"Reaffirming General Assembly resolution 50/203 of 22 December 1995 on the follow-up of the Fourth World Conference on Women, "Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General on poverty, "Recognizing that the eradication of poverty requires the full and equal participation of women, in particular in the formulation and implementation of policies that affect them, so as to enable them to become genuine partners in development, "Emphasizing that empowering women is a critical factor in the eradication of poverty, since women constitute the majority of people living in poverty, and since they contribute to the economy and to combating poverty through their work at home, in the community and in the workplace, "Recognizing that more women than men live in absolute poverty and the imbalance is on the increase, resulting in their limited access to income, resources, education, health care, nutrition, shelter and safe water in all developing countries, in particular African countries and the least developed countries, "Bearing in mind that the increasing number of women living in poverty in developing countries, especially in the rural areas and urban slums, requires the urgent action of the international community and the adoption of concrete actions and measures at the national and regional levels towards the eradication of poverty within the framework of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women, "Stressing the necessity of promoting and implementing policies to create a supportive international economic environment, through, inter alia, alleviation of the external debt burden and the negative impact of structural adjustment programmes, through mobilization and/or the provision of new and additional financial resources that are both adequate and predictable, and by ensuring equitable terms of trade and increased access of women in developing countries to markets, productive investments and technologies, "1. Recognizes the central role that women play in the eradication of poverty, and recommends their full and equal participation in the formulation and implementation of policies that affect them so as to enable them to become genuine partners in development; "2. Recognizes also that the eradication of poverty is both a complex and a multidimensional problem and fundamental to reinforcing equality, peace and development; "3. Urges all Governments, the United Nations system, including the Bretton Woods institutions, and civil society to implement the Platform for Action in its entirety; "4. Recommends that in order to attain the goals of eradicating the feminization of poverty as set out in the Platform for Action, the following actions, inter alia, be undertaken: -63-