A/HRC/44/15 14. As for prohibition of slavery and trafficking, the delegation noted that even though slavery and trafficking were not yet a serious problem in Kiribati, underlying elements of human exploitation leading to slavery and trafficking of girls and young women in the sex industry did exist and continued to grow with influence from the outside. The Government therefore planned to strengthen legal measures in the Penal Code and in other related laws, not only to combat those activities but also to tackle their root causes, one of which was prostitution. As part of the Government’s efforts to combat prostitution and trafficking, foreign vessels were checked before entering or leaving port by boarding parties made up of representatives from the relevant government ministries. 15. The delegation reported that in support of the rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, the Government had undertaken various projects and programmes to ensure that essential safe drinking water and sanitation were readily available and sustained. They included the Kiribati Outer Island Food and Water Project, supporting members of farming and gardening associations through training on the various aspects of farming and vegetable gardening and through other forms of assistance. The water and sanitation needs of the urban population in Tarawa – which comprised more than half of the national population of 130,000 – had been well catered for the Public Utilities Board, a State-owned enterprise. A number of externally funded projects had enabled the upgrading and expansion of the water and sewerage systems built in the 1980s. A project funded by the Green Climate Fund was under way to increase the supply of fresh and clean water for South Tarawa, where more than half of the population resided. 16. With regard to the right to sound health, the delegation was pleased to report that basic medical care and services in Kiribati were free, but people were entitled to choose a paid medical service in private hospitals, which the Government encouraged and supported. At the same time, a large percentage of the population used traditional cures and practices to keep themselves healthy. The Government continued to encourage those traditional healing practices and at the same time improve modern medical services in all hospitals and clinics. To curb the apparent high mortality and morbidity of newborns and mothers, measures were being undertaken for the appointment of trained midwives in all outer island clinics. With the support of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, many medical officers, midwives and nurses had been trained and equipped with the required skills and know-how, aimed at reducing the mortality and morbidity of newborns and mothers. 17. The delegation underscored that education was an essential ingredient for human empowerment, which fuelled all development, be it at the personal, family, community or national level. That was why the Government had invested a large part of its resources in education, as reflected by the fact that education expenditure accounted for more than 20 per cent of the total national budget. Under such ambitious investment, education was free and compulsory for the first six years of primary schooling. It was also free but voluntary for the next three years of junior secondary and once again free and voluntary for the remaining three years of senior secondary for those who had passed the required entry standard for admission into the limited number of places in the senior forms, most of which were run by the larger churches whose teaching costs and developmental activities were heavily subsidized and supported by the Government. 18. The delegation was pleased to report that, with the enactment of the Early Childhood Care Education Act 2017, the education of young children was supported by the Government from the age of 4, which prepared them for primary education commencing at the age of 6. Moreover, the Inclusive Education Policy 2017 provided data that showed more girls in school than boys, attributable mainly to the shift in cultural norms and attitudes of parents encouraging their daughters to participate fully in education. For example, pregnant girls were now allowed and encouraged to attend school under section 4 (2) of the Education Act 2013. On top of all those efforts to combat and eliminate gender discrimination, the delegation informed the Council members that 54 per cent of all Government positions were now held by women and most of the top administrative and senior positions were also held by women, a trend that provided clear evidence of the huge strides made with regard to gender equality in Kiribati over the past few decades. Various key activities had been undertaken to further reduce discrimination against women. The 4