A/HRC/16/78 2010. The introduction of the FHC program in April 2010 has led to a steady increase in the number of individuals accessing free health care. However, constraints remain and a number of maternal mortalities have been reported at the Makeni Government Referral Hospital, including 12 deaths in September and October 2010 alone. The causes included the absence of a gynecologist and midwives in the hospital, lack of commitment among the nurses and patients, and delays in getting access to hospitals. 40. In November 2010, the President launched “Mami en Pikin Wel Bodi Week” (mother and child health week), during which free medication was administered to children nationwide and 3.2 million bed nets were distributed for free to every household in the country, with a view to reducing the high rate of malaria among children, pregnant and lactating mothers. Efforts were made by the Government and its partners to combat yellow fever, bird flu, elephantiasis and polio by providing free vaccines and treatment to the public. On another positive note, the National AIDS Secretariat stated that the HIV/AIDS transmission rate has been lowered by 25 per cent in Sierra Leone, although out of 48,000 individuals living with HIV/AIDS, only 10,000 were on anti-retro viral treatment. 41. However, enhancement of the right to health continues to be undermined by the lack of access to clean water and the shortage of medical practitioners, drugs and equipment. Expired and sub-standard drugs also adversely affected the right to health; on a few occasions, the Sierra Leone Pharmacy Board confiscated and destroyed a quantity of such drugs. 4. Right to education 42. The education sector in Sierra Leone is undergoing reform in a bid to improve the quality of education, and meet the Millennium Development Goals. Following the poor performance of pupils in public examinations in 2008, the Government set up the Gbamanja Commission to investigate the causes, and submit recommendations. The reform measures contained in the Government’s White Paper on the Commission’s report, which was presented to the President in March 2010, include, inter alia, a compulsory early childhood component, extension of senior secondary school by one year, free and compulsory primary education in both policy and practice, phasing out of the two shift system, review of the conditions of service for teachers. The Government accepted various recommendations put forward by the Commission, such as the extension of contact hours in schools and criminalizing the practice of illegally accepting pupils who do not meet the pass mark set for public exams. The 2004 Education Policy is also under revision with the aim, inter alia, of improving access to, and the quality of, education, as well as retention and completion of school for the girls. 43. In December 2010, Parliament enacted the Sierra Leone Teaching Service Commission Act (2010) aimed at improving the quality of service provided in educational institutions, with provisions for the establishment of a Teaching Commission to be responsible for the recruitment, development, training and management of teachers in the country. Overall, it is expected to make the teaching profession more attractive for graduates, and improve service delivery in the educational sector. Furthermore, in an effort to improve school attendance by girls in rural areas, the Government has put in place a policy that provides free junior secondary education, uniforms and school materials to girls in the eastern and northern regions. C. Interaction with international human rights mechanisms 44. Interaction with international human rights mechanisms improved in 2010, although a number of reports are overdue, notably to CERD (4th report overdue since 1976), CCPR 10