A/HRC/51/28/Add.1 disaggregated data on poverty. According to the latest census, however, 61.2 per cent of indigenous persons have their health insurance provided by the State and the indigenous unemployment rate stands at 59.3 per cent.13 These figures bear testament to the high poverty levels among indigenous peoples, due to structural social, political and economic exclusion. 78. The Special Rapporteur is concerned about the official figures showing that 70.1 per cent of indigenous households cannot meet their basic needs, compared with a rate of 24.6 per cent for the population as a whole. 14 Moreover, 27.8 per cent of the population in indigenous territories do not have access to adequate housing. The Special Rapporteur was informed about the obstacles single women face in gaining access to housing under the State programmes. 79. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the installation of 13 base station radios in 6 indigenous territories in 2021, as part of the Connected Communities Programme of the National Telecommunications Fund, and the installation of 19 telecommunications masts in 2022. However, the Special Rapporteur is concerned about inequality of access to technology, which is having a growing negative impact on the right to education, 15 particularly in the wake of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, and on indigenous peoples’ ability to complete the administrative procedures necessary in order for them to fully enjoy all their rights. 80. Statistical data show marked inequalities in access to quality education: children in indigenous territories have an average of 5.7 years’ formal schooling, compared with a national average of 8.7 years; illiteracy rates are also much higher among indigenous peoples. 81. The Special Rapporteur notes the recognition of indigenous education from a cultural perspective by Executive Decree No. 37801-MEP. However, intercultural education in which indigenous peoples can see their science and knowledge reflected as part of the country’s cultural heritage needs to be guaranteed. The curricula for the various levels of education do not include modules or courses on indigenous peoples. 82. The Special Rapporteur received reports that there is no national strategy for incorporating young people’s perspectives on education, technology, employment and recreation. 83. The Special Rapporteur congratulates Costa Rica on the establishment of the National Health Council for Indigenous Peoples and the insurance scheme for cross-border NgäbeBuglé indigenous persons in Talamanca; the creation of the role of community indigenous assistant; and the introduction of the Standardization Programme for Indigenous Peoples’ Health Care. He also encourages the State to continue working to guarantee equitable and culturally appropriate access to medical care. 84. Indigenous women reported a lack of quality, appropriate and intercultural health-care services in indigenous communities, access-related difficulties due to lack of an Internet connection and discriminatory treatment when receiving health care. 85. The Special Rapporteur is concerned about inequalities in indigenous women’s access to sexual and reproductive health services, which is evidenced by the reported indigenous teenage pregnancy rate of 10.2 per cent, compared with a rate of 4.3 per cent for the population as a whole. 86. Despite the existence of official data on indigenous persons with disabilities, during his visit, the Special Rapporteur noted that nothing was being done to raise awareness of the rights of indigenous persons with disabilities within their territories and there was no human rights-based State policy that would allow indigenous persons with disabilities to be 13 14 15 GE.22-11025 United Nations Development Programme, Costa Rica, Visión 2030 – Poblaciones Excluidas en Costa Rica, 2011 National Population Census (National Institute of Statistics and Censuses of Costa Rica, 2016). Ibid. Only 17 per cent of indigenous persons over 4 years of age have access to a computer, compared with an average rate of 48.7 per cent for the population as a whole. Only 14.9 per cent of indigenous persons have access to the Internet, compared with an average rate of 63 per cent for the population as a whole. 13