48 HEALTH RIGHTS minority groups cannot claim and defend their health rights until they know them and understand the conditions that would enable them to enjoy these rights. Raising consciousness requires that individuals from traditionally oppressed or marginalized groups come to perceive themselves as rights-holders. Statistical information Monitoring the right to health will usually call for the use of statistical information and in some cases budgetary data. Statistics can be used to show patterns of disparities, which are critical in demonstrating discrimination against minorities or indigenous peoples. Budget analysis can be used to determine whether the policies the government proclaims are actually appropriately funded. By comparing funding for insured people (those with social security) versus uninsured people (those dependent on the Ministry of Health), disparities and discrimination may also be revealed.36 It is crucial to look for disaggregated data, or to call for the disaggregation of data along racial and ethnic, as well as other lines, as part of advocacy. Budgets should also have line items for health programmes for vulnerable populations such as certain minority groups. It is important to select statistically valid indicators and not to misuse them. Each indicator or statistic used should be directly related to holding a duty-bearer to account for progress on a specific norm.37 Alliances with health professionals Realizing the right to health in any context will require revising services and relationships with providers and therefore requires the active participation of health professionals. Although health professionals can reflect the prejudices of the overall society toward minorities and indigenous peoples, they can also be critical allies on the inside of the health system. The education and training of health professionals, together with campaigns to build bridges between the communities served and the formal health system, can be important targets of advocacy. The media Often the issue is not just documenting information about abuses of health rights but getting the message out. Local, national and even international media can be very helpful in raising awareness of health-related rights, as well as disseminating information about abuses of the health rights of indigenous peoples and minorities. Journalists should be notified when indigenous or minority groups plan to file a case and should be called upon to be present when a shadow report is presented to a UN body. However, different forms of media can also be used as educational and consciousness-raising tools, as well as for more directly pressuring the government for accountability. (See case study at end of chapter.)