INITIATIVES OF HIGH LEVEL TASKFORCE FOR WOMEN, GIRLS, GENDER EQUALITY AND HIV FOR EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA TACAIDS

BACKGROUND & RATIONALE The face of the epidemic remains that of a girl/woman, especially the younger woman who represent 64% and 71% of the infected worldwide and in Africa respectively. 76% of the infected being young women. Gender and Human rights are inseparable from access to information, to prevention and treatment.

CONTRIBUTING FACTORS Gender facilitating economic, socio-cultural, legal, policy, and biological factors which hasten the spread and intensifies the impact of HIV and AIDS among women, men, girls and boys Gender inequalities in privileges and status, equity, equality, roles and responsibilities which facilitate spread and negative impact of HIV and AIDS among women, men, girls and boys Access to gender, HIV and AIDS related information and services with respect to pricing, appropriateness, location and friendliness of HIV and AIDS related services for women, men, girls and boys

CONTRIBUTING FACTORS Protecting and upholding all human rights, including rights to health, property and inheritance in view of the impact of HIV among women, men, girls and boys Reinforcing quality and timeliness of HIV services provided to women, men, girls and boys who are living with HIV Using evidence as a basis for planning gender and HIV and AIDS interventions Addressing socio-economic, cultural, legal, policy and biological factors which intensifies gender inequality, spread and impact of HIV and AIDS

Contributing factors Addressing gender and HIV and AIDS among most vulnerable groups like male prisoners, male drug users, female sex workers, girl and boy child laborers, men and women having anal sex, orphans and vulnerable girls and boys, marginalized men, female employees in informal sector, female and male survivors of gender based violence etc.

Agreed Time bound Targets Reduce sexual transmission of HIV by 50 per cent by 2015 Reduce transmission of HIV among people who inject drugs by 50per cent by 2015 Eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV by 2015 Work towards 15 million people living with HIV on antiretroviral treatment by 2015 Reduce TB deaths in people living with HIV by 50 per cent by 2015 Reach an overall target of annual global expenditure on HIV and AIDS, based on current estimates, of between US$22 and US$24 billion in low- and middle-income countries by 2015 Substantially reducing AIDS related maternal deaths

RATIONALE Women’s higher HIV prevalence (6.6% of women aged being HIV positive compared to 4.6% of men; and 3.7% of women aged being HIV positive compared to 1.1% of men) Women’s lower HIV awareness and knowledge

RATIONALE Limited discussion about sexuality among women Unequal power relations due to women’s lower social status Lower women’s inclination to control risk Some traditional practices are harmful to women Sex for survival among women (& some men)

RATIONALE Gender based violence and sexual abuse of women and girls Rape and sexual abuse of women and girls Girls engaged in early sexual debut Girls involved in cross-generational sex Trafficking of women and girls to become sex slaves

RATIONALE Trafficking of women and girls to become sex slaves Responsibilities for caring to the sick Higher percentages of men involved with multiple sex partners Men are more engaged in high risk intercourse Reluctance of some men who buy sex to use condoms Notions of masculinity Disempowered men

PRIORITY AREA - PREVENTION Priority countries for Prevention Angola, Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi and Mozambique. Key activities Keeping girls in schools, support to re- entry policy and programs Advocacy and support for countries to develop comprehensive sexuality education

PRIORITY AREA - SEXUAL & REPRODUCIVE HEALTH (SRH) Priority countries for SRH Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland and Zambia Key activities Advocacy for early diagnosis of cancer of cervix Upscale and focus on adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) with a family planning focus Support advocacy and review and standardize guidelines on Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health (ASRH) Support rollout on monitoring and evaluation operational framework

PRIORITY AREA- HIV TREATMENT & CARE Priority countries for treatment and care Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland and Zambia Key activities Support and advocate for eMTCT+ (elimination of MTCT and keeping their mothers alive) Support advocacy on engaging men, boys on accessing services (male circumcision, VCT, eMTCT and others)

PRIORITY AREA - ADRESSING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN Priority countries for VAW Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, South Sudan, Swaziland and Uganda Key activities In collaboration with FAME, support and advocate for scale-up of VAW initiatives for girls in school Support advocates in Eastern and Southern Africa Support UNiTeAfrica (Gender campaign)

PRIORITY AREA - LAW GENDER & HIV Priority countries for HIV Malawi, Namibia, South Sudan, Swaziland and Uganda Key activities Advocacy for review, alignment and harmonization of customary and common laws Engagement of traditional leaders

CONCLUSION It is PRUDENT HUMAN RIGHTS LENS AND JUST MOST COST EFFECTIVE ADDRESSES VULNERABILITY AND RISK SCIENTIFICALLY CORRECT To fully integrate gender issues in ALL HIV PROGRAMMING (policy, strategy, evidence-based planning, budgeting the response, implementation, and M&E)

ASANTENI KWA KUTUSIKILIZA