Examining some issues and challenges for ensuring the universal right to healthcare in Brazil, this paper explores the findings of a government project conducted in 2003 to broaden the approach to healthcare problems in Brazil, based on dialogs between government and society that supplement institutionalized approaches to social participation in healthcare management. Starting with an overview of the complex international backdrop against which government actions take place for implementing social rights, this paper highlights three issues among the problems listed that are rated as crucial for drawing up public policies: integrity and dignity as pillars for the organization and regulation of public interventions; recognition and respect for difference as a condition for achieving the right to healthcare; and territorialization of problems and policies for the production of responses to new realities. Finally, it lists some aspects that challenge Brazilian government and society in their efforts to guarantee the right to healthcare, affirming the timeliness of the steps taken by the government administration, moving steadily ahead towards effective universal access to this right through an appreciation of aspects related to human rights and citizenship.
Social rights; Government administration; Social participation; Public policy