27 February 2003

Women and Girls Are Primary Victims Of HIV/AIDS in Africa, February 26, 2003

(Undersecretary Dobriansky addresses HIV/AIDS Forum)

By Charles W. Corey
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington – Although women and girls represent one-half of all HIV/AIDS infections worldwide, in sub-Saharan Africa women are twice as likely to be infected as men, says Paula Dobriansky, U.S. undersecretary of state for global affairs. And the long-term effects on African society are incalculable.

In a February 26 address to a day-long conference examining the destabilizing consequences of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, Dobriansky reminded her audience that in sub-Saharan Africa, "almost twice as many young women ages 15-24 are infected as men of the same age. In some Caribbean countries, HIV rates are five times higher in girls than in boys," she added, citing last year's U.N. AIDS report as her source.

In addition to that report, which she termed "very significant" in raising the level of awareness of HIV/AIDS and of the particular vulnerabilities of women and young girls, Dobrianksy also called attention to another report from Human Rights Watch entitled "Suffering in Silence: Human Rights Abuses and HIV Transmissions to Girls in Zambia."

That report, she said, "detailed the sexual abuse and other sexual human rights abuses of Zambian girls, especially those orphaned by AIDS." Protecting young girls and women, the report notes, is ‘key' to curbing the epidemic.

Children and particularly girls, Dobriansky said, are unfortunately all too often "forced into becoming caregivers and breadwinners, and forced to leave school to care for family members who are sick due to AIDS, or to work to support their family when others are too sick to do so. This is the scope, in a nutshell, of the problem that we are dealing with."

Dobriansky then went on to outline what could be done to confront the burgeoning pandemic:

-- Provide enhanced education and counseling, which, she said, involves "arming women with the kind of education that they need to make informed decisions...across the board," in health, and other areas as well. Dobriansky recalled that during a recent trip to Afghanistan to attend the U.S.-Afghan Women's Council, the number one priority there was education. "Clearly," she added, "It affects not only this area but the totality of what we are addressing."

-- Raise awareness of the problem among the population, informing legislatures and educating law enforcement. "We have to have effective ways and means of disseminating information not just to urban sectors but to rural sectors..." she said, as well as ensuring that effective public information strategies are in place.

-- Offer employment and business opportunities. "Clearly, by increasing women's access to employment, credit, micro-finance and inheritance," she said, women become empowered with what they need to survive. "The lack of income-generating opportunities available to girls and women often leads them to look for non-traditional avenues to gain financial support, including relationships with older men, " she warned.

-- Provide opportunities to play a role in government. By encouraging women to play a greater role in government, women can help overcome the destructive patterns now evident, she said. "To be politically active, to take on advocacy roles, whether in government or out of government -- networking, forming associations -- this has a multiplier effect," she said, because it builds on, nurtures and encourages a "heightened awareness among populations" and allows women to have a "direct impact" on decisions that can and should be taken in societies across the globe.

-- Fight poverty and famines, which are closely linked with the state of women's health. In this regard, Dobriansky cited President Bush's Millennium Challenge Account, which underscores the importance of public-private partnerships and which takes a "vital" first step in the anti-poverty campaign. Equally important, she added, is the responsibility of developing countries to invest in their people, practice good governance, initiate economic reforms -- which she said – have "everything to do with education and health."

-- Provide enhanced testing for HIV/AIDS victims, as well as enhanced education to help remove the stigma that is often borne by the victims of HIV/AIDS.

Focusing on the U.S. response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, Dobriansky pledged that the United States is "committed to combating HIV/AIDS, including [paying heed to] the gender dimensions of the pandemic." She quoted President Bush's reference to the U.S. commitment to fighting AIDS worldwide in his recent State of the Union Address: "Seldom has history offered a greater opportunity to do so much for so many."

The U. S. government, she told her audience, is committed to fighting the pandemic through prevention, treatment, care and support activities and partnerships with a "vast network" of other organizations, businesses, the United Nations and other governments.

Dobriansky also cited President Bush's proposal for an emergency plan for HIV/AIDS relief that would provide $15,000 million, including nearly $10,000 million in new funds, over the next five years. Reducing mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS is a "major U.S. priority," she said, and a key part of the president's emergency plan. This effort, she said, is further buttressed by the many bilateral HIV/AIDS prevention programs conducted by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) around the world.

Dobriansky also noted a current major conference on human trafficking, which was co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. Human trafficking, she reminded everyone, disproportionately effects women and children, and stands as a problem that is closely linked to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Concluding, Dobriansky credited U.S. embassies around the globe with their work against HIV/AIDS. As an example, she said, the U.S. embassy in Budapest is planning a conference in March to address the link between human trafficking and public health.

Chiefs of Mission [U.S. Ambassadors] meetings have also been held, she said, in places like Haiti, South Africa, Ukraine and Russia, which have brought together U.S. officials and organizations to talk about a "best practices" strategy in fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic.