CRC/C/COL/CO/3 page 14 Environmental health 72. The Committee, while acknowledging the State party’s legitimate priority to combat narcotics, is concerned about environmental health problems arising from the usage of the substance glyphosate in aerial fumigation campaigns against coca plantations (which form part of Plan Colombia), as these affect the health of vulnerable groups, including children. 73. The Committee recommends that the State party carry out independent, rights-based environmental and social-impact assessments of the sprayings in different regions of the country and ensure that, when affected, prior consultation is carried out with indigenous communities and that all precautions be taken to avoid harmful impact of the health of children. HIV/AIDS 74. The Committee is concerned over the increase of vertical transmission of HIV/AIDS from mother to child and the insufficient resources dedicated to prevention of HIV/AIDS among children. 75. The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Strengthen its measures to prevent mother-to-child transmission, inter alia, through awareness-raising campaigns among adolescents, in particular among those belonging to vulnerable groups such as the internally displaced and street children; (b) Provide antiretroviral treatment to all HIV/AIDS-positive children, develop child-friendly counselling services and expand the coverage of HIV tests for pregnant women; (c) Ensure the provision of adequate financial and human resources for the effective implementation of a strategic national plan against HIV/AIDS, taking into account the Committee’s general comment No. 3 on HIV/AIDS and the rights of the child and the International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights (E/CN.4/1997/37); (d) Seek further technical assistance from, inter alia, the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and UNICEF. 7. Education, leisure and cultural activities (arts. 28, 29 and 31 of the Convention) 76. The Committee notes that free education for nine years in school is enshrined as a constitutional right, however, with the reservation that costs be levied upon those who can afford to pay. In practice this provision has created a discriminatory educational system marked by arbitrary fees and social exclusion. The Committee continues to have a number of serious concerns with regards to the implementation of the right to education, including the following: (a) Budget allocations remain insufficient and unequally distributed between the private and public sector;