FOUND 637
This report highlights the multiple linkages between HIV and gender-based violence, emphasizing the need for reprioritization of HIV in peace support operations. Opportunities for integration are recommended.
This research paper describes the particular vulnerability of women living with HIV in the context of armed conflicts. Disruption to regular testing, treatment regimens, and SRHR services plays a significant role in the worsened health outcomes experienced by WLHIV during conflicts.
Women living with HIV experience disproportionate and alarming rates of coercive practices, mistreatment, and abuse particularly while exercising their sexual and reproductive health and rights. This report seeks to understand women living with HIV's experiences of these human rights violations, highlighting stories from women in over 60 countries, and identifying the persistent and widespread nature of this problem.
This review aims to synthesize existing evidence of the mental health burden on women living with HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. It explores the contributing stressors, protective factors, and effects of mental illness on viral suppression rates, providing a clear argument for the integration of increased mental health care services in the HIV response.
HIV prevention tools may be used earlier and more consistently during pregnancy if greater options are made available in pharmacies. This research paper quantified the preferences among Kenyan women of childbearing age regarding pharmacy-delivered HIV prevention services, which can greatly inform programmatic work and service delivery in this area.
This study demonstrated the safety and efficacy of the dapvirine vaginal ring, as well as oral PrEP regimens with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate and emtricitabine, for use during pregnancy. The safety of the oral PrEP methods has previously been established for pregnant cisgender women, but data has been limited for the dapivirine ring. This represents an important step for reducing HIV infection amongst pregnant women, who are three times more…
Lenacapavir, a twice-yearly injectable PrEP medication, was proven to be completely effective in preventing HIV infection in cisgender women. Developed by Gilead Sciences, this is the first HIV prevention drug that resulted in zero new human infections during Phase 3 trials. Lenacapavir holds great promise for the future of HIV prevention, as it represents an alternative that can mitigate challenges of adherence and stigma associated with a…
This study assesses the prevalence of HIV-related and/or risky behaviors among male partners of AGYW. The results highlight the need for targeted HIV prevention interventions for men to reduce both their own risk and the risk of transmission to their female partners.
This report shares the findings from the Stigma Index, a community-led research initiative to gather the most extensive and reliable measures of stigma and discrimination experienced by people living with HIV. 
The HIV Prevention Choice Manifesto represents the voices of African women and girls in all their diversity, feminists, and HIV prevention advocates who call for global political and financial support for HIV prevention choice. The manifesto outlines several points for action that will enable future prevention programs to emphasize individual choice, rather than individual products.
Although disproportionately affected by HIV, adolescent girls and young women, particularly those living with HIV, are often the strongest advocates and leaders in the response. Ensuring they know their rights and have the skills and opportunities to claim them is crucial to removing barriers to life-saving HIV services, achieving gender equality, and ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. The publication documents results, learnings,…
As part of national efforts to enhance the livelihood status of rural women living with HIV, UN Women provided financial and technical support to 8 cooperatives composed of 317 farmers (217 women, 100 men) of which 269 are HIV+. These cooperatives received coaching RRP+ to improve their agricultural skills as well as cooperative management (saving, investment, marketing, and reporting), use of financial resources and reporting.
This living report details the various global responses of organisations providing harm reduction and auxiliary services to women who use drugs. Responses to COVID restrictions for WUD have been mapped and are presented here.
Young women and girls who are affected by punitive drug policy face unique age-related as well as gender-specific risks, barriers and rights violations that are not well recognized or responded to by policymakers or service providers. Parental consent combined with minimum age restrictions to medical treatment as well as harm reduction services create access barriers for this cohort. This article examines these issues to highlight the importance…
The meaningful involvement of the Women’s Advisory Group has been critical in increasing the active participation of women who use drugs in harm reduction services in MdMs harm reduction programming in Myanmar. This interview highlights the strategies used by the group and the rationale driving their activities and ambitions.
The mantra ‘Nothing about us without us’ speaks to the imperative of HIV service providers considering the needs of those served. Despite the increased risk of women who use drugs acquiring a blood borne virus and experiences of state and social forms of gender-based violence, there is a distinct lack of women focused harm reduction services. This interview highlights how the use of feminist theory frameworks with art and story telling…
Intersectionality refers to the ways in which different aspects of a person’s identity can expose them to overlapping forms of discrimination and marginalization. The concept is useful for understanding and addressing inequities experienced by women who use drugs. Also available in Russian, Indonesian and Ukrainian
The brief highlights the intersections between age, gender, and drug use, making the case for why young women who use drugs are particularly at risk of HIV transmission and not adequately reached through mainstream health services. The brief also offers some recommendations for how our HIV response can better meet the needs of young women affected by HIV and drug use.
Addressing gender inequality as a structural impediment to preventing HIV and mitigating its impact on women and girls is widely recognized, including strong commitments made in the UN General Assembly “Political declaration on HIV and AIDS: Ending inequalities and getting on track to end AIDS by 2030”. Yet, less is known about financial investments to advance gender equality in the HIV response to implement those commitments.In 2019, UN Women,…
The Global progress report on HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections assesses the World Health Organization’s three ongoing Global Health Sector Strategies on HIV, Viral Hepatitis and STIs, noting progress and gaps and identifying actions to improve impact. The report highlights how the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the deep social, economic and gender inequalities which increase people’s vulnerability to disease and determines…