FOUND 637
Every year, HIV/AIDS causes the death of an increasing number of women. In 2002 over one million women around the world died of AIDS. Access to antiretroviral treatment (ART) could reduce this figure drastically. ART has turned HIV into a much more manageable chronic condition which may no longer be a death sentence. However, ICW is keen to point out that treatment is not just about providing ART; care, support and other medications are also…
This report focuses on the plight of the women in Rwanda, Burundi, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo who have contracted HIV/AIDS as a result of rape during conflict in those countries. It argues that under international human rights and humanitarian law, these women have the right to reparations for their suffering, including guaranteed access to antiretroviral drugs to fight HIV / AIDS. The first part of the report…
Unpaid care work is a major contributing factor to gender inequality and women's poverty. The amount and intensity of unpaid care work in Southern Africa has been exacerbated by the HIV and AIDS pandemic. Mainland Southern Africa is said to be the most affected region in the world. Southern Africa has less than 5% of the world's population and yet has the highest rates of HIV and AIDS infection. The worst affected countries include…
This is a brief based on a background paper prepared for the WHO/UNFPA/Population Council Technical Consultation on Married Adolescents held in Geneva, Switzerland, 9-12 December 2003. Over the next decade in developing countries, more than 100 million girls under the age of 18, "children" as defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, will be married. In countries with HIV epidemics, these girls, most of whom live in Africa and Asia,…
This Report was commissioned by the United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan. Under the leadership of Ms Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF, the Task Force on Women and Girls in Southern Africa comprises twenty seven members from Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The members represent a broad spectrum of stakeholders including government, NGOs and people living with HIV and AIDS.…
Presented at the 2004 African Regional Conference, this paper is on FAO’s reponse to the changing context of agricultural development as it is being shaped by the epidemic. The paper is presented in three parts: the first provides an update on the state of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the region; the second provides an overview of the breadth and depth of FAO’s responses to date; and the third concludes by identifying areas which require further…
On April 2, 2003, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) hosted a meeting in Washington, DC to consider gender issues regarding the disclosure of HIV serostatus in sub-Saharan Africa. More than 90 technical personnel who work on HIV/AIDS, gender, and reproductive health issues participated in the meeting. The objective of the meeting was to explore the relationships between perceived outcomes and actual outcomes for women who…
This article reviews the status of women with HIV in India. It discusses the low awareness of HIV/AIDS among women, how the burdens of blame and care fall on women, dealing with stigma in health care settings, and how health officials, individuals, and groups are breaking down barriers to prevention and care.
This report examines the diverse forms of discrimination at work that have been identified and formally condemned nationally and internationally. It gives an update of the various policy and practical responses, with the aim of mobilizing greater support for the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation. Particular focus is paid to racism, gender inequalities, and discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS.
This publication is divided into three sections. Section one provides a synthesis of the reviewed literature on prevention of mother to- child transmission of HIV, voluntary counseling and testing, and other issues that impact on the care, psychosocial support and counseling needs of HIV-infected women and their families in the perinatal period. Section two provides examples from around the world of projects that focus on the care and…
Prepared for the United Nations Expert Group Meeting on "The role of men and boys in achieving gender equality", this paper highlights the lack of male participation in caring and supporting those ill with AIDS. Research in Southern Africa is reviewed to emphasize the definitions of masculinity that prevent men from being involved in domestic activities. Finally, the paper suggests community level strategies for increasing male involvement…
This report focuses on the role of older carers in supporting orphans and vulnerable children. It draws on evidence collected from programme experience in Africa and Asia, in order to provide policymakers and other actors tackling the HIV/AIDS epidemic with: an overview of the issues identified by older people and orphans and vulnerable children themselves; good practice examples from community-based programmes that are improving the lives of…
The International HIV/AIDS Alliance has produced this case study collection in order to help projects to conduct work identifying strategies that will be effective in reaching out to different groups of men and enabling them to change their attitudes and behavior regarding HIV/AIDS. It presents experiences and lessons from a range of different projects (some supported by the Alliance and some not) that are working with men. By showcasing…
The report highlights programmatic models that were presented at a conference on men and reproductive health that was attended by researchers, program implementers, evaluators and donors. The participants were particularly interested in those programs that could show through evaluations that gender-relat used by other practitioners.
A PSI study of Kenyan women's and men's motivations for entering into cross-generational relationships and their risk perceptions of such relationships shows that most participants underestimate the risk of sexually-transmitted infections and HIV. HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects young African women as compared to older men. This research brief examines the motivations for cross-generational relationships, the perceived risks of these…
UNFPA's annual AIDS report discusses the agency's HIV/AIDS-related work in several regions, including sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America. UNPFA works in three key areas to reduce HIV infections as well as other sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies: young people, condom programming and pregnant women.
The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), in partnership with organizations in Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Zambia, led a study of HIV and AIDS-related stigma and discrimination in these three countries. This project, conducted from April 2001 to September 2003, unraveled the complexities around stigma by investigating the causes, manifestations and consequences of HIV and AIDS-related stigma and discrimination in sub-Saharan Africa…
This paper reviews and assesses the contributions made to date by sexual and reproductive health services to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, mainly by services for family planning, sexually transmitted infections and antenatal and delivery care. It also describes other sexual and reproductive health problems experienced by HIV-positive women. It describes how sexual and reproductive health programmes can make an important contribution to HIV…
This brochure highlights critical issues impacting on women and girls in the context of HIV/AIDS. The publication begins with an overview of the gender dimensions of the epidemic; outlines the necessity for adopting a rights-based approach when addressing these issues; and provides key information on issues such as the disproportionate burden on women, empowering men and women to prevent HIV/AIDS, and workplace issues in the context of HIV/AIDS…
This publication highlights successful initiatives in Africa that have inspired confidence that the continent can one day free itself of the virus, with or without a vaccine or medical cure. The report summarizes the challenges facing Africa and the wider international community as new resources are channeled into more effective efforts to confront HIV/AIDS on the continent. Three major challenges receive detailed attention: (1). The need…