A/71/304 girls have access to education, child mortality rates and girls ’ long-term health improve (Goals 3, 4 and 5) (A/70/213, para. 9). Investments in such initiatives place the human rights principles of autonomy and participation at the centre of public health policy and are critical components of an open, inclusive and peaceful society. Disaggregated data 53. In conformity with international human rights standards, the Sustainable Development Goals include a commitment to collect high -quality, accessible, timely and reliable data. Realizing the right to health and achieving health equity require identifying and understanding inequalities both within and between countries. Identifying patterns of vulnerability can be accomplished through disaggregated data collection. This is essential to identifying disparities, where targeted efforts are required, monitoring progress and supporting review and accountability. The Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators has recommended that global Sustainable Development Goal-related data be disaggregated on grounds of “income, gender, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts” (target 17.18). Such disaggregation would be a welcome advance over the Millennium Development Goals, which relied on data presented as national averages. 54. Prioritizing the most vulnerable requires acknowledging that many populations are invisible through traditional data collection methods either because they are excluded from civil registration or because they face other barriers, such as being homeless or criminalized, and never come into contact with official statistical processes. Qualitative data collection methods are a practical and powerful complement to traditional quantitative methods. 28 55. The 2030 Agenda commitment to strengthening statistics collection in developing countries should include support for disaggregation and high -quality data, in particular regarding civil registration and vital statistics. The Special Rapporteur encourages States to disaggregate data on further grounds and to use both qualitative and quantitative methods. This will be essential to identifying obstacles facing different groups to ensure that suitable legal and policy measures can reduce discrimination and support substantive equality. B. Accountability 56. Accountability is at the heart of human rights, including the right to health. Accountability for human rights consists of a process that provides rights holders with an opportunity to understand how duty bearers have discharged their obligations, and for duty bearers to explain ho w they have done so. It has a corrective function, allowing individual or collective grievances to be redressed; it also has a preventive function that helps to determine which laws, policies and programmes are delivering and where adjustments need to be made. 29 This should be viewed as a constructive process that supports individuals and groups in realizing their rights and duty bearers in fulfilling their obligations. __________________ 28 29 14/26 Flavia Bustreo and others, Women’s and Children’s Health: Evidence of Impact of Human Rights (Geneva, WHO, 2013), p. 85, sect. 4.2. OHCHR and Center for Economic and Social Rights, “Who will be accountable?” (see footnote 16). 16-13597