CRC/C/15/Add.213
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(b)
Consider amending legislation so as to include all children below the age
of 18 years into the category of disabled children;
(c)
Conduct public-awareness campaigns to raise awareness of the situation and
the rights of children with disabilities and to counter negative attitudes which hamper the
implementation of these rights. The promotion of their rights could further be advanced
through, for instance, support to parents’ organizations and community-based services and
a sustained programme to move children from institutions to a good family environment;
(d)
Allocate the necessary resources for programmes, medicines and prostheses,
trained staff and facilities for all children with disabilities, especially for those living in
rural areas;
(e)
In light of the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for
Persons with Disabilities (General Assembly resolution 48/96) and the Committee’s
recommendations adopted at its day of general discussion on “The rights of children with
disabilities” (CRC/C/69, paras. 310-339), further encourage their integration into the
regular educational system and inclusion into society, including by providing special
training to teachers and by making schools more accessible.
Health and health services
56.
While welcoming the efforts made in 2002 to increase the accessibility of health services
in rural areas, the Committee remains concerned at the reduced quality and accessibility of
health-care services, particularly affecting children in rural areas, as noted in the State party’s
report. The Committee further shares the concerns of the CEDAW with respect to access to free
medical care for women and the degree of environmental degradation, particularly as it affects
access to clean drinking water, which has an extremely negative impact on the whole population
and, in particular, women and children.
57.
The Committee notes the international cooperation in the sphere of health, the
special comprehensive medium-term programme for the protection of mother and child
health 2001-2005, and the reduction, in recent years, of the infant mortality rate, the under-5
mortality rate and the maternal mortality rate, but is nevertheless concerned that these remain
unacceptably high.
58.
With regard to adolescent health, the Committee is concerned at the high rate of teenage
pregnancies and abortions, which are one of the main causes of maternal mortality. Welcoming
the national plan for counteracting the AIDS epidemic, it is further concerned at the emergence
of problems relating to HIV/AIDS, drug addiction, alcoholism and increased use of tobacco.
59.
The Committee expresses its concern at problems of poor access to safe water, lack of
food security and serious hazards arising from the Aral Sea disaster, as well as those relating to
the Semipalatinsk nuclear testing site (closed in 1989), and notes that insufficient attention has
been given to the long-term health and psychosocial consequences of the affected population.