Women Significant victims in HIV/AIDS Epidemic!
Gloria Katusiime. October 8, 2003

A new HIV/AIDS Epidemiological surveillance update for the World Health Organization (WHO) Africa is confirming that there are many more women infected with HIV/AIDS than men and that this gender difference is even larger among young people.

The report was released at the XIII International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa that was held in Nairobi from 21-26^th September.

Population based surveys among pregnant women attending antenatal care in 46 African countries indicate that HIV prevalence among women may be as much as 1.5 times higher than among men.

The report also reveals that on the average women aged 15-49 years were 1.4 times more likely to be infected with HIV than men of the same age.

‘Women need to be empowered and their rights protected’ said President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya at the start of the AIDS conference.

Prior to that women from all of Africa had joined in the first International women’s AIDS run to raise awareness about women’s vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and their access to treatment.

Meanwhile in Dakar Senegal, women’s groups are urging health officials to make premarital HIV testing mandatory to protect young women against AIDS.

Safietou Ba Dip the coordinator of CAR Femmes that is spearheading the campaign says Senegalese women believe prenuptial testing will protect them against infection.

Nomecebo Manzini, Regional programme Director for the Southern African region adds that feminisation of the war against HIV/AIDS is the way to go.

‘Through feminisation of the epidemic we will be able to call attention to policy makers and other stakeholders to find out why more women are being infected than men’ she says.

Manzini adds that policy makers and all stakeholders will then be able to factor their strategies in the national budgets.

In Sub Saharan Africa, International spending on HIV/AIDS has risen well above the approximately US$500 million documented in 2000. But UNAIDS in its latest report says that the increase in spending is not keeping pace with the need.

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Last update: October-23, 2003