malaria, etc.). As is the case for so many other programmes of the Ministry of Health, national programmes designed combat these diseases are being implemented. 214. Several sensitization and capacity strengthening activities are being carried out among all segments of the Congolese population on nutrition, cleanliness, hygiene and others and for health providers on care for the sick in their various departments, particularly in the East of the country where the health situation deteriorated after armed conflicts..  Reproductive Health Services, including the Reduction of Maternal Mortality (ARTICLE 14(1) (a) & (b)) 215. Due to the above-mentioned crisis, the health system is going through; the DRC witnessed one of the highest mortality rates in the world in the 1990’s. It was 550 per 100,000 live births in 1990, 870 in 1995, 1,837 in 1999 and 1,289 in 2001. In the eastern part of the country, the situation was even more tragic. Rates of around 3,000 per 100,000 live deaths were recorded. In 2013, the maternal mortality rate was estimated at 846 per 100,000 live deaths. This rate remained relatively high, like in other Sub-Saharan countries where it stands at between 500 and 1,000 maternal deaths for 100,000 live births. 216. In order to improve maternal health based on the resolutions of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the Millennium Declaration (2000), the DRC reaffirmed at the 2005 World Summit its commitment to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goal relating to the improvement in maternal health. Thus, the government, with the support of some technical and financial partners, has put in place several strategies to combat maternal mortality. In this regard, the health policy adopted in 2001 has maternal health as one of the strategic pillars which consider the monitoring of pregnant women as one of the main components of the policy. This way, the Government has adopted a reproductive health (RH) policy, introduced the national reproductive health programme (PNSR) intended to facilitate its implementation and developed standards for the supply of services and the incorporation of RH into the minimum package of primary health care activities. 217. Thus, per ministerial order No. 1250/CAB/MIN/S/AJ/KIZ/009/2001 of 9 December, 2001, the Minister of Health established a National Reproductive Health Programme (PNSR). The National Reproductive Health Programme is tasked to implement the National Policy of the DRC on reproductive health. It is the pivot around which revolve the RH activities in the country to improve maternal health and reduce the risk of death relating to the complication of RH problems (pregnancy, illegal abortion, STIs and HIV/AIDS) for persons who have reached the child-bearing age, the youth and adolescents, children and older persons as defined by the MDGs. 218. The following activities are part of the implementation of this policy, namely the launch of the Campaign for the Accelerated Reduction in Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA) in 2011, the draft law on reproductive health and family planning which is awaiting promulgation as well as the commitment of the Government which was given concrete expression by the consideration of family planning in the DSCRP-2 and the PAG for the period 2012-2016. Among the maternal health improvement strategies, emphasis should be placed on the H4+ inter-agency initiative which brings together WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF, World Bank, UNAIDS and UN Women. The latter supports the Government to implement the overall strategy of the United Nations Secretary-General (Every Woman, Every Child) on women and children’s health supported by the Canadian Catalytic Fund. 219. The objective of the DRC was to reduce the maternal mortality rate by three-fourths between 1990 and 2015. In fact, maternal morbidity and mortality are basically due to the poor level of qualified medical assistance in an environment where the fertility rate is high, i.e. 6.6 children per woman, against the African average of 4.7 and the global rate of 2.5. Fertility occurs early in the DRC because one out of five female adolescents has already had at least one live birth (OMO 2000-2015 Biannual Report: Evaluation of Progress conducted by the DRC). 46