Background
This is another successful story of a Constitutional Action filed by the GtD Impact Foundations for one of its clients. Carlos has lived in Guatemala all his life and has been a school teacher for 20 years.
Every day he goes to work, teaches elementary school kids important lessons about life, and provides for his family. Unfortunately, besides being a valuable member of the Guatemalan community, he was diagnosed with stage 4 Colon Cancer. After going through multiple rounds of chemotherapy, there was no improvement.
Subsequently his doctor suggested a different treatment: taking Pembrolizumab 200 mg for 21 days until progression. The doctor emphasized that the treatment should start as soon as possible. The client reached out to the social security institution in Guatemala numerous times requesting them to provide him with the necessary medication to save his life. Unfortunately, all requests were ignored.
Due to the experience in similar cases, the client decided to reach out to the GtD Impact Foundation.
The Role of GtD Impact Foundation
The GtD Impact Foundation was able to collect all relevant information and filed an "Amparo," a constitutional action, before the Constitutional Court of Guatemala on behalf of the client.
The main arguments stated in the Amparo were the fact that by not providing him with the proper medication, the Institution was risking his integrity, health condition, and life. Additionally, the Institution violated its constitutional obligation to ensure welfare, social security, and access to health care.
The specific arguments highlighted by the Foundation were the following:
By not providing him with the necessary medication, the Institution violated his right to life, which is a Constitutional Right.
By not providing him with the necessary medication, the Institution violated his right to health, contained in the National Legislation.
By not providing him with the necessary medication, the Institution violated its constitutional obligation to provide medicines in the welfare system prescribed in the Constitution and to do it assertively.
By not providing him with the necessary medication, the Institution violated its obligation to provide social security, a regime established in the Constitution.
By not providing him with the necessary medication, the Institution violated local and international regulations that protect the Constitutional Human Right to Health.
To summarize it, the Institution was denying him his basic human rights as well as violating National Legislation and the Constitution by not giving him access to the medication he needed to save his life.
Outcome:
Thanks to the efforts of the GtD Impact Foundation, demanding the Institution to provide the client with his medication, the Constitutional Action was approved. The Court decided that the Institution must provide the Pembrolizumab medication under supervision of his doctor. Stay tuned for more updates on our client!
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