MaximsNewsNetwork: U.N. AIDS GIRLS & WOMEN AT RISK (UNAIDS)

MaximsNewsNetwork: 02 March 2010 - UNAIDS - United Nations, New York - The Joint UN Programme on HIV/ AIDS (UNAIDS) today (2 March) launched a five-year action plan to address gender inequalities and human rights violations that continue to put women and girls at risk of HIV infection.

At a press conference after the launch in New York, Michel Sidibé, Executive Director, UNAIDS, called the report entitled The Agenda for Accelerated Country Action for Women, Girls, Gender Equality and HIV an operational plan that will help reduce gender inequalities.
The plan calls on governments, civil society and development partners to put women and girls at the centre of the AIDS response, ensuring that their rights are protected.

Speaking after Sidibé, Artist and Activist Annie Lennox, said that it is important to address the plight of women of reproductive age who are at the forefront of risk in HIV/ AIDS spread.

According to UNAIDS, HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death and disease among women of reproductive age (15-49 years) worldwide. 60 per cent of HIV-infected people in the sub-Saharan regions are women. In southern Africa, women aged 15 to 24 years are on average three times more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS than men.

Lennox called for universal access to treatment to everyone living with HIV.

Suksma Ratri, Indonesia Positive Women's Network, spoke after Lennox saying all women living with HIV should be able to practice sexual and reproductive health rights.

Ratri, who found out that she is HIV positive in 2006, explained that women and girls living with the virus continue to be stigmatized and discriminated against in many societies around the world.

Ratri became infected when she was a housewife, living a life that was considered safe in her country, she said.




UNAIDS reported that, as of December 2008, 33.4 million people were living with HIV worldwide, of which 15.7 million, almost half, were women. The proportion of women infected with HIV has risen in many regions over of the world over the past 10 years. Nearly 30 years into the HIV epidemic, HIV services do not sufficiently address the specific realities and needs of women and girls.

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• AIDS
• UNAIDS
• Michel Sidibé
• women
• girls
• gender equality
• Annie Lennox
• Suksma Ratri
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