Asian women with HIV face discrimination

Women infected with the HIV face discrimination and inadequate legal protection particularly in the Asian region, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) said on Tuesday after a series of consultations on the Millennium Development Goals. “A brief paper emanating from meetings with select groups of HIV-positive women in the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and India illustrates that these women face growing stigma and discrimination, and are not adequately protected by legal or social protection systems,” the UNDP noted in its report.

The report said that women and girls with HIV living in Asia face emerging issues that warrant the attention of policy makers.

In the Philippines, a report from the findings of the National Demographic and Health Survey revealed that “only 11 percent of women in the 15 [to] 24 age group reported using a condom in their last high-risk sexual encounter, and less than 5 percent in the same age group had comprehensive HIV-related knowledge.”

Renaud Meyer, the country director of UNDP in the Philippines, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment “to working in partnership with all stakeholders, particularly those most affected by HIV, to strengthen a rights-based response to HIV in the Philippines.”

“Now, more than ever, the importance of a human-rights approach in the response to HIV and AIDS cannot be over-emphasized,” he said.

“The prevailing stigma attached to AIDS and the discrimination actually experienced by People Living with HIV have resulted in a low uptake of services by people most-at-risk, vulnerable and living with HIV,” Meyer added.

The report, which was participated by 135 women across the three countries–the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and India–aims to draw attention to what works and what needs improvement in the design and delivery of HIV prevention and treatment for women and girls living with HIV.

Recommendations

Based on the findings, the report recommended “more resources to improve the nature and quality of testing and counseling; addressing discrimination in service delivery, particularly in accessing life-saving treatments; lowering the costs of antiretroviral therapy; providing age-appropriate sex education for children and adolescents; putting in place measure to ensure that girls affected by HIV remain in school; further education on the importance of condom use; special cells and courts to improve enforcement of laws against gender-based violence; integrating HIV needs into social-protection schemes; expanding income opportunities for women living with HIV through micro-credit and cash-for-work; and strengthened leadership commitment to addressing the special needs of women living with HIV.”

The recommendations intend to fill some of the gaps in addressing specific needs of women with HIV in Asia. “Through targeted discussions with girls and women in Asia who are living with HIV, we have learned that they are far too often stigmatized and discriminated [against],” Nicholas Rosellini, the UNDP’s deputy regional director for Asia and the Pacific, said.

“Accessing anti-retroviral treatment and other health services is a particular challenge for women because of this kind of HIV-related discrimination. This has to change,” he added.

Some 4.7 million people are living with HIV in Asia, with India accounting for almost half of Asia’s HIV incidence. Despite low prevalence rates in Asia of less than 1 percent, the absolute size of the epidemic has immense development implications.

The report said that the Commission on AIDS in Asia estimates that the epidemic will result in poverty of 6 million additional households.

“The proportion of women among all HIV-positive people in the region rose from 9 percent in 2000 to 35 percent in 2008,” it added.

23rd World AIDS Day

December 1 this year marks 23rd World AIDS Day, with the theme of “Universal Access and Human Rights,” the same as that of last year, which calls for universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and support.

World AIDS Day falls on December 1 each year and is dedicated to raising awareness of the disease.

It is common to hold several events on AIDS topics on this day all over the world. Next year will mark the 30th anniversary of the discovery of AIDS.

HIV/AIDS progressively reduces the effectiveness of the immune system and leaves individuals susceptible to opportunistic infections and tumors.

HIV is transmitted through direct contact of a mucous membrane or the bloodstream with a bodily fluid containing HIV, such as blood, semen, vaginal fluid, pre-seminal fluid and breast milk.

This transmission can involve sex, blood transfusion, contaminated hypodermic needles, exchange between mother and baby during pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding or other exposure to one of the above bodily fluids.

The average delitescence, or the period when a disease starting showing its symptoms, of the HIV virus in the human body is 12 to 13 years.

Ever since it was first recognized in 1981 by American researchers, AIDS has become a worldwide pandemic attracting the attention of the whole world as a major public health hazard and a controversial social issue.

At present, the total fund needed for preventing and treating AIDS across the world each year has increased to over $16 billion. While AIDS has remained incurable, it is totally preventable.

A healthy lifestyle, especially keeping away from drugs, is the most effective way to prevent this deadly disease.

In June 2001, the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS issued a Declaration of Commitment on HIV and AIDS, pledging a coordinated action plan for all countries to fight the disease with the goal of keeping the AIDS-related death toll fewer than 900,000 by 2015.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon earlier appealed that the international community should pledge to work together to carry out commitments and set sights on achieving the “three zeros”–zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. –Bernice Camille V. Bauzon, The Manila Times, Philippines With report from XINHUA