CRC concluding observations 2023, paragraph 41
Plain English recommendation
Government should: (a) Do more to ensure that all forms of healthcare are available to all children, and that children have a say on how these services are planned and provided; (b) Introduce a strategy to deal with health inequalities, especially for disadvantaged children, disabled children, ethnic minority children, children living in rural areas and transgender children (c) Expand health services for asylum-seeking and migrant children, children without regular residence status, and children in the Overseas Territories, including interpreting services; remove NHS regulations that stop these children from getting healthcare because of their parents’ immigration or financial status; (d) Urgently reduce the long waiting times for specialised health services for transgender and gender-questioning children, improve the quality of these services, and ensure these children have a say in all decisions about their treatment; (e) Do more to end child malnutrition, food insecurity, and growing overweight and obesity rates, including by: • ensuring all children can get nutritious foods and are not reliant on food banks • giving free school meals to all disadvantaged children, including all children whose parents get Universal Credit • dealing with root causes, including poverty • teaching about nutrition in schools and communities and promoting healthy lifestyles (f) Keep promoting breastfeeding by supporting mothers, including through access to flexible working, putting into practice the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, and raising public awareness.
Original UN recommendation
Recalling its general comment No. 15 (2013) on the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, the Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Strengthen measures aimed at ensuring the availability of quality, child-sensitive and age-appropriate paediatric primary and specialist health care services to all children, and ensure that children’s perspectives are included in the development and implementation of all health services, health and social care commissioning, and policy and practice reviews; (b) Develop a strategy to address health inequalities, including the underlying causes, and in particular in respect of children in disadvantaged situations including children with disabilities, children belonging to ethnic minorities, socioeconomically disadvantaged children, children living in rural areas and transgender children; (c) Expand health services available to asylum-seeking and migrant children, children without a regular residence status and children in the Overseas Territories to ensure their access to affordable health and mental health services, including by providing interpretation services and repealing regulations of the National Health Service that prevent such children from accessing health services due to their parents’ immigration or financial status; d) Urgently address the long waiting times faced by transgender and gender-questioning children in accessing specialized health services, improve the quality of such services, and ensure that their views are taken into account in all decisions affecting their treatment; (e) Strengthen measures to address child malnutrition, food insecurity and growing trends in overweight and obesity, including by: (i) ensuring all children’s access to nutritious foods and reducing their reliance on food banks, regardless of their or their parents’ migration status; (ii) expanding the free school meals programme to all children in disadvantaged situations, including children whose parents receive Universal Credit; (iii) addressing the root causes of food insecurity including poverty; (iv) providing nutrition services in schools and communities; and (v) promoting healthy lifestyles and physical activity; (f) Continue its efforts to promote breastfeeding, including by: (i) strengthening support for mothers, including through flexible working arrangements; (ii) fully implementing the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and strengthening relevant legislation; and (iii) raising awareness of the importance of breastfeeding among families and the general public.
Date of UN examination
18/05/2023
UN article number
6, 18 (3), 24, 26, 27 (1)–(3), 33
Original UN document
Download the original CRC concluding observations 2023 on the UN website.