U M B E R 1 Health and Human Rights Journal (SARS) that occurred in China that year exposed the lack of accountability in the existing administrative system, so much so that the notion of accountability was dramatically brought into public focus. 26 Before long, the term "accountability" was encapsulated in the Chinese word wen ze (问责 28 Learning from the experiences of other societies, China has gradually started to build an accountability system tailored to its own political and cultural characteristics. The newly adopted Western concept of accountability has the potential to play an important role in structuring mechanisms and systems that can be applied to various aspects of the right to health, such as policymaking, professional administration, and health care delivery. Accordingly, the concept of accountability presents a primary tool for translating abstract principles into specific standards for measuring progress and for developing efficient laws, policies, institutions, procedures, and mechanisms that ensure the delivery of entitlements and redress for rights-holders. 29 In this context, this article provides an overview of the evolving framework of accountability relevant to the right to health in China. It addresses five categories of accountability: (1) judicial accountability, the traditional human rights mechanism; (2) political accountability, including participation, as it plays a crucial role in justifying policy decisions; (3) administrative accountability, as health policies and strategies are carried out largely by administrative organs; (4) professional accountability, as quality health services must be delivered by qualified health professionals; and (5) social accountability due to the special value system in Chinese society.