A/RES/52/93 Page 2 at Geneva in February 1992,5 and urged all States to work for the achievement of the goals endorsed in that Declaration, Welcoming the growing awareness of Governments of the need for strategies and programmes to improve the situation of women in rural areas, Welcoming also the Declaration and Plan of Action adopted by the Microcredit Summit, held in Washington in February 1997,6 in which micro-finance was identified as an important instrument of poverty alleviation, including for rural women, Noting with deep concern that the economic and financial crises in many developing countries have severely affected the socio-economic status of women, especially in rural areas, and the continuing rise in the number of rural women living in poverty, including girls and older women, Mindful of the need for fuller recognition and appreciation of the contribution of rural women to socioeconomic development, including human capital development, Mindful also that, despite the global trend towards rapid urbanization, many developing countries are still largely rural, Recognizing the urgent need to take appropriate measures aimed at further improving the situation of women in rural areas, 1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the improvement of the situation of women in rural areas;7 2. Invites Member States, in their efforts to implement the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, the World Conference on Human Rights, the International Conference on Population and Development, the World Summit for Social Development, the Fourth World Conference on Women, the World Food Summit and the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), and bearing in mind the Geneva Declaration for Rural Women, to attach greater importance to the improvement of the situation of rural women, including older women, in their national development strategies, paying special attention to both their practical and strategic needs, by, inter alia: (a) Integrating the concerns of rural women into national development policies and programmes, in particular by placing a higher priority on budgetary allocation related to the interests of rural women; (b) Strengthening national machineries and establishing institutional linkages among governmental bodies in various sectors and non-governmental organizations concerned with rural development; (c) Increasing the awareness of rural women of their rights and their role in political and socioeconomic development; (d) Increasing the participation of rural women in the decision-making process at the local and national levels; 5 A/47/308-E/1992/97, annex. 6 A/52/113-E/1997/18, annex I. 7 A/52/326. /...