3 April 2018
Nearly 18 million women (15 years+) make up over half of all adults living with HIV and young women (15-24 years) account for 60 percent of those infected in their age group. The World Health Organization states that women living with HIV in many countries are not afforded equal access to treatment and are often victims of discrimination and increased violence – including infringement upon their sexual and reproductive…
31 March 2018
Four times more women than men in the 15 to 19 age group in Jamaica are living with HIV, according to a 2015 epidemiology report. Against this backdrop, the new 'Consolidated Guideline on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Women living with HIV' was introduced by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) to the Jamaican multi-sectoral HIV response group at a three-day…
16 March 2018
Public-health leaders in the fight against HIV/AIDS have come to an ominous realization: Progress in cutting new infections has slowed, in part because of a persistent cycle of transmission among young women in sub-Saharan Africa. New HIV infections have been reduced around the world since the late 1990s by diligent efforts at education, the rollout of antiretroviral drugs and other factors. But declines have lost momentum…
15 March 2018
The night before International Women's Day, I volunteered behind the bar at "A Catwalk for Power, Resistance and Hope", a fabulous fashion show for women with HIV organised by ACT UP London Women (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), and Positively UK, an organisation that runs peer-led support groups for people with HIV.
After a poetry reading by the incredibly talented writer and motivational speaker Bakita, these…
19 March 2018
In many countries, laws and social norms put women and girls at a disadvantage when it comes to land inheritance, ownership, and control.
Deborah, a 58-year-old widow in Zimbabwe, said that after her husband died, her in-laws harassed and threatened her. They wanted her home and the land she had cultivated for four decades. Deborah said her brother-in-law had “taken all of my fields and even tilled my yard [to plant…
7 March 2018
Mid-way results from from two studies show that a vaginal ring releasing long-acting antiretroviral medicine to prevent HIV is up to 54% effective in preventing HIV infections among women. The ring, which is replaced monthly, slowly releases the antiretroviral medicine dapivirine and could give women an additional HIV prevention option that is discreet and that they can control.
“These results are significant,” said…
In Ukraine, 35 per cent of women living with HIV have experienced violence since the age of 15. Many women cannot definitively say that they have experienced violence, because they have suffered and witnessed gender-based violence through generations and it has been normalized. For women living with HIV, lack of awareness, shelters and support services pose additional challenges. Peer-support groups and the National Women’s Forum on HIV,…
With support from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada, this video recaps UN Women's innovative small grants programme in sub-Saharan Africa aimed to increase access of HIV-affected women to their property and inheritance rights to reduce their vulnerabilities to and mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS.
UN Women's Director of Policy, Purna Sen, speaks with UN Women Policy Specialist Elena Kudravtseva on women living with HIV and AIDS.
7 March 2018
By Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
The speed and magnitude of recent developments supporting gender equality has been quite remarkable. Barriers and discrimination that have been tolerated or overlooked for far too long are now being energetically challenged and overcome. Inspired by the courage of women who are speaking out, many people are…
8 March 2018
In honor of International Women's Day, the International Community of Women Living with HIV (ICW) released a new report entitled "Walking in our Shoes: Perspectives of Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women living with HIV on Access and Retention in Care in Malawi, Uganda and Zambia."
This report highlights the key factors that facilitate retention in care for women living with HIV and calls for increased focus on rights…
8 March 2018
On this International Women’s Day, it has never been more urgent to ensure women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, so that women everywhere have the opportunity to stay healthy and achieve their goals.
The leading causes of death among women of reproductive age worldwide are HIV/AIDS and maternal mortality, with complications from pregnancy and childbirth as major factors. These women are our mothers,…
Despite great progress made against HIV globally, the gains are not shared equally. The numbers are staggering. They show that teen girls and young women bear a greater risk than their male peers. Only by understanding the magnitude of the problem facing adolescent girls and young women can we accelerate the end of HIV as an epidemic. As a response, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has launched the 'HER' Initiative,…
6 March 2018
Although the overall number of new HIV cases has dropped in New York City, diagnoses among women, particularly Black and Latina women, rose 5% from 2015 to 2016, according to the Department of Health. To respond, New York City's Department of Health has kicked off a public health campaign aimed at increasing the use of HIV prevention medication, or pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), among female patients.
The…
2 March 2018
In this article, Avert CEO, Sarah Hand, reflects on the wider role of #SheDecides for HIV and global development, one year on from its launch.
The power of SheDecides is its emphasis on gender equality and women's empowerment. It's a movement born out of women recognizing their sexual and reproductive health and rights in the era of the Global Gag Rule. SheDecides also links these rights with the wider Sustainable…
To end the growing HIV epidemic among young women, human rights violations must be addressed. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have the potential to help, but only if political barriers are overcome and a rights-based approach is integrated. We have long known that biomedical interventions alone will not curb the HIV epidemic among young women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa. The history of the global response to HIV is ripe with…
21 February 2018
Accurate information about sex and healthy relationships leads to greater gender equality worldwide, a report by the UN’s world heritage body Unesco found. It also leads to better sexual health, as well as less sexually transmitted infections, HIV and unintended pregnancies. Yet many young people still don’t get the accurate information they need. Technology is one way to bring it to them. The revised international…
25 February 2018
Ukraine has one of the fastest growing HIV epidemics in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, with approximately 240,000 people living with the virus and a prevalence of 0.9 percent in the general adult population. In Ukraine, 35 percent of women living with HIV have experienced violence from a partner or husband since the age of 15, compared to 19 percent of women who do not have HIV, according to a November 2016 survey by…