at the very least, minimum essential levels of each of the rights
enunciated in the Covenant, including essential primary health
care. Read in conjunction with more contemporary instruments,
such as the Programme of Action of the International Conference
on Population and Development, the Alma-Ata Declaration
provides compelling guidance on the core obligations arising
from article 12. Accordingly, in the Committee's view, these core
obligations include at least the following obligations:
(a) To ensure the right of access to health facilities, goods and
services on a non-discriminatory basis, especially for vulnerable
or marginalized groups;
(b) To ensure access to the minimum essential food which is
nutritionally adequate and safe, to ensure freedom from hunger
to everyone;
(c) To ensure access to basic shelter, housing and sanitation, and
an adequate supply of safe and potable water;
(d) To provide essential drugs, as from time to time defined
under the WHO Action Programme on Essential Drugs;
(e) To ensure equitable distribution of all health facilities, goods
and services;
(f) To adopt and implement a national public health strategy and
plan of action, on the basis of epidemiological evidence,
addressing the health concerns of the whole population; the
strategy and plan of action shall be devised, and periodically
reviewed, on the basis of a participatory and transparent
process; they shall include methods, such as right to health
indicators and benchmarks, by which progress can be closely
monitored; the process by which the strategy and plan of action
are devised, as well as their content, shall give particular
attention to all vulnerable or marginalized groups.
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Violations of the obligation to fulfil
52. Violations of the obligation to fulfil occur through the failure
of States parties to take all necessary steps to ensure the
W.P.(C) 7279/2013
Page 27 of 41
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