UN General Assembly
2010

about 53 per cent of our gross domestic product. In the Central African Republic, about 72 per cent of the poor and hungry live in rural areas, where agriculture plays a crucial role, feeding communities but providing employment that offers only meagre incomes. Nevertheless, in spite of the enormity of the need and the growing food insecurity, assistance to agriculture continues to decrease, having dropped significantly in the past 20 years. The Central African Republic has maintained the strengthening of human capital as one of its priorities under the fourth pillar of its national poverty-reduction strategy. Under that pillar, education, health and employment are considered priority sectors, in line with the Millennium Development Goals. Assessments of the programmes that have been launched seem to reveal shortcomings in the results. For instance, adult literacy rates are poor, at 57 per cent, while the overall primary school attendance rate is also low, at 55 per cent. The Central African Republic is among the countries of the world most affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, even though we are continuing efforts to