The Government to do more to ensure access to quality services for everyone living in the Middle Eastern nation was called in by an independent United Nations expert while commending Syria's efforts to advance the right to health.

The work carried out to improve the country's health system and in almost all key health indicators the advances made were noted by Anand Grover, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health.

Grover said, "Coverage rates are extremely high upwards of 90 per cent and the centres in Syria that I visited were well staffed and well maintained."

Grover added that in terms of health-related achievements due to improvements in maternal and child mortality rates, Syria is placed close to the top of the developing world.

At the same time, among the challenges in ensuring sexual and reproductive rights, are the country's high fertility rate and its urban-rural divide in the delivery of health care services.

Awareness about gender-based violence is the need according to him as no data was available during his mission.

For its commitment to provide health care services for up to 1.5 million Iraqi refugees, Syria was strongly commended by Grover.