A/HRC/7/18 page 7 IV. ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS A. Right to health, education and food 24. According to reports, there have been marked signs of deterioration in the economic and social sectors, which could aggravate the humanitarian situation. According to a poverty profile published by the Government in June 2007, food expenditure represents 73 per cent of all consumption expenditure. According to United Nations agencies present in the country, one child in three under the age of 5 suffers from malnutrition, and less than 50 per cent of children are able to complete their primary education. 25. The burdens of communicable diseases in Myanmar remain very high, but with assistance from United Nations agencies, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and non-governmental organizations, the public health sector has seen progress in combating malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. However, the delivery of disease-control services, particularly in remote, hard-to-reach townships, including those in the border areas, remains a serious challenge owing to several factors, such as insufficient resources for health, limitations to access to these areas and high turnover of staff. 26. The latest estimates from WHO and UNAIDS indicated that, in 2007, a total of 242,000 people in Myanmar lived with HIV/AIDS, one of the worst epidemics in Asia. According to the United Nations, 75,000 people, including 2,000 children, were in need of anti-retroviral treatment in 2007. By December 2007, only 10,500 were reported to have started such treatment. Non-governmental organizations reportedly provide 85 per cent of treatment. The Special Rapporteur expresses his concern following the announcement made by the Government-run Yangon Infectious Diseases Hospital (Wai Bar Gi) that new regulations introduced in January 2008 stopped free medical services, such as clinical and laboratory services, from being provided to persons living with HIV/AIDS. These services had formerly been supported by a non-governmental organization and were not continued by the Government after that support had to be ended. Most people living with HIV/AIDS who come to the hospital for testing or treatment can only afford transportation, food and basic living costs. The NLD-affiliated welfare group has traditionally provided support for a number of people living with HIV/AIDS who would not otherwise have access to services. Following the crackdown on the demonstrations, it is reported that much of that assistance was discontinued, leaving an unknown number of people living with HIV/AIDS without services. 27. The Special Rapporteur takes the opportunity to commend the important work of the Mae Tao Health Centre in Mae Sot, Thailand, which, since 1988, provides free health care to refugees, migrant workers and other individuals who cross the border into Thailand. 28. The Special Rapporteur received information that, in January 2008, officials from the Ministry of Health had summoned aid workers from international non-governmental organizations to the new capital Naypyidaw, warning them to follow strictly the rules and to report details of their field trips to the Government. Travel permits for international aid workers for international non-governmental organizations to work in the field are now issued for