Girls' Education is Important in HIV/AIDS Prevention

Girls, Too

10 August 2006, Issue No. 3 - HIV/AIDS

"...getting and keeping young people, especially girls in school dramatically lowers their vulnerability to HIV. With each additional year of education, girls and young women gain greater independence, including economic independence, and are better equipped to make decisions affecting their sexual lives."
- Dr. Peter Piot, UNAIDS Executive Director

AIDS Conference reviews evidence linking girls’ education and HIV prevention

The UNAIDS Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) on Education recognizes the crucial link between girls’ education and HIV prevention. It is organizing a session on ‘Leadership in Girls’ Education: An Essential Component in HIV Prevention’ at the International AIDS Conference, to be held 13–18 August 2006 in Toronto, Canada.

This provocative session will present compelling new evidence aimed at mobilizing leadership on girls’ education and bridging the efforts of leaders in the education, gender, and HIV and AIDS communities. A panel featuring Geeta Rao Gupta, from the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), Charles Abani, from the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), Rima Salah, from UNICEF, and Amete Ruf Hussen, from the Ethiopia AIDS Awareness Clubs will address the root causes of the feminization of the HIV epidemic, the status of girls’ education and its impact on HIV and AIDS, and actions needed at the international, regional, country and community level to remove barriers to girls’ education and prevent the further spread of HIV. Moderators for the session include Jeanette Kagame, Rwanda’s First Lady, and Josée Verner, Canada’s Minister of International Cooperation.

The UNAIDS IATT on Education was created in 2002 to support accelerated and improved education sector responses to HIV and AIDS. It is convened by UNESCO.

For more information visit http://www.ungei.org/infobycountry/247_950.html.