Identifying the Components of a Core Health Services Package from a Human Rights Perspective to Inform Progress Toward Universal Health Coverage

The current global consensus as embodied in the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals affirms the importance of achieving universal health coverage so as to strengthen health systems and improve the distribution of health services. However, it also raises the question of what kinds of health services universal health coverage entails. Currently, there is little clarity as to what kinds of health services universal health coverage requires. To fill the gap and to develop a package consistent with human rights standards, this article draws recommendations for a core health services package from key human rights documents, in particular, relevant provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, general comments drafted by UN human rights committees interpreting elements of the right to health, and the report of the WHO Consultative Group on Equity and Universal Health Coverage.