At the Brazzaville Teaching Hospital screening and anti-retroviral treatment are free of charge. This free treatment helps HIV positives patients live longer. Regarding the situation of children, youths aged 10 to 14 years and women of child-bearing age, a programme consisting of two projects supported by UNICEF was launched : * prevention of Aids among youth ; * prevention of mother to child transmission ; In the area of HIV-AIDS prevention among youth, the objective is to ensure that 80% of youth of both sexes aged between 10 and 24 years old have adopted safe sexual behaviours. For a long time, Congo has formulated a National Communication Strategy for behaviour change among the youth. Regarding the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission Project, (PMCT), the expected outcomes are a 20% reduction in the number of seropositive children by 2008, improved access to voluntary testing-screening for all women attending antenatal consultations and access to medical, nutritional and psychosocial care for seropositive children. Texts were adopted subsequent to the Constitutional provisions to support the latter, such as decree n° 96-525 dated 31st December 1996 relating to the definition, classification and mode of management of health facilities in the Republic of Congo. For example this text defines the attributions of the Ambulatory Medicine and Integrated Health Centres with regard to the Minimum Package of Activities (MPA). It consists of a series of texts which govern the organisation and functioning of the Ministry of Health, the implementation of plans and programmes, the norms of organisation and the operation of health facilities as well as public health financing. Detailed observations point to the fact that this framework is fraught with shortcomings and inconsistencies, especially as regards the single account principle which hampers the decentralisation policy and the recovery of costs inherent to the development of Socio Sanitary Districts. Regrettably there are no specific legal provisions in place in the area of mother and child protection. However, it has been noted that focusing on administrative organisation in the area of health has made it possible to respond to the human rights exigencies in this area. * Organisation of Health Administrative The administration is divided into the central, intermediary and peripheral levels. The first level comprises of the Office of the Minister of Health, Central Departments, and other Units within the Ministry. It is the strategic sphere for planning and normative evaluation, monitoring, resource mobilisation and allocation. 22