E/C.12/BDI/CO/1 Right to adequate food 49. The Committee notes with concern that, despite the launching of the National Agricultural Strategy and the National Agricultural Investment Plan, much of the population lives in a situation of food insecurity. It is also concerned by the high levels of chronic child malnutrition. 50. The Committee recommends that the State party step up efforts to ensure the right to adequate food and to address hunger and child malnutrition, in particular in rural areas. The Committee also recommends that the State party redouble its efforts to boost productivity among small-scale farmers by making appropriate technologies available to them, in line with their right to enjoy the benefits of scientific advances, and by enhancing their access to local markets with a view to raising rural income levels. The Committee refers the State party to its general comment No. 12 (1999) on the right to adequate food and to t he Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security, adopted by the Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Access to health care 51. The Committee is concerned that, despite the State party’s efforts to improve access to health services through such means as the medical assistance card, disadvantaged or marginalized individuals and groups, in particular the Batwa and internally displaced persons, continue to encounter obstacles in accessing health services. The Committee is similarly concerned by the quality and availability of health-care services, especially in remote rural areas (art. 12). 52. The Committee recommends that the State party allocate sufficient resources to the health sector and continue its efforts to guarantee the accessibility, availability and quality of health services, in particular in remote rural areas. It further recommends that the State party upgrade its primary health care infrastructure and ensure that hospitals have the necessary medical personnel and essential supplies and drugs. Maternal and child mortality 53. The Committee notes with concern that, although the State party has instituted a policy of providing health care to children under 5 and pregnant women at no charge, maternal and child mortality rates continue to be very high (art. 12). 54. The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Intensify efforts to bring down the high rates of infant mortality and mortality of children under 5 and to take steps to ensure that births are attended by qualified health professionals; (b) Strengthen measures to prevent maternal morbidity and mortality, in particular by improving women’s access to basic obstetrical and post-partum care and to sexual and reproductive health services. In this regard, the Committee invites the State party to bear in mind the technical guidance of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights concerning the application of a human rights-based approach to the implementation of policies and programmes to reduce preventable maternal morbidity and mortality (A/HRC/21/22); (c) 8/10 Review its legislation prohibiting abortion in all circumstances; GE.15-18000