A/HRC/21/39 homelessness. Under these circumstances, women in particular experience multiple forms of discrimination and are exposed to abuse and violence. 80. States should: (a) Accord priority to the eradication of homelessness through a national strategy, while allocating sufficient resources to the provision of adequate transitional shelter to all homeless persons; (b) Adopt laws protecting all individuals, groups and communities, including those living in poverty, against forced eviction by State and non-State actors. This should include preventive measures to avoid and/or eliminate the underlying causes of forced evictions, such as speculation in land and real estate; (c) Accord priority to individuals and communities living in poverty in housing and land allocation, especially where access to work and services is available. Such allocation must be done in a gender-sensitive manner, ensuring that men and women benefit equally from such schemes; (d) Take immediate measures aimed at conferring legal security of tenure for persons and households living in poverty who lack such protection, including those who do not have recognized titles to home and land and those living in informal settlements; (e) enforced; Ensure that women’s equal rights to land or tenure are recognized and (f) Ensure adequate public expenditure on affordable housing and promote policies and programmes that enable access to affordable housing for persons living in poverty. Such policies and programmes should accord priority to the most disadvantaged groups and may include housing finance programmes, slum upgrading, titling and regularization of informal settlements, and/or State subsidies for rent or credit for housing ownership; (g) Accord priority to improvements in infrastructure and services in areas inhabited by persons living in poverty, including all-weather roads, safe drinking water, waste and sewage disposal and sanitation facilities, health-care and education facilities and electricity; (h) Design and implement disaster risk reduction policies and programmes related to housing with due regard to the rights of persons living in poverty. Post-disaster rehabilitation efforts should include measures to strengthen tenure security for those with insecure status and accord priority to housing reconstruction and the provision of alternate housing, such as social or public housing, for the most disadvantaged groups. J. Right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health 81. In a clear example of the vicious circle of poverty, persons experiencing ill health are more likely to become poor, while persons living in poverty are more vulnerable to accidents, diseases and disability. Limited access to physical and mental health care, including medicines, insufficient nutrition and unsafe living environments deeply affect the health of persons living in poverty and impair their ability to engage in income-generating or productive livelihood activities. Women and girls carry a disproportionate care responsibility when health-care facilities are lacking or inaccessible and thus often must forego education or formal employment to provide care. 18