A/HRC/34/27 by 2030, and to reduce neonatal and under-5 child mortality. Further targets under this goal addressing the social and economic dimensions of health services recognize factors affecting the health outcomes of the most marginalized children, particularly target 3.8 to achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all. 30. States must implement Goal 3 commitments in accordance with article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and related general comments of the Committee on the Rights of the Child in this regard.11 This requires inequalities in health outcomes to be addressed by ensuring an approach based on equality and non-discrimination for children, for example prioritizing the most disadvantaged children and population groups with the highest burden of morbidity and mortality. States and stakeholders should consult the further guidance available on the application of a human rights-based approach to policies and programmes to reduce and eliminate preventable mortality and morbidity of children under 5 years of age (see A/HRC/27/31). Regarding universal health coverage, those children and families who are consistently excluded from health-care systems must be reached first. States should also take special measures to address bottlenecks in health service delivery, ensuring quality maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health services that do not discriminate. 31. Underpinning early childhood development and the fulfilment of the right to health, Goal 2 commits to ending hunger, achieving food security and improving nutrition, and has the potential to support realization of the right to food, as specified in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (arts. 24 and 27). 12 Target 2.2 to end all forms of malnutrition and achieve internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age by 2025 is especially important in this regard. Education and lifelong learning 32. The 2030 Agenda contains commitments for children under Goal 4 on inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all. Obtaining a quality education is the foundation for children’s development and empowerment, and for reaching overall sustainable development aims. Crucially, Goal 4 addresses both access to and quality of education, covering the specific needs of children at particular life stages, including early childhood development, care and pre-primary education (target 4.2), and expanding relevant skills among youth to support access to employment (target 4.4), which is crucial for those children who have reached legal working age. 33. States should implement targets relating to education in accordance with the principle of equal opportunity under article 28 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.13 While there has been extensive progress in expanding children’s access to primary education, there are still major shortfalls in education quality and disparities in access to secondary schooling, with millions of girls still being excluded at this level. In many countries, the rapid expansion of private education is of concern to ensuring equal access 11 12 13 See general comments No. 3 (2003) on HIV/AIDS and the rights of the child; No. 4 (2003) on adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention; No. 7 (2005) on implementing child rights in early childhood; and No. 15 (2013) on the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health. See Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 12 (1999) on the right to adequate food. See also Committee on the Rights of the Child, general comments No. 1 (2001) on the aims of education and No. 7. 9