Examining the Right to Health amid the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Light of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection (FCCP) Act, 2018

Abstract

The right to ‘health’ which is said to be ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’ is among the fundamental rights of every human person. This right is so inclusive that it encompasses not just appropriate and affordable health care but every other determinant of health such as adequate nutrition, safe and potable water, sanitation, and health-related education and information. Recently, the world was jolted by the outbreak of a viral infection ‘COVID-19’ which first appeared in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Declaring the disease a pandemic as a result of the alarming rate of spread and mortality, the World Health Organisation (WHO) urged nations to take aggressive steps to contain the disease.  Measures taken include lockdown, prohibition of mass gatherings, social distancing and isolation, the use of face masks, hand sanitizers, disinfectants, latex gloves, and the rest of them.  All over the world including Nigeria prices of goods and services skyrocketed overnight as business undertakings, through obnoxious trade practices priced goods and services out of reach of the average consumer thereby impugning his right to health. This is contrary to the provisions of the FCCP Act. This paper interrogates the response of the Act and the body created by it to the situation to ascertain the adequacy or otherwise of both as consumer protection instruments.  The methodology this paper employs is the doctrinal methodology with the comparative approach.