Subject: [fem-women2000 676] Women's GlobalNet #172: "Women in the Forefront of the Battle against HI
From: iwtc <iwtc@iwtc.org>
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 17:25:13 +0000
Seq: 676
IWTC WOMEN'S GLOBALNET #172 Initiatives and Activities of Women Worldwide By Anne S. Walker and Kirsten Isgro July 10, 2001 "WOMEN IN THE FOREFRONT OF THE BATTLE AGAINST HIV/AIDS" SAYS KOFI ANNAN, AS UN HIV/AIDS SPECIAL SESSION CONCLUDES. OUTCOME AND UPDATE: The United Nations (UN) General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on HIV/AIDS - entitled "Global Crisis宥lobal Action"- was held from 25-27 June 2001 in New York. This marked the first time the UN had ever held a Special Session on a specific health-related matter and more than 3,000 government officials, activists and business leaders attended. After three-days of sometimes animated and often contentious debate, the 189-member Special Session unanimously adopted the Declaration of Commitment, outlining new measures and targets to curb the spread of the pandemic and to reduce its impact on societies. 1. New Targets and Benchmarks Established: The Declaration of Commitment identifies prevention, care, support and treatment as fundamental elements of an effective response to HIV/AIDS. Poverty and funding issues are also addressed as a part of the solution to combat the disease. There are three specific benchmark years outlined003, 2005, and 2010葉o establish, implement, and measure national targets to achieve global prevention goals. For instance, it was agreed that by the year 2005, infection rates are to be reduced by 25 percent, discrimination is to end by challenging "gender stereotypes and attitudes" and inequalities between men and women worldwide, and AIDS education is to be provided to 90 percent of young people. 2. GENDER INEQUALITY FUELING HIV/AIDS PANDEMIC: In various places throughout the Declaration of Commitment, women and girls are identified as those people who are most vulnerable to the AIDS pandemic. "Girl power is Africa痴 own vaccine against HIV" said UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, quoting British policy expert Catherine Rielly. "If there is one idea that stands out clearly in the document, it is that women are in the forefront of this battle." As further evidence of the vulnerability of women and girls to HIV/AIDS, the UN Fund for Women (UNIFEM) states that: "[Gender inequality] deprives women of the ability to say no to risky practices. It also leads to coerced sex and sexual violence, keeps women uninformed about prevention, puts them last in line for care and life-saving treatment, and imposes an overwhelming burden for the care of the sick and dying. Guaranteeing women痴 human rights is an indispensable component of the international struggle to combat HIV/AIDS." To the dismay of many activists who lobbied hard for their inclusion, other vulnerable groups such as sex workers, intravenous drug-users, and men who have sex with men, are not explicitly mentioned in the final document. For more statistics about women and AIDS, see UNIFEM痴 website: <http://www.unifem.undp.org>. To see a list of the workshops specific to gender, see Women's GlobalNet #170 at: <http://www.iwtc.org/170.html>. The Declaration of Commitment, along with other statements and documents connected with the Special Session can be found at the UNAIDS website: <http://www.un.org/ga/aids/coverage>. 1. NEW AIDS GLOBAL FUND ESTABLISHED: One of the major goals of the GA Special Session on HIV/AIDs was to galvanize leaders around the world to take action through the establishment of new, additional and sustained resources. Between US$7 billion and $10 billion is needed for the Global AIDS Fund to have any chance of halting and reversing the pandemic. For further information, read the Fact Sheet on the UNAIDS website at: <http://www.un.org/ga/aids/ungassfactsheets/html/fsfund_en.htm> or go to the website of the UN Foundation at: <http://www.unfoundation.org/index.asp> OTHER USEFUL RESOURCES: 1. The IWTC Women痴 Score Book (March 2001, 6 pages). Charts from this booklet can be found online at <http://www.iwtc.org/Charts.html>. Broken down by region and country, the charts give statistics and indicators for: a) the percentage of adults in each country with HIV/AIDS; b) the percentage of that number that are women. If you are interested in receiving a copy of the IWTC Women痴 Score Book, please contact IWTC or Women, Ink., or order online at: <http://www.womenink.org>. 2. "Break-the-Silence" on-line discussion forum. Messages circulated on the forum can be found on the Health & Development Network website at: <http://www.hdnet.org>. 3. "Women - Vulnerable but Vital in the Fight Against AIDS", an article by Ofeibea Quist-Arcton of Niomr Senegal, found on the allAfrica.com website at: <http://allafrica.com/stories/200107020491.html>. SELECTION OF UPCOMING AIDS CONFERENCES: AFRICA: 12th International Conference on AIDS and STDs in Africa, 9-13 December 2001, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso ASIA/PACIFIC: 6th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific, 5-10 October 2001, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN: 10th International Conference for people living with HIV/AIDS, 27-31 October 2001, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. OTHER MATTERS OF INTEREST: THE 25th UN/CEDAW SESSION 2-20 July, 2001 in New York. The UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is currently meeting in New York to review the reports of States Parties on their compliance with CEDAW, -also known as "the Women痴 Convention". At this session the Committee is considering the reports of eight States Parties Andorra, Guinea, Singapore, Guyana, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Sweden, and Viet Nam. For daily press releases, visit the CEDAW section of the website of the UN Division for the Advancement of Women (UN/DAW) at: <http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw>. NEW BOOKS FROM WOMEN, INK. RELATED TO HIV/AIDS AND OTHER WOMEN担 HUMAN RIGHTS POLICY ISSUES. (See Women痴 GlobalNet #170 for other titles on Women and HIV/AIDS) From Tragedy Towards Hope: Men, Women and the AIDS Epidemic 2001 109 pages. ISBN: 0850926769. US$18.95 by Madhu Bala Nath Holding on to the Promise: Women's Human Rights and the Beijing+5 Review 2001, 200 pages. ISBN: 0-9711412-0-7. US$20 by Cynthia Meillon (ed.) in collaboration with Charlotte Bunch (These books were also featured in the June 2001 Booklink #19) IWTC Women's GlobalNet is a production of: International Women's Tribune Centre 777 United Nations Plaza 3rd Floor New York, NY 10017, USA Tel: (1-212) 687-8633 Fax: (1-212) 661-2704 Email: <iwtc@iwtc.org> Web: <http://www.iwtc.org> PLEASE NOTE: For back issues of IWTC Women's GlobalNet, go to our website at <www.iwtc.org> and click on Women's GlobalNet under IWTC Resources. You can subscribe to this list at any time by sending a blank message to: <iwtc-womensglobalnet-subscribe@igc.topica.com> You can unsubscribe to this list at any time by sending a blank message to: <iwtc-womensglobalnet-unsubscribe@igc.topica.com> WOMEN, INK. For quality, cutting-edge publications on women and development by, for and about women worldwide, see Women, Ink's 2001 catalogue at : <http://www.womenink.org>. Or contact Women, Ink. at 777 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA. Tel: Yasna Uberoi (1-212) 687-8633 ext 212 or Mary Wong (1-212) 687-8633 ext 204. Fax: (1-212) 661-2704. E-mail: <wink@womenink.org> To subscribe to the Women, Ink. monthly bulletin "BookLink", which features new titles added to the Women, Ink. collection, write to: <wink@womenink.org> WOMEN, INK. 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