E/C.12/UKR/CO/6 The State party should expedite the process of establishing a mandatory national health insurance system in the context of ensuring a sustainable public social security system. The existence of such a system should not prejudice the maintenance of guaranteed universal health care services provided free of charge. Poverty 17. The Committee notes with concern that, despite the measures taken to alleviate poverty, the relative poverty level has remained comparably stable at 24.7 per cent in the first nine months of 2013. The Committee is also concerned at the high poverty rates among the most disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups, including Roma, Crimean Tatars, families with three or more children, some under the age of 3, families with unemployed members, persons with disabilities, households comprised of retired persons, single-parent households, and immigrant families. The Committee is further concerned that the poverty rate in rural areas is 1.7 times higher than in urban areas and that the poverty level among employed people was 20.7 per cent in the first nine months of 2013, indicating that employment in itself is not sufficient to ensure an adequate standard of living (arts. 9 and 11). The Committee draws the State party’s attention to its statement concerning poverty and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/C.12/2001/10). The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to combat poverty, focusing particularly on the most disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups and on reducing the disparities between rural and urban areas. The State party should guarantee that its social assistance system targets the poor effectively. It should also ensure that adequate financial resources are allocated for the effective implementation of poverty reduction programmes and that the programmes are adjusted accordingly when measures taken do not achieve the expected positive impact. Right to adequate housing and right to food 18. The Committee remains concerned that the majority of Roma continue to live in substandard housing conditions without safe drinking water or sanitation facilities, electricity, heating, sewage, waste disposal or legal security of tenure, which exposes them to the risk of eviction. The Committee also notes with concern the poor housing conditions and food provision in temporary accommodation centres for asylum seekers and the insufficient number of places in such centres (arts. 2, para. 2, and 11). The State party should, taking into account the Committee’s general comment no. 4 (1991) on the right to adequate housing, adopt all appropriate measures to ensure access to adequate housing for Roma, inter alia by ensuring that adequate resources are allocated to increase the supply of social housing units and by providing appropriate forms of financial support, such as rental subsidies. The Committee also recommends that the State party take steps to ensure that Roma communities are consulted throughout eviction procedures, afforded due process guarantees and provided with alternative accommodation or compensation enabling them to acquire adequate accommodation, and that the State party take into account the Committee’s general comment no. 7 (1997) on forced evictions. The Committee further recommends that the State party take effective measures to secure access to adequate housing and food for asylum seekers. 7