The health-related Millennium Development Goals and targets need to be considered in the context of the right to health, taking into account the ethical, social, technical and political aspects of this right. Good health is crucial to the well-being of individuals, families and communities, and it is also a prerequisite for human development with equity. Furthermore, people are entitled to fair, efficient and conscientious health care, and society as a whole has to ensure that no one is excluded from access to health services and that these services provide high-quality care to all users.

Identifying and combating shortcomings and social divides in health conditions and care should be viewed strategically as a vital component of comprehensive public action to break the vicious circle of poverty and, ultimately, to attain sustainable human development.

Information from: The Millennium Development Goals: a Latin American and Caribbean perspective (UN, 2005)

ECLAC is working in the translation of the Regional Progress report and Summary Table. At the moment only the Spanish version is available