1 December 2017
Today, as we commemorate World AIDS Day and celebrate the steady progress that has been made against the epidemic, 2,000 women will become infected with HIV. Tomorrow, another 2,000 women — many of them young women and girls living in sub-Saharan Africa — will join them. The next day, another 2,000. You get the picture.
The bottom line is that women bear the brunt of the HIV epidemic. HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of…
1 December 2017
Michel Sidibé
Executive Director of UNAIDS
Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations
This World AIDS Day, we are highlighting the importance of the right to health and the challenges that people living with and affected by HIV face in fulfilling that right.
The right to health is a fundamental human right—everybody has the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and…
24 November 2017
In the United States, men are roughly four times more likely to be diagnosed with HIV than women. However, the one group that reaches and sometimes exceeds that of men is women in jails and prisons. According to the most recent numbers from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1.3 percent of women in prisons are living with HIV. Comparatively, the HIV prevalence among the general female population is 0.14 percent. That means…
24 November 2017
According to Luiz Loures, Deputy Executive Director (Programme) of UNAIDS, HIV infection continues to spread among women and the gay community in Latin America largely due to violence and discrimination that affect both groups. “The rise in the number of infections is occurring among young women and gay men, both of whom live in situations of discrimination,”he said. Because they are discriminated against, he added, people…
8 November 2017
Civil society organisations working on HIV and human rights in Africa recently condemned the enactment of repressive laws which often include provisions that criminalise HIV transmission, non-disclosure and exposure.The organisations delivered the statement at the 61st ordinary session of the African Commission on Human and People's Rights in Gambia last month. Some of these laws also often provide for compulsory HIV…
10 November 2017
For many young people the experience of going to a clinic to access services such as HIV testing and treatment can be very daunting. In South Africa, studies show nearly a third of new HIV infections are in adolescent girls and young women (aged 15-24), who are becoming infected at eight times the rate of their male peers.
”In most cases young people don’t feel comfortable to share the same space as their elders and…
13 November 2017
The Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network (CAAN) announces Indigenous leadership will gather on November 30, 2017 in Ottawa, ON for a Parliamentary Breakfast to launch Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week 2017. It will be followed December 1 - 6, 2017 by events across the country (Vancouver, Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg, Iqaluit, Toronto, and more) to unite an Indigenous response to HIV and AIDS in a parallel theme to international…
10 November 2017
In Papa New Guinea, the risk of acquiring HIV is up to 7 times higher in women with violent or controlling intimate partners. The regional manager of the National AIDS Council Secretariat, Valentine Tango stated that "gender-based violence is a major driver of HIV in women. It affects the ability of women and girls to protect themselves from HIV, prevent unintended pregnancies or access HIV prevention services." He also…
1 November 2017
“A Paradigm Shift: The Impact of HIV/AIDS on African American Women and Families”, running Nov. 2-3 at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, takes a women-centered approach toward HIV, sexually transmitted diseases, and reproductive health – something that has rarely been explored, says Gail Wyatt, professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, and…
23 October 2017
October 23 marks the Day of Action to End Violence Against Women Living With HIV, organized annually by the Positive Women’s Network–USA. This year, the group highlighted the intersectoins between economic security, health and violence against women living with HIV. This day of action is necessary because:
27 October 2017
The Philippines' Commission on Population (POPCOM) came out with new way to reach more young people in its continuing campaign to address teenage pregnancy and HIV/AIDS. A total of 200 junior high school students from the cities of Surigao, Cabadbaran, Butuan and the province of Agusan del Norte joined the Adolescent Health and Development (AHD) Film Dissemination conducted in said areas, respectively. The selected short…
31 October 2017
In a meeting with women living with HIV in Abuja, Nigeria, UNAIDS spokesperson Richard Amenya said that West and Central Africa requires urgent access to HIV treatment. Coordinated and concerted efforts are especially needed to scale up interventions for women and children living with HIV.
One of the outcomes of the meeting of women living with HIV is to suggest ways to improve funding and access to anti-…
30 October 2017
According to the UNAIDS latest report, 19.5 million people are using antiretroviral medicines to stop the HIV virus from spreading to their immune system and the death toll from the virus has reduced from 1.9 million in 2005 to 1 million in 2016. However, there is still no easy way for women to protect themselves from acquiring HIV during sex. One type of drug can, but only if taken daily. Condoms can serve as protection,…
11 October 2017
The Eastern Cape Provincial Government is embarking on a two-day HIV Prevention Programme for Young Adolescent Girls and Women. According to a government spokesperson, Sonwabo Mbananga, the meeting is an outcome of the Provincial Young Women and Girls Camp last year where adolescent girls (15-19 years) engaged in addressing different issues that affect…
20 October 2017
A high percentage of women recently diagnosed with HIV have previously received this diagnosis but have not undergone HIV medical care, a recent study from the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found. Renee Stein, from the United States' Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, and colleagues analyzed data from 61 state and local health departments and 123 community-based organizations.
The…
25 October 2017
Leading HIV and AIDS researchers, Professors Salim and Quarraisha Abdool Karim, have been named the recipients of the esteemed Institute for Human Virology (IHV) Lifetime Achievement Award for exceptional public service for their contributions to the global AIDS response. The prestigious award will be presented by Dr Robert Gallo, who discovered HIV as the cause of AIDS, at the 19th International meeting of the IHV on…
23 October 2017
"Why is HIV still the leading cause of death among girls aged 15 and 19 and how can we change this?,"asks Njabulo Mbanda, Health Systems coordinator of KwaNdengezi. Each week, 2,300 girls and young women are infected with HIV in South Africa. The nearest comparator is Uganda, with about 700 infections in this group per week. Great strides have been made in destigmatising HIV, and most schoolchildren can explain the…
13 October 2017
The Positive Women's Network - USA is using multimedia technology to support recently diagnosed or isolated women living with HIV as they seek answers through their new project, #PWNCares. In a series of short videos, women with HIV, including women of trans experience, will share their experiences, wisdom they have learned through years of living with the virus and encouragement for women who are struggling with their…
11 October 2017
The International Day of the Girl Child addresses the needs and challenges girls face while promoting their empowerment and human rights. One of the key challenges many adolescent girls face is HIV. Every week, across the world, 6,900 adolescent girls and young women (ages 15-24) are newly infected with HIV. Only 1 in 3 adolescent girls and young women have comprehensive and correct knowledge of how to prevent HIV. …
10 October 2017
A study by Department of Psychiatry, Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), has revealed depression among women living with HIV in north Karnataka remains under-diagnosed and under-treated and has negative impact on adherence and immunity, leading to rapid progression of the infection. According to Dr. Shivanand B. Hiremath, one of the researchers of the study, the aim was to assess the prevalence and socio-…