Ending HIV Starts With Empowering Women and Girls

Global Citizen Oct 28, 2018
This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
Click here for more.

Giving Compass’ Take:

· Due to discriminatory laws and cultural attitudes, Global Citizen explains that women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa are especially vulnerable to HIV infection when they are forced to rely on men.

· How can donors get involved with funding HIV research?

· Read about the HIV prevention that allows women to take control of their health.

When the world first learned of HIV/AIDS, many mistakenly believed the illness only affected gay men. As HIV/AIDS spread in the early 1980s, eventually rising to the level of an epidemic, men accounted for most of the cases reported.

But today, women make up more than half of the people living with HIV around the world.

In the past 35 years, nearly 78 million people have been infected with HIV, according to UNAIDS. Though global rates of new infections are on the decline, women and girls continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS.

Approximately 1,000 adolescent girls and young women contract HIV every day. In sub-Saharan Africa, where the incidence of HIV/AIDS is highest, women and girls account for almost 75% of all new infections.

Discriminatory laws and cultural attitudes that restrict women and girls’ opportunities make them especially vulnerable to HIV infection. Around the world, women and girls face persistent gender inequality and, often, violence that can make it more difficult for them to access health services and treatment.

Read the full article about ending HIV by Daniele Selby at Global Citizen.

If you are looking for more articles and resources for Women and Girls, take a look at these Giving Compass selections related to impact giving and Women and Girls.

  • This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
    Click here for more.
    A Research-Practice Partnership Helping Girls at Risk of Justice System Involvement

    Giving Compass' Take: • PACE Center for Girls is a nonprofit organization that serves girls who are at risk of being involved with the justice system. In this MDRC post, the authors discuss how the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation’s Social Innovation Fund contributed to the collaborative research for evaluating PACE's program model. • PACE's program stands apart because it is gender responsive, and attends to the needs of girls specifically. How can donors encourage more gender-responsive programs?  • Check out the Giving Compass Gender Equality Guide for donors.  PACE Center for Girls is a Florida-based nonprofit organization that serves girls of middle school and high school age who are at risk of involvement with the justice system. Girls who fit this profile often face challenges distinct from those faced by at-risk boys: They are more likely to have histories of abuse, trauma, truancy, substance abuse, and academic disruption. PACE aims to get these girls back on track by taking a gender-responsive approach, providing a blend of academic and social services that are shaped by an awareness of girls’ particular development and gender-specific needs. MDRC has worked very closely with PACE on every step of the evaluation, which was funded mainly through the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation’s Social Innovation Fund. The foundation was a key collaborator and supported the research-practice partnership throughout the evaluation.

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