(d) Collaborate to strengthen efforts to create an
(c) Identify and implement development-oriented and
durable solutions that integrate a gender perspective to external debt and debt-servicing problems
of developing countries, including least developed
countries, inter alia, through debt relief, including
the option of debt cancellation for official development assistance in order to help them to finance
programmes and projects targeted at development,
including the advancement of women, inter alia,
through facilitating the delivery of health care and
health services and the provision of preventive programmes on HIV/AIDS, especially targeting women
and girls; and in this regard, welcome the Cologne
initiative for the reduction of debt, particularly the
speedy implementation of the enhanced Heavily
Indebted Poor Countries Initiatives; and encourages
Governments to ensure the provision of adequate
funds for its implementation and implement
the provision that funds saved should be used to
support anti-poverty programmes that are gender
sensitive and that address prevention, care and
support of women and girls infected and affected;
environment and the conditions necessary, with
the assistance of relevant United Nations agencies,
funds and programmes and intergovernmental and
non-governmental organizations upon request, to
address the challenges faced by women and girls
infected and affected by HIV/AIDS, particularly
orphans and widows, girls and older women who
may also be primary caregivers for people living
with HIV/AIDS, all of whom are particularly vulnerable to both economic and sexual exploitation;
provide them with the necessary economic and
psycho-social support and encourage their economic independence through income-generating
programmes and other methods;
(e) Provide support for the implementation of special
programmes for the growing problems of children
orphaned by AIDS, especially girls who may easily
become victims of sexual exploitation;
4. Enabling environment for regional and
international cooperation
(d) Ensure international, regional and South-South
cooperation, including development assistance
and additional adequate resources to implement
gender-sensitive policies and programmes aimed
at halting the spread of the epidemic in providing
affordable quality treatment and care of all people,
especially women and girls living with HIV/AIDS;
(a) Call upon the international community, relevant
agencies, funds and programmes of the United
Nations system and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to intensify their support
of national efforts against HIV/AIDS, particularly in
favour of women and young girls, including efforts at
providing affordable antiretroviral drugs, diagnostics
and drugs to treat tuberculosis and other opportunistic infections; strengthening health systems,
including reliable distribution and delivery systems;
implementing a strong generic drug policy; bulk purchasing; negotiating with pharmaceutical companies
to reduce prices; appropriate financing systems; and
encouraging local manufacturing and import practices consistent with national laws and international
agreements, and particularly in the worst hit regions
in Africa and where the epidemic is severely setting
back national development gains;
(e) Encourage the Joint United Nations Programme on
HIV/AIDS and its co-sponsors, bilateral and multilateral donors and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, to intensify their support
to empower women and prevent HIV infection, to
give urgent and priority attention to the situation
of women and girls, especially in Africa, in particular
through the International Partnership against AIDS
in Africa;
(f) Increase investment in research on the devel-
opment of HIV vaccines, microbicides and other
female controlled methods, simpler and less
expensive diagnostic tests, single-dose treatments
for sexually transmitted infections and quality lowcost drug combinations, including for opportunistic
infections and sexually transmitted infections, as
well as alternative medicine for HIV/AIDS, focusing
on the needs of women and girls;
(b) Take action to eradicate poverty, which is a major
contributory factor for the spread of HIV infection
and worsens the impact of the epidemic, particularly for women and girls, as well as depleting
resources and incomes of families and endangering
the survival of present and future generations;
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