and other safe environments; conducting violence prevention activities in schools and communities; and establishing and enforcing penalties for all forms of violence and harassment against girls; care, while ensuring that the use of these services does not expose the users to financial hardship, with a specific emphasis on the poor vulnerable, and marginalized segments of the population, and calls upon Member States to strengthen and improve the quality of health systems in this regard; (w) Promote the right to education by making primary education compulsory and available free to all children and through the progressive introduction of subsidized education, bearing in mind the need for special measures to ensure equal access, including affirmative action to contribute to achieving equal opportunity and combating exclusion and ensuring school attendance, in particular for girls and children from low-income families and children who become heads of households; (s) Develop comprehensive strategies to target gen- der inequality in health care and put into practice policies to ensure equal access for women, adolescents and youth to affordable and adequate health-care services, including primary health care and basic nutrition; (t) Pursue and promote gender-based approaches for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases founded on data disaggregated by sex and age in an effort to address the critical differences in the risks of morbidity and mortality from non-communicable diseases for women and men; (x) Develop and implement educational programmes and teaching materials, including comprehensive evidence-based education for human sexuality, based on full and accurate information, for all adolescents and youth, in a manner consistent with their evolving capacities, with the appropriate direction and guidance from parents and legal guardians, with the involvement of children, adolescents, youth and communities and in coordination with women’s, youth and specialized non-governmental organizations, in order to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women of all ages, to eliminate prejudices and to promote and build informed decision-making, communication and risk reduction skills for the development of respectful relationships and based on gender equality and human rights, as well as teacher education and training programmes for both formal and non-formal education; (u) Promote and protect women’s and girls’ right to education on the basis of equal opportunity and non-discrimination throughout their life cycle at all levels and promote equal and inclusive access to quality early childhood, primary, secondary and post-secondary education, non-formal education, catch-up and adult literacy education for those who did not receive formal education, skills development and vocational training and human rights education and training, with specific attention to: eliminating gender disparities at all levels of education by increasing the retention, transition and completion rates of women and girls; improving the quality of education and learning outcomes; eliminating gender stereotypes in the curriculum; mainstreaming a gender perspective into education and training programmes, including science and technology; eradicating female illiteracy and supporting school-to-work transition through skills development to enable their active participation in economic, social and cultural development, governance and decision-making; (y) With the support of international organizations, civil society and non governmental organizations, as appropriate, develop policies and programmes, giving priority to formal, informal and non-formal education, that support girls and enable them to acquire knowledge, develop self-esteem and take responsibility for their own lives, and place special focus on programmes to educate women and men, especially parents, about the importance of girls’ physical and mental health and well-being, including the elimination of discrimination and violence against girls; (v) Adopt targeted measures to ensure girls’ safety and an environment free from sexual harassment in school and in the commute to and from school, including by improving transportation, strengthening infrastructure by providing separate and adequate sanitation facilities, improved lighting, playgrounds (z) Ensure women’s right to work and rights at work through gender-responsive policies and programmes 12