E/2006/27 E/CN.6/2006/15 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; 4. Reaffirms the need for Governments, supported by the relevant actors, including civil society, to intensify national efforts and international cooperation in the implementation of the commitments contained in the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS,20 the Beijing Platform for Action4 and the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development,19 and to work towards reflecting effectively in their national policies, strategies and budgets the gender dimension of the pandemic, in line with the time-bound goals of the Declaration and the Platform for Action; 5. Reaffirms also the commitment to achieving universal access to reproductive health care 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 Declaration21 aimed at reducing maternal mortality, improving maternal health, reducing child mortality, promoting gender equality, combating HIV/AIDS and eradicating poverty; 6. Urges Governments to take all necessary measures to create an enabling environment for the empowerment of women, to strengthen their economic independence and to protect and promote their full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, in order to enable them to protect themselves from HIV infection; 7. Urges Governments and other relevant stakeholders to address the challenges faced by older women caring for people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS, including orphaned grandchildren; 8. Emphasizes the need to strengthen policy and programme linkages and coordination between HIV/AIDS and sexual and reproductive health and their inclusion in national development plans, including poverty reduction strategies and sector-wide approaches where they exist, as a necessary strategy for fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic and mitigating its impact on the population, which could result in more relevant and cost-effective interventions with greater impact; 9. Urges Governments to strengthen initiatives that would increase the capacities of women and adolescent girls to protect themselves from the risk of HIV infection, principally through the provision of health care and health services, including for sexual and reproductive health, in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and that integrate HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care and include voluntary counselling and testing, and through prevention education that promotes gender equality within a culturally and gender-sensitive framework; 10. Also urges Governments to ensure accessible and affordable procurement of prevention commodities, in particular microbicides and male and female condoms, to ensure that their supply is adequate and secure; 11. Reminds States to consider that flexibilities in trade-related intellectual property rights can be used by States when necessary to protect public health and address public health crises; 16