A/67/302 C. Allocation of health funds and resources 46. The right to health approach requires the equitable allocation of health funds and resources towards achieving universal access to good quality health facilities, goods and services, in accordance with the principle of non-discrimination. In all allocative decisions, special attention must be paid to the needs of vulnerable or marginalized groups, including, among others, ethnic, racial, religious and sexual minority groups, women, children and the poor. Better overall health outcomes and more effective health systems result from eliminating inequalities in access to health facilities, goods and services. 51 States should therefore allocate health funds and resources to ensure that good quality health facilities, goods and services are financially accessible for the poor, physically accessible for rural and remote populations, and responsive to primary health-care needs for all, rather than specialized care for the few. Primary, secondary and tertiary care sectors 47. Under the right to health approach, in order to provide health goods, services and facilities to all persons in a non-discriminatory manner, States should ensure equitable and efficient allocation of health funds and resources between primary, secondary and tertiary health care, with particular emphasis on primary care. Primary health care is defined as essential and preventative health care universally accessible in the community at a cost the community can afford. 52 In contrast to primary health care, secondary and tertiary health-care services typically address illnesses that cannot be managed at the community level and are usually provided by specialized doctors and health workers in facilities such as hospitals at comparatively higher costs, using special equipment and sometimes in-patient care. 48. Primary health-care goods and services include routine health check-ups, preventive screenings, immunizations and vaccinations, services for the management of chronic illnesses, family planning services, nutrition services, maternal care and childbirth services and mental health counselling, all of which serve basic health needs at low cost and reduce the need for secondary and tertiary health care. Primary health care also includes health awareness-raising and educational services, such as sanitation and public hygiene campaigns, which have both preventative and promotional effects and empower community members to improve and maintain their health on their own. 49. Primary health-care goods and services do not require specialized training for health-care workers, sophisticated diagnostic equipment or significant physical infrastructure. Primary health care is provided in the community setting in small clinics or in homes by doctors, nurses and other health-care workers and may therefore be administered in a more socially and culturally acceptable manner. Primary health care is thus more geographically adaptable and less costly to administer and make use of, which increases the availability of health goods and services for rural and remote communities and the poor. __________________ 51 52 18 WHO, “Primary health care as a strategy for achieving equitable care: a literature review commissioned by the Health Systems Knowledge Network” (Geneva, 2007), p. 21. See Declaration of Alma-Ata adopted at the International Conference on Primary Health Care in 1978. 12-46101