A/HRC/RES/35/23
Noting with concern that, for millions of people throughout the world, especially for
women and girls, the full enjoyment of the right to the highest attainable standard of
physical and mental health remains a distant goal,
Recognizing that women, youth, children, indigenous persons, older persons,
persons with disabilities, persons living with HIV and people of African descent face
particular challenges and multifaceted and intersecting forms of discrimination in the
enjoyment of the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health,
Deeply concerned that persons with mental health conditions or psychosocial
disabilities, in particular persons using mental health services, may be subject to, inter alia,
widespread discrimination, stigma, prejudice, violence, social exclusion and segregation,
unlawful or arbitrary institutionalization, overmedicalization and treatment practices that
fail to respect their autonomy, will and preferences,
Deeply concerned also that, despite the impressive reductions in maternal mortality
rates achieved since 1990, according to the World Health Organization, in 2015, there were
an estimated 303,000 maternal deaths of women and girls, which were largely preventable,
and that many more women and girls suffer serious and sometimes lifelong injuries, which
have severe consequences for their enjoyment of their human rights and their overall wellbeing,
Deeply concerned further that more than 5,900,000 children under 5 years of age die
each year, mostly from preventable and treatable causes, owing to inadequate access or lack
of access to integrated and quality maternal, newborn and child health-care services, to
early childbearing, and to health determinants, such as safe drinking water and sanitation,
safe and adequate food and nutrition, and that mortality remains highest among children
belonging to the poorest and most marginalized communities,
Regretting the high number of people still without access to affordable, safe,
efficacious and quality medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and medical devices, underscoring
that improving such access could save millions of lives every year, and noting with deep
concern that, according to the World Health Organization in its World Medicines Situations
Report of 2011, at least one third of the world’s population has no regular access to
medicines, while recognizing that the lack of access to medicines is a global challenge that
affects people not only in developing countries but also in developed countries, even
though the disease burden is disproportionately high in developing countries,
Noting with concern that approximately 54 per cent of persons living with HIV are
in need of treatment, many of whom do not know their HIV status,
Concerned at the instances of multiple or aggravated forms of discrimination,
stigma, violence and abuses that affect the enjoyment of the right of everyone to the
enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, and recalling
the importance that States adopt or strengthen laws, policies and practices to eradicate any
form of discrimination, stigma, violence and abuse in health-care services,
Recognizing that universal health coverage implies that all people have access
without discrimination to nationally determined sets of the needed promotive, preventive,
curative, palliative and rehabilitative essential health-care services, including sexual and
reproductive health-care services, and essential, safe, affordable, efficacious and quality
medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and medical devices, while ensuring that the use of these
services does not expose the users to financial hardship, with a special emphasis on the
poor, vulnerable and marginalized segments of the population,
Underscoring that the full realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms for
all, including the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of
physical and mental health, contributes to the efforts to implement the health-related
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