A/HRC/17/43 could lead to inequality and discrimination. For that reason, it was important to use strategic litigation and judicial decisions to make structural changes in the policies on access to medicines, rather than to benefit a single individual in a case. 20. Leah Hoctor from the International Commission of Jurists highlighted the importance of bringing the international legal requirements of equality and nondiscrimination in the enjoyment of rights to bear in efforts to address and improve access to medicines. She pointed out that place of birth, gender, ethnicity, age, level of education and employment were all factors that had a significant impact on access to medicines. She underlined the importance of ensuring a particular focus on the access to medicines of women as work on this issue moved forward. Women and girls faced significant discrimination and inequality in their access to medicines on grounds of sex and gender, but their access was often affected also by intersectional and multiple forms of discrimination, for example on the grounds of social status and age. She emphasized the fact that States must take a number of steps to ensure women’s right to equal access to medicines. Such steps included ensuring that essential medicines women need are both listed on the essential medicines list of countries and available in practice, including reproductive health medicines, contraceptives, drugs that prevent transmission of HIV from mother to child, and drugs that treat and palliate breast cancer. Ensuring that women have effective access to these medicines means taking into account economic factors, since women represent the majority of the poor. Fulfilling the right of women and girls to access to essential medicines may mean making them available for free or subsidized by national health services. Meanwhile a range of indirect factors must be taken into account: for example, improving education and combating illiteracy are key steps in improving access to medicines. Legal prohibitions of certain family planning drugs and health-care services or laws that affect women’s legal status also hinder access to medicines and health services. In conclusion, Ms. Hoctor urged that, in their efforts to improve access to medicines, stakeholders take not only a right to health approach but also a broader holistic human rights one that acknowledges that human lives are multifaceted, not one dimensional, and facilitates the identification of the range of interconnected realities that combine to limit access to medicines in women’s daily lives. 21. Participants discussed existing obstacles, their causes and possible remedies regarding access to medicines. A number of State representatives expressed their concern regarding the great number of people who lacked such access. They also expressed concern about developing countries being pressured not to use TRIPS flexibilities and the repercussions of the TRIPS-plus standards, which were essentially aimed at strengthening the protection of patents. The impact of poverty and pricing, and the problem of research that prioritizes diseases in the developed world as opposed to the developing world, were also raised. This resulted in the creation of a vicious circle, whereby poor countries relied on the research and technology of rich countries to produce the medicines they need, while remaining unable to develop their own production of medicines. This could, however, be overcome by establishing worldwide cooperation in investment in research and technology in poor countries. 22. Counterfeit and falsified medicines were another issue discussed at the meeting. A number of State representatives stressed the importance that the concept of the right to access to medicines should not be used to undermine the international intellectual property regime and its built-in flexibilities or as an excuse to introduce new legislation in the name of addressing the falsification of medicines. While remaining fully committed to the realization of the right to health, State representatives of some developed countries highlighted the need to ensure that the concept of the right to medicines was not used to undermine intellectual property rights or resulted in tolerance of sometimes dangerous counterfeit medicines, although these two issues should not be confused. In that context, the need of a functioning health system that ensured the provision of health care for all, GE.11-11842 7