UNESCO's Response to HIV & AIDS

UNESCO's Response to HIV and AIDS

Reducing Risk and Vulnerability

Not all people are equally vulnerable or face the same risks with HIV and AIDS. Young people, and young girls in particular, are the most vulnerable group and this vulnerability can be exacerbated by factors such as gender inequalities, norms and traditions, poverty, illiteracy, unstable living conditions and migration, and discrimination. Therefore developing gender and age responsive, and culturally appropriate programmes for them is crucial. Also, in many countries, inadequate resources and a failure of political will and leadership still bar the way to HIV and AIDS prevention and care for marginalised and stigmatised population groups, such as women who sell sex, drug injectors and men who have sex with men.

Globally, just under half of all people living with HIV are female. The proportion of HIV-positive women has been increasing alarmingly, particularly in Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America. Women and girls need more information about HIV and AIDS. Yet the vulnerability of women and girls to HIV infection stems not simply from ignorance, but from their pervasive disempowerment. Most women around the world become HIV-infected through their partner's high-risk behaviour, over which they wield little if any control. The plight of women and children in the face of AIDS underlines the need for realistic strategies that address the interplay between inequality - particularly gender inequality - and HIV. UNESCO has increasingly mainstreamed gender issues in all its activities relating to HIV and AIDS prevention.

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