A/HRC/27/16 7. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations had recognized that Nicaragua had reduced the rate of undernourishment in the country from 55.1 to 20.1 per cent between 2010 and 2012. Thus, the first Millennium Development Goal had been met ahead of time. Nicaragua had also succeeded in reducing social inequality from 0.41 to 0.37 per cent as measured by the Gini index. In addition, the United Nations system had considered the “Zero Hunger” programme to be a good practice for reducing extreme poverty. General poverty had been reduced from 48.3 to 42.5 per cent and extreme poverty from 17.2 per cent in 2005 to 8.2 per cent in 2011. 8. Health care had increased significantly between 2007 and 2013: primary care consultations had increased from 8.5 million to 16.7 million, and specialist consultations from 1,351,000 to 3,109,000. 9. The budget for education had grown by 35 per cent since 2006. Preschool and primary education curricula with a bilingual intercultural approach had been designed for indigenous students and students of African decent. In 2013, initial enrolment in preschool education had increased by 11 per cent compared to 2009. The illiteracy rate had diminished from 16.5 per cent in 2006 to 3 per cent in 2013. 10. In 2010, the Law for Older Persons had been adopted and the Social Security Act regulation had been amended to establish a reduced pension for persons over 60 years old who had not been able to make a minimum number of contributions. The scheme had benefited 18,500 senior citizens. 11. In 2014, the Inter-Parliamentary Union had placed Nicaragua in first position on the list of countries with the highest percentage of women in ministerial positions. The World Economic Forum, in its 2013 report, placed Nicaragua in tenth position on the list of countries with better gender equality in public office. 12. Regarding the human rights to water and sanitation, between 2007 and 2010 drinking water coverage had risen from 72 to 84 per cent, while sewerage service had increased from 33 to 39 per cent. The construction of new sewage treatment units had increased by 200 per cent during the previous four and a half years. 13. With regard to the right of indigenous peoples to ancestral lands and property titles, the Government had granted titles in 21 territories representing an area of 36,128.78 km2 (30 per cent of the national territory and 52 per cent of the Caribbean coast), benefiting 284 communities, 31,827 families and 190,963 persons, of whom 52 per cent were women. 14. The United Nations Development Programme had acknowledged that Nicaragua had the second lowest homicide rate in Central America and the fourth lowest in Latin America. In addition, Nicaraguan community policing and police work with young people were considered good practices by other countries in Latin America. 15. The Government considered the reduction of overcrowding in prisons as a priority, and had carried out considerable public investment, amounting to 389.1 million córdobas. By October 2013, the prison population had reached 9,601 persons: 87 per cent of them convicted and 13 per cent of them accused persons. That number represented a decrease of 8 per cent since 2010, reflecting a steady reduction in judicial delays. The recidivism rate in 2013 was 11 per cent, the lowest in Central America. 16. The National Coalition against Trafficking in Persons had been strengthened. The Coalition comprised more than 70 public institutions and non-governmental organizations. . A shelter for victims of trafficking had been established in Managua, under the protection of the National Police. A new draft law against trafficking in persons was being discussed in the National Assembly. It would strengthen the general rules for the prevention, investigation and prosecution of all forms of trafficking, the protection of witnesses and 4