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Gender and HIV/AIDS

The Commonwealth Secretariat seeks to contribute towards raising awareness about gender and HIV/AIDS.

 

Positive LivingAn Emerging Challenge: Gender and HIV/AIDS

39.4 million [35.9-44.3 million] people are living with HIV as of end 2004. Two-thirds of them are Commonwealth citizens. 

8 out of 19 Commonwealth countries in sub-Saharan Africa have HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rates above 10%.

These countries are:

  • Swaziland 38.8%
  • Botswana 37.3%
  • Lesotho 28.9%
  • South Africa 21.5%
  • Namibia 21.3
  • Zambia 16.5%
  • Malawi 14.2%
  • Mozambique 12.2%

    In response to the mandate by Commonwealth Ministers Responsible for Women's Affairs in 2000, the Commonwealth Secretariat seeks to contribute towards raising awareness about gender and HIV/AIDS. Ministers noted that training in gender-sensitive measures, education and public awareness in HIV/AIDS and Women's Human Rights is a priority. Globally, the Commonwealth Secretariat is working with member countries and development agencies such as the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) on strategies for making National AIDS Plans and National AIDS Commissions more gender-sensitive so that the issue of gender and HIV/AIDS can be better understood and dealt with in future programming. One has to look beyond AIDS and sees it as a development and socio-economic issue which requires a multisectoral approach.

    Currently, most HIV/AIDS programmes concentrate on meeting the public health challenges while others concentrate on assessing the economic impacts of HIV/AIDS. Increasingly, the loss of human resources in the public sector and resultant loss of capacity to deliver essential services need to be addressed.

    Work by the Commonwealth Secretariat

    Divisions are adopting a collaborative and participatory approach in mainstreaming HIV/AIDS undertaking joint planning and pooling of resources. Below are some examples of Commonwealth HIV/AIDS Initiatives:

    • The Commonwealth Planning Workshop: Reducing the impact of HIV/AIDS on Human Resources in the Public Sector (21-23 May 2002, Nairobi, Kenya) assessed the impact of HIV/AIDS on public sector human resources pool, analysed the remedial actions already underway, and discussed appropriate interventions to mitigate the threat to civil service capacity.

    • Work is also being taken to identify and disseminate good practices to cope with the shortage of education manpower and also the education of traumatised children. The Secretariat also works directly with Ministries of Education in member countries to identify measures, policies and other related interventions that will help in reducing HIV/AIDS among educators/teachers and learners.

    • The Commonwealth Secretariat, in collaboration with Dalhousie University and other agencies, is developing an annual International Institute on Gender and HIV/AIDS. A Commonwealth Workshop on Gender and HIV/AIDS for the East African Region, in collaboration with ILO and UNIFEM, was held in 2003. This built on the Botswana National Workshop on Gender and HIV/AIDS held in May 2002.

    • Resource materials have been developed to assist peer educators to integrate gender awareness into adolescent sexual health programmes. Work has been done with countries to review and update clinical guidelines for care of persons living with HIV/AIDS. Meetings have been convened to provide guidance to member countries on issues such as the multisectoral approach to HIV/AIDS and mother-to-child transmission of HIV and breastfeeding practices.

    • A new initiative aiming at increasing men's involvement in HIV/AIDS activities and general improvement of women's health is being planned for the West Africa region.

    • The Positive Living Ambassadors Initiative under the Commonwealth Youth Programme is a good example of 'empowering' young people living with HIV/AIDS to become powerful agents for change. More information on the 'Positive Living Ambassadors' can be obtained from the CYP Africa Regional Centre and website of the Commonwealth Youth Programme (CYP)

    For more information on the Commonwealth Secretariat's work in HIV/AIDS click here

    Useful Resources

  • UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS, 25 to 29 June, 2001 in New York (UNGASS on HIV/AIDS)

  • UNAIDS

  • Strategies for Hope Series

  • Harvard AIDS Institute