HIV prevention and care efforts must address women's vulnerability

Colombo, Dec 1: Existing AIDS prevention and care efforts need to be
substantially reoriented and the gender-empowerment efforts
intensified to address the increasing vulnerability of women to HIV
and reduce its disproportionate impact on them, suggests a new
publication from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Launched here today on World AIDS Day, the publication titled "Women
and HIV in the Asia-Pacific Region: A Development Practitioner's
Guide" suggests investment in gender-transformative interventions;
creation of an enabling environment; and large-scale involvement of
women, men and boys in areas ranging from prevention and treatment,
to gender-based violence and discrimination are essential for
addressing the vulnerability of women to HIV.

The issues covered by the Guide include women, HIV and prevention,
treatment, care, education, gender- based violence, reproductive and
sexual rights, inheritance and property rights, economic empowerment
and highly vulnerable populations.

"The increasing HIV infection rates among women and the
disproportionate socio-economic impact of the epidemic that women
bear are two daunting human development challenges that call for
urgent attention in the Asia Pacific region," said Dr. Ajay Chhibber,
UN Assistant Secretary General and Director, UNDP Regional Bureau for
Asia and the Pacific. Although the region has recorded some
impressive breakthroughs in HIV-prevention and care, it is extremely
disturbing that a large number of women – an estimated 50 million,
according to the Report of the Commission on AIDS in Asia - are at
risk of infection. "This is an extraordinary challenge and we need
to break new ground," he added.

"Reducing the vulnerability of women to HIV and mitigating its impact
is crucial to limiting the spread of the epidemic as well as in
advancing the gender-empowerment agenda," Dr. Chhibber said. UNDP is
strongly committed to addressing the gender inequalities driving the
epidemic and is working closely with UNAIDS, UN agencies, civil
society partners, governments and most importantly, women living with
HIV. "This report, prepared through a long consultative process, is
aimed to guide development practitioners on how to address the
special vulnerabilities of women to HIV and to play a catalytic role
for intensified action," he added.

Dr. J.V.R. Prasada Rao, Director, UNAIDS Regional Support Team for
Asia and the Pacific, said "the complexity of the situation is such
that many young women have been infected by long term partners and
spouses with whom they had little or no control to negotiate safe sex
and prevent their exposure to the virus. Preventing spousal
transmission, or HIV in marriage, is a key priority for UNAIDS and
its cosponsors, he said.

Based on the recommendations of the Commission on AIDS in Asia,
efforts to mitigate the impact of HIV on women such as the removal of
obstacles to their access to inheritance and property rights, income
support to women in AIDS-affected households and extension of social
security schemes should be costed and funded under the national
strategic plans, said Dr. Rao.

"The purpose of this Guide is to stimulate thinking on the issues and
to act as a catalyst for further dialogue, consultation and context-
specific policy and programme development," said Ms. Caitlin Wiesen,
Regional HIV/AIDS Practice Leader, UNDP Regional Centre in Colombo.
The Guide covers specific ways in which gender imbalances and gender-
related injustices fuel the epidemic. It offers evidence-based
suggestions for policy and programmatic direction, and examples of
promising practices from around the region to inspire thinking and
trigger more effective HIV responses on the ground, she
added. "There is no single magic bullet to this problem. We need a
multipronged strategy involving all development partners and
practitioners," she said, adding "the Guide offers various entry
points for the practitioners for effective engagement."

The Guide has been prepared jointly by UNDP Regional HIV and
Development Programme for Asia Pacific and the International Centre
for Research on Women (ICRW) in close partnership with UNAIDS and
UNIFEM, and with contributions from many institutions and
individuals. Numerous background papers, studies, guidance notes and
reports covering the work of gender, women and HIV in the region and
beyond, have informed this publication. It most significantly draws
on the Report of the Commission on AIDS in Asia "Redefining AIDS in
Asia", the UNAIDS guidance note on working with most at risk
populations and Global UNAIDS policy guidelines on gender.

Extensive consultations were held with other UN agencies including:
UNODC on working with injecting drug users, UNFPA on sex work, UNICEF
on care and support to orphans and vulnerable children and prevention
of parent to child transmission, and UNAIDS on information and
knowledge sharing, advocacy, and monitoring and evaluation. UNDP has
also worked in close collaboration with UNIFEM SARO on the
finalization of this guide.

For a copy of the report and for more information, please contact:
Revati Chawla (revati.chawla@...) or Tiruni Yasaratne
(tiruni.yasaratne@...) at the UNDP Regional Centre in Colombo