A gendered epidemic: addressing the intersection of HIV, women, and child health
Women are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection and transmission. Too many women in South Africa and around the world have little say in their own sexual health, with implications not only for themselves but also their children. In the wake of World AIDS Day on 1 December and at the conclusion of the 16 Days of Activism against women and child abuse we shine a light on the relationship between the HIV pandemic and gender.
In South Africa we have the largest HIV epidemic in the world, with women and girls accounting for the majority of all new HIV infections in the last year. Every week about 4,900 young women become infected, and girls aged 15 to 24 are twice as likely to be living with HIV than men in the same age group.