CRC/C/15/Add.204 page 8 6. Basic health and welfare 39. The Committee notes with appreciation the State party’s programme to extend health services which has increased access from 10 to 70 per cent of the population since independence in 1991, as well as its programme of cooperation with UNICEF in the area of health and health services. However, the Committee is concerned at the high rate of child and infant mortality due to acute respiratory infections, diarrhoeal diseases, malaria and malnutrition. It is further concerned that a considerable number of families lack access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities, which contributes to the spread of communicable diseases. 40. The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Continue to expand access to health services, in particular in rural areas, and increase the skills of health personnel with a view to reducing infant mortality rates; (b) Continue to strengthen the implementation of existing health policies and programmes, in particular the National Policy on Breastfeeding and Weaning Practices (1995) and the Eritrean Rural Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation Programme; (c) Foods Act. Expedite the adoption of the draft Marketing of Infant and Young Child Adolescent health 41. The Committee is concerned at the lack of available data regarding the prevalence of substance abuse, tobacco use and suicide. It is also concerned about the growing problem of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among adolescents. 42. The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures to assess the prevalence of substance abuse, tobacco use and suicide and take effective measures to prevent and treat health problems affecting adolescents, including the spread of STIs, through, inter alia, sex education, counselling and availability of condoms. HIV/AIDS 43. The Committee is concerned about the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS within the State party. 44. The Committee recommends that the State party actively pursue its ongoing activities in collaboration with UNICEF to counter HIV/AIDS and integrate respect for the rights of the child into the development and implementation of its HIV/AIDS policies and strategies on behalf of children infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS, as well as their families, including by making use of the International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights (E/CN.4/1997/37, annex) and the Committee’s general comment No. 3 on HIV/AIDS and the rights of the child.