E/CN.4/2005/85/Add.3 page 12 41. Resident foreigners with a legal remunerated activity as a result of self-employment or paid employment, those registered as unemployed and those who have applied for renewal of their residence permits are entitled and required to register with the National Health Service. Registration gives them and their families access to health assistance under the same conditions as Italians. Illegal aliens in Italy may apply to the local health authority, which may not pass on data to the police, for a health card. Aliens without residence permits have access to emergency services, hospital and medical care, free of charge in the event of illness or injury. CNEL considered that the most delicate health policies were those in which least progress had been made - care for women and children and policy in the event of death. The Council informed the Special Rapporteur there was a high rate of abortions among immigrant women. In her visits to administrative detention centres and prisons, the Special Rapporteur expressed an interest in the incidence of HIV/AIDS among immigrants. In Rebibbia she was informed that the incidence was lower among foreign prisoners since there were fewer drug addicts among them. In the Restinco CPTA, drug addicts were treated by specialists from Brindisi hospital and frequently presented with breathing disorders. 42. Foreign children are entitled to attend compulsory education and applications to enrol them in school can be made throughout the school year. The law details measures for the integration of foreign children and for intercultural education, notably through action by local and regional authorities. CNEL reported that school drop-out among foreign primary pupils appeared to be 25 per cent higher than among Italians, and 10 per cent higher in secondary education. The cultural mediation available in schools is, in its view, inadequate. According to the Consolidated Text, amended by Act No. 189/2002, non-resident (quota system) and resident aliens can attend university: (a) if they hold a residence card or residence permit for contractual employment or self-employment, for family or religious reasons or political or humanitarian asylum; (b) if they have been legal residents for at least one year and hold a higher certificate obtained in Italy; (c) whether they are residents or not, if they hold a leaving certificate from an Italian school abroad or an international school in Italy. Some immigrants interviewed considered it unfair that they should be required to have had three years of secondary education in Italy to be able to attend university. 43. Resident aliens have the right of access to the public system of housing assistance under the same conditions as Italians. The Emilia-Romagna Region reported that its regional immigration act did not require immigrants to hold a two-year residence permit in order to be able to rent protected housing (a requirement introduced by Act No. 189/2002). The regional act also provided for the creation of public agencies to facilitate the renting of accommodation to immigrants, with public funds to cover the rent deposit. 44. The regions, in collaboration with the provinces, the local authorities and volunteer associations, have reception centres affording temporary housing for legal immigrants who do not have the necessary means. 45. The Special Rapporteur noted that one of the main concerns of legal immigrants to Italy was the amendment of the regulations concerning family reunification in Act No. 189/2002. Female immigrants in particular considered that the reform meant that family reunification became a right that it was impossible to achieve, since their low incomes prevented them from finding accommodation that met the conditions established in the Act.