Recognizing that women and girls are more vulnerable to HIV infection and that they bear a disproportionate burden of the impact of the HIV and AIDS epidemic, including the care of and support for those living with and affected by HIV and AIDS, and that this negatively affects girls by depriving them of their childhood and diminishing their opportunities to receive an education, often resulting in their having to head households and increasing their vulnerability to the worst forms of child labour and to sexual exploitation,