Health Care Concerns of the Homeless in India : A Human Rights Approach in COVID-19

Abstract

Homelessness is the absence or denial of one’s housing rights. Homelessness is the violation of human rights that occurs in every country, endangering the health and lives of the poorest people. Thousands of human lives are at stake every year just because of lack of shelter. Due to lack of reliable statistics on the homeless population and lack of accountability towards them, the homeless tend to be overlooked in government programmes. Homeless people aren't limited to a specific population. In the vicious cycle of homelessness, children, women, the elderly, particularly the disabled and people with special needs are all victims. Comparing to other marginalized groups like women, children, indigenous and elder people, homeless face many human rights violations as well as health and social inequalities. Massive health inequalities are found across the world among homeless people; hence, the right to health is one of the most violated human rights for homeless. The misery of homeless people has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic3 which has spotlighted the significance of adequate housing in a way that has never been seen before. This paper considers that homeless people are one of the most vulnerable members of the society, and faces many health care inequalities and human rights abuses during Covid-19. This study focuses on the human rights obligations of India to provide the right to housing during the COVID-19 pandemic. For the purpose of the study various international human rights laws as well as Indian constitutional and legal documents has been analysed.