CRC/C/GEO/CO/4
(b)
rural areas;
(c)
Slow progress in the deinstitutionalization of children with disabilities in
Incomplete data on children with disabilities;
(d)
Low awareness in the families concerned of the services available for
children with disabilities and the limited access to health, education and care services for
children with disabilities, especially those with autism, Down syndrome and severe
disabilities, as well as for children in rural areas.
30.
In the light of its general comment No. 9 (2006) on the rights of children with
disabilities, the Committee urges the State party to adopt a human rights-based
approach to disability, set up a comprehensive strategy for the inclusion of children
with disabilities and:
(a)
Introduce individual functional assessments of disability status, based on
the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, and a
biopsychosocial approach for their support, train service providers on the assessments,
guarantee effective cooperation between services and timely medical interventions and
referral to adequate health and educational services, and establish early identification
and referral mechanisms for vulnerable children;
(b)
Accelerate the deinstitutionalization process in rural areas, ensure
sufficient alternative family- and community-based care options for children deprived
of a family environment, in particular for children with disabilities, and reinforce
reintegration services;
(c)
Organize disaggregated data collection on children with disabilities;
(d)
Develop a monitoring system for children with disabilities and their
participation in health and education systems;
(e)
Undertake awareness-raising campaigns aimed at government officials,
the public and families, to combat the stigmatization of and prejudice against children
with disabilities, promote a positive image of such children and strengthen knowledge
of the specific services available.
Health and health services
31.
While noting the launch of the universal health-care programme in 2013, the
creation of a programme and a coordination council for mother and child health within the
Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs in the same year, the adoption of a policy for
the regionalization of maternal and newborn care and the implementation of a
corresponding pilot programme in 2015, the Committee remains concerned at:
(a)
The high rates of infant mortality and stillbirth and the low technological
capacity of pre- and postnatal health care;
(b)
Reports of the continued prevalence of malnutrition, anaemia and other
micronutrient deficiencies, as well as obesity in children and the limited coverage of the
educational health visits made by primary health-care professionals, leading to
inappropriate childcare practices.
32.
In the light of its general comment No. 15 (2013) on the right of the child to the
enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and taking note of target 3.2 of
the Sustainable Development Goals on ending preventable deaths of newborns and
children under 5 years of age, the Committee recalls its previous concluding
observations (see CRC/C/GEO/CO/3, para. 45) and urges the State party to:
(a)
Strengthen efforts to decrease rates of infant mortality and stillbirth by,
inter alia, improving ante- and postnatal care, enhancing the capacity of health-care
providers all over the country, and implement and apply the OHCHR technical
guidance on the application of a human rights-based approach to the implementation
of policies and programmes to eliminate preventable mortality and morbidity of
children under 5 years of age (A/HRC/27/31);
10