Contributing to the protection of health, to access to health care, is a mission of great complexity. The complexity of health protection lies in the different dimensions it includes. The first dimension of health is linked to its humanism. Health is personal. This is the approach that the patient will maintain with his state of health. The state of health is defined as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and does not consist only in an absence of illness or infirmity" (Charter of the World Health Organization). Health is a state, a status, which concerns the physical body, mental health, but also the social aspect of the individual. This triptych is first defined by the person himself. Only she can determine if she is in good health.

The conception of his state of health is the product of his experience, his education and his culture. The difficulty when trying to improve access to care is to meet the real needs of populations. Meeting needs is not limited to a physical or medical response to symptoms, but rather to a human and global approach to the person, an approach that must meet the moral and cultural expectations of the patients helped.

The second dimension of health is its sensitivity to the environment. Health is a fundamental right (Charter of the World Health Organization) which is easy to infringe. This fundamental right is characterized by a vulnerability linked to the context in which patients live. This context, that is to say the determinants of health, are 12 in number (Health Canada) and are factors in protecting or affecting health. The determinants are income level and social status; the social network; education; employment and conditions of employment; the social environment; the physical environment; health habits; early childhood development; genetic heritage; access to health services; gender and culture.

Health also addresses a collective aspect. Whether it is the Constitution of the World Health Organization or the various declarations of the United Nations, we recognize that health is a fundamental condition for peace and development. Agnès Soucat of the African Development Bank said: "Investing in health: the key to inclusive, sustainable and equitable growth in Africa".