WHO and the UN system have agreed upon a goal of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) – which will be included in the September 2015 Sustainable Development Goals. However, while the principles of human rights (including the right to health), equity and justice underlie commitments to the SDGs, the reality of priority-setting within health care systems is likely to influence decisions around resource allocation even within UHC. This talk will examine how decisions around priority-setting for STI prevention and care can be taken – what will prevail: rights or cost-effectiveness? Are the two principles compatible and how will national programmes and international agencies allocate resources? These issues will be explored in depth in relation both to WHO’s new STI control strategy and its wider commitment to UHC and human rights.