A/HRC/28/82 27. Reducing inequality takes time and will require structural programmes that go beyond just providing social assistance. In the meantime, steps must be taken urgently to close the literacy gap, as knowing how to read and write is crucial to a life with dignity and to the exercise of most rights, such as the right to education, which in turn gives access to such other rights as the right to work, to food, to housing and to health. 28. According to UNDP figures, 3 5,294,000 Haitians — out of a total population of 10,320,000 — are illiterate. The Office of the Secretary of State for Literacy has indicated to the Independent Expert a figure on the order of 3.5 million illiterate Haitians. A two-year campaign supported by Latin American and Caribbean cooperation assistance is currently under way to teach 450,000 people how to read and write. 29. Without wishing to diminish that campaign’s importance, at the rate indicated it would take at least 15 years (or 23 years, according to the UNDP figures) to eradicate illiteracy, and that does not take into account future population growth. Urgent action to address this problem should include a major boost in the human and financial resources allocated to achieving this goal in order to cut significantly the time needed to teach all Haitians how to read and write. 30. The authorities responsible for improving literacy in Haiti have shared with the Independent Expert their concern that the literacy campaign focuses exclusively on Creole and does not include French, the country’s other official language. As French is the language used in all administrative, legal and other official matters, an additional effort is needed to make sure that people who learn to read and write in Creole can also understand written French, thus helping to guarantee the realization of Haitian citizens’ rights. 31. The Independent Expert encourages the Government of Haiti to step up its effort to eradicate illiteracy as soon as possible in order to lay a solid foundation for the realization of human rights in the country. He further invites the entire international community to support this effort and to coordinate international cooperation with the Government in this area as a matter of the highest importance. (ii) Other aspects of economic, social and cultural rights that merit particular attention 32. In the Independent Expert’s previous report, it was stated that the majority of Haitians lived in conditions of extreme poverty. A full 76 per cent of the population earned less than US$2 per day, and 60 per cent earned less than US$1 per day. Unemployment stood at 60 per cent. The Global Hunger Index (GHI) for Haiti was calculated at 23.2, placing it in the category of “alarming”. More than 44 per cent of the population suffered from malnutrition. Nearly 75 per cent of households were located in slums, 4 which meant that the right to housing is not a reality for the majority of Haitians (and that situation has worsened since the earthquake in 2010). The right to health was similarly not guaranteed, with 60 per cent of the population lacking access to basic health care, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); that situation, too, had worsened since the cholera epidemic. Lastly, the right to education was not enjoyed by all: UNICEF figures showed that almost half of the country’s boys and girls did not attend school and only 2 per cent of children of school age completed secondary education.5 33. The Government has deployed considerable efforts to tackle these situations of extreme vulnerability, including through a national programme to combat hunger and 3 4 5 GE.15-02042 Ibid. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Haiti, “2013 MDG report: Haiti, a new look – executive summary” (Port-au-Prince, UNDP, 2014). Available at www.ht.undp.org/content/haiti/fr/ home/library/mdg/rapport-omd-2013---haiti-un-nouveau-regard/. See A/HRC/25/71, paras. 11–17. 7