E/2010/27 E/CN.6/2010/11 of the impact of maternal, newborn and child health on sustainable socio-economic development, and the continuing need to address gender inequalities, Stressing the importance of strengthening health systems to better respond to women’s health needs in terms of access, comprehensiveness and quality, and underlining the need to address women’s health through comprehensive strategies targeting root causes of gender inequality in health care, including unequal and limited access to health services, Calls upon Member States and the international community to strongly 1. commit at all levels to eliminate the persistent and unacceptably high global rate of maternal mortality and morbidity; Urges government authorities and other leaders at the international, 2. regional, national and local levels to generate the political will, increased resources, commitment, international cooperation and technical assistance urgently required to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity and improve maternal and newborn health; Calls upon States to fully and effectively implement the Beijing Platform 3. for Action, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (“Cairo Programme of Action”) and the outcomes of their review conferences, including the commitments relating to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, and the promotion and protection of all human rights in this context, and to maximize their efforts to eliminate preventable maternal mortality and morbidity by strengthening comprehensive health services to women and girls, including access to sexual and reproductive health-care services and information as agreed to in the Beijing Platform for Action65 and the Cairo Programme of Action;66 4. Also calls upon States to address gender inequalities, violations of the full enjoyment of all human rights by women and girls, discrimination against women and girls, poverty and harmful traditional practices that contribute to the unacceptably high and persistent global rate of maternal mortality and morbidity, bearing in mind the impact of multiple forms of discrimination; to guarantee to all women access to the highest attainable standard of health; and to ensure women’s full participation in decision-making at local, national and international levels regarding health care; Encourages Member States to develop comprehensive strategies to target 5. root causes of gender inequality in health care and put into practice policies to ensure women’s access to affordable and adequate health services by strengthening health systems to better respond to women’s needs; Calls upon Member States to integrate HIV/AIDS interventions into 6. programmes for primary health care, sexual and reproductive health, and mother and child health, including strengthening efforts to eliminate the mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and encourages the international community, especially the Global Fund to Combat HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, to support these efforts; Urges Member States, with the help of the United Nations system and the 7. international community where needed, to strengthen health systems for women and girls in order to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity, through health financing, the health workforce, the procurement and distribution of medicines, vaccines, commodities and equipment, infrastructure, information systems, service delivery and political will in leadership and governance, bearing in mind a need for gender mainstreaming; 10-30576 29