By Bunmu Yekini
As the world prepares to mark International Women’s Day on March 8, UNAIDS is calling for renewed global efforts to support gender equality and expand access to life-saving HIV services for women and girls.
While significant progress has been made in reducing new HIV infections among women and girls, dropping by 63% between 2010 and 2023, adolescent girls and young women remain disproportionately affected by the epidemic. In sub-Saharan Africa, young women aged 15-24 are three times more likely to contract HIV than their male counterparts. Globally, 4,000 young women and girls are infected with HIV each week, with 3,100 of these new infections occurring in sub-Saharan Africa.
“There is a deep injustice faced by women and girls – their vulnerability to HIV,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “But when we work with countries to support girls and enable them to complete secondary school, we keep them safer from HIV, from teenage pregnancy, from violence, and child marriage.”
UNAIDS is urging governments and donors to fully fund HIV prevention and treatment programs tailored to women and girls, including initiatives to combat gender-based violence, one of the key drivers of HIV infections. Byanyima emphasized the need for equitable access to new prevention tools, such as long-acting injectable HIV prevention technologies.
“HIV is a feminist issue, and we cannot wait any longer for gender equality,” she stressed.
This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a landmark commitment by 189 governments to advance women’s rights. UNAIDS reaffirmed that achieving gender equality is essential to reducing HIV infections and ensuring that women and girls live free from violence and discrimination.
“The world cannot wait another 30 years to fulfill the promise of gender equality,” UNAIDS said in a statement. “Young women and girls deserve the right to access the HIV services they need to live healthy, empowered lives.”