E/2008/27 E/CN.6/2008/11 Also concerned that HIV infection rates are at least twice as high among young people, especially young and married women, who do not finish primary school as among those who do, Further concerned that women and girls are more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and have different and unequal access to the use of health resources for the prevention, treatment, care and support of HIV/AIDS, Stressing its deep concern that the HIV/AIDS pandemic, with its devastating scale and impact on women and girls, requires urgent action in all fields and at all levels, Stressing that gender equality and the legal, political, social and economic empowerment of women and girls are fundamental elements in the reduction of their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and are essential to reversing the pandemic, Expressing its concern that the HIV/AIDS pandemic reinforces gender inequalities, that women and girls are disproportionately affected by the HIV/AIDS crisis, that they are more easily infected, that they bear the disproportionate burden to care for and support those infected and affected by the disease and that they become more vulnerable to poverty as a result of the HIV/AIDS crisis, Reaffirms the need for Governments, supported by the relevant 1. actors, including civil society and the private sector, to intensify national efforts and international cooperation in the implementation of the commitments contained in the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS,31 the Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS,32 the Beijing Platform for Action3 and the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development;18 2. Also reaffirms the commitment to achieve universal access to reproductive health by 2015, as set out in the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, integrating this goal into strategies to attain internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in the United Nations Millennium Declaration20 aimed at reducing maternal mortality, improving maternal health, reducing child mortality, promoting gender equality, combating HIV/AIDS and eradicating poverty; Further reaffirms the commitment to achieve universal access to 3. comprehensive HIV prevention programmes, treatment, care and support by 2010, as set out in the Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS; Stresses the need to significantly increase and coordinate political 4. and financial commitment to address gender equality and equity in national HIV/AIDS responses, and urges Governments to work towards effectively reflecting in their national policies, strategies and budgets the gender dimension of the pandemic, in line with the time-bound goals of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, the Beijing Platform for Action and the Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS; Urges Governments to take all necessary measures to create an 5. enabling environment for the empowerment of women, to strengthen their 24 08-29062