prevent STI/HIV/AIDS with the involvement of civil society organizations (national and international NGOs). In terms of staff training, the national programme on reproductive health conducted various training sessions on the delivery of RH services including on: (i) BEmONC (Basic emergency obstetric and new-born care) for physicians, gynaecologists, paediatricians, midwives and anaesthetist; (ii) basic obstetric are for chief nursing officers at health posts and auxiliary birth attendants; (iii) family planning and new techniques; (iv) therapeutic management of obstetric fistula; and (v) management of RH programmes on the obstetrics package. In the area of advocacy, the national reproductive health project carried out the following actions: (i) advocacy with decision makers, opinion leaders (locally elected officials, community and religious leaders); (ii) advocacy with development partners; (iii) awareness-raising, information, education and communication for behaviour change targeting populations and users of RH services. Significant accomplishments of the RH policy include: (i) Political commitment of the public authorities in this area; (ii) Institutionalization of a national RH week under the patronage of the First Lady; (iii) Commitment of TFPs; (iv) Development and implementation of three national RH strategies (1998-2002, 2003-2007 and 2009-2013); (v) Availability of BEmONC protocols; (vi) Training and posting of obstetricians and paediatricians; (vii) Establishment of a Faculty of Medicine; (viii) Establishment of second training school outside of the capital city; (ix) Scaling up of the obstetrics package; (x) Scaling up of PMTCT; (xi) Drafting and implementation of a national strategy to eradicate obstetric fistula; (xii) Development of an IEC national strategy; (xiii) Preparation of a roadmap to accelerate the reduction of maternal and new-born mortality. Paragraph 3: HIV/AIDS (Article 14(1)(d)) The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is stable, ranging from 0.57% to a little less than 1%. Though prevention and screening are now integrated into the reproductive health services package (29.6% of women consulted know where to go for HIV testing), the risks of contracting HIV are still significant. These risks relate to the persistence of certain practices including early marriage, excision, tattoos, frequent divorce and remarriage, polygamy and the use of sharp objects. The 2011 MICS survey revealed that only 6.3% of women between the ages of 15 and 24 had a good knowledge of the manner in which HIV/AIDS is transmitted and only 2 out of 5 women know that this disease can be transmitted to the child. Chapter 5: Economic, social and cultural rights Paragraph 1: Economic and social welfare rights (Article 13) The Government’s poverty reduction strategy includes complementary lines of action which contribute, in particular, to addressing economic and social aspects of poverty, targeting of poor populations and institutional capacity strengthening. These activities have 62