E/CN.4/2003/90/Add.2 page 25 Education 77. Education should be strengthened as a national priority. Bilingual education should be extended to all areas of the country and appropriate bilingual and intercultural teaching materials should be prepared; more teacher training colleges should also be established in order to train bilingual teachers. The Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government should draw up a realistic timetable, which must be respected, to extend educational services to all the indigenous communities, and develop affirmative educational programmes for indigenous adults. Health 78. The Special Rapporteur recommends that all health services and other basic services should be made accessible as rapidly as possible to all indigenous communities, and appeals in particular for a fairer distribution of public resources to benefit rural zones and particularly indigenous areas. The current dismissive attitudes of public officials towards midwives and spiritual guides must come to an end, and a wide-ranging intercultural process must be encouraged in the health field, so as not only to achieve the targets set by international bodies, but also to restore the dignity of the indigenous peoples. Indigenous women 79. Indigenous women are discriminated against at three levels: as indigenous persons, as women, and as poor people. The Special Rapporteur calls for special measures to address this discrimination, including greater political, legal and economic support to the Office for the Defence of Indigenous Women. He also recommends that the Office should initiate a national dialogue in order to identify the necessary appropriate practical measures for improving the status of indigenous women. Indigenous children 79. In view of the particular vulnerability of indigenous children, especially orphans and the victims of extreme poverty, the Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government should establish appropriate programmes, in consultation with the indigenous peoples, to deal with these disadvantages, provide alternatives to street life for indigenous children and ensure that they are able to benefit from education and social services. Among the latter, priority should be given to health programmes and care for mothers. Spirituality 80. In accordance with the Agreement on Identity and Rights, the Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government should comply as rapidly as possible with its provisions concerning indigenous spirituality, by recognizing indigenous religion and beliefs, ensuring indigenous access to all sacred sites (including archaeological zones), and access to communal forests for the collection of plants and other products used in religious ceremonies, without legal impediment of any kind.