A/HRC/12/43 page 11 VI. BASIC SOCIAL SERVICES 38. The underlying conditions are not conducive to ensuring respect for human rights in Burundi. The crises experienced by Burundi have resulted in widespread destruction of the physical infrastructure such that socio-economic conditions have yet to recover to pre-crisis levels. Its Human Development Index (HDI) ranking is 166 out of the 177 countries for which the HDI is calculated.6 While the country is making some progress towards some of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), none are expected to be achieved by 2015.7 The United Nations estimates that only 30 per cent of the population has access to quality basic social services.8 39. The Government has attempted to address the situation through measures to provide free universal education and to provide certain kinds of free basic medical services. Recently, the President announced new policies to create a universal social security system, provide health-care services for all workers, and provide free malaria treatment for all Burundians.9 These commitments need to be translated into realistic national strategies for their sustainable implementation, particularly in light of the high fertility rate.10 40. At present, the social services are unable to guarantee adherence to acceptable standards of operation in regard to three important aspects: the coverage and quality of services rendered, the sustainability of their operation, and accountability guarantees to ensure that abuses will be prevented and sanctioned. All the basic social services are characterized by grossly inadequate material supplies, strong urban-rural disparities, and generally low capacity to apply good practices in their respective areas. Over the past year, the provision of basic social services has been disrupted by strikes in the education and health sectors. These developments have compounded the problems occasioned by the free delivery of some services, which has led to exponential growth in the demand for them, which it has not been possible to accommodate within the existing infrastructure and human resources. 41. Much of the lack in the provision of basic social services has been covered by the international community, generally with positive results. Assistance from the United Nations has enabled, inter alia, the construction of nearly 900 classrooms, a reduction in severe malnutrition 6 See http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2007/2008_EN_Complete.pdf. 7 International Monetary Fund, “Burundi: First Review Under the Three-Year Arrangement Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility-Staff Report”, Country Report No. 09/93, March 2009. 8 “Rapid evaluation and strategic analysis”, October 2008, internal working document of the United Nations system in Burundi prepared in the context of the development of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for 2010-2014, p. 37. 9 10 In a speech to the nation, 30 April 2009. Between 6 and 7 per cent, see footnote 8 above, p. 35.