SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON RIGHT TO HEALTH TO VISIT MOZAMBIQUE FROM 15 TO 19 DECEMBER 2003

12 December 2003


Paul Hunt, Special Rapporteur on the right to health of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, will visit Mozambique at the invitation of the Government from 15 to 19 December 2003.

During this visit, the Special Rapporteur will consider how Mozambique endeavours to implement the right to health, the measures taken for its successful realization and the obstacles encountered, both at the national and international level. He will focus on issues related to access to health services and goods, in particular for marginalized groups and rural communities. He will address particular health challenges in Mozambique such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; sexual and reproductive health; and mental health issues. He will also consider donor financing and the role of international financial institutions.

The Special Rapporteur will meet with Government officials and with representatives of the United Nations system during the course of the mission. He also intends to hold meetings with representatives of the country’s civil society, including members of the media and academics.

The Special Rapporteur will present a report on his mission to the Commission on Human Rights at its sixtieth session next spring.

The Special Rapporteur is an independent expert appointed by the Commission on Human Rights to help States, and others, promote and protect the right to health. For further information on the mandate of the Special Rapporteur and copies of available reports, please consult the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/7/b/mhealth.htm