Gender, HIV/AIDS and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

Transcription

1 Gender, HIV/AIDS and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Introduction 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. 2. Achieve universal primary education. 3. Promote gender equality and empower women. 4. Reduce child mortality. 5. Improve maternal health. 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. 7. Ensure environmental sustainability. 8. Develop a global partnership for development. Introduction The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) provide a shared vision of a much improved world by 2015, where extreme poverty is cut in half, child mortality is greatly reduced, gender disparities in primary and secondary education are eliminated, women are more empowered, and health and environment indicators improve within a global partnership for development. These goals are ambitious and their attainment will require a serious and concerted global effort. The following section outlines how achieving each of the following MDGs is related to addressing gender issues in the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Most of the information was compiled from the World Bank website on the MDGs ( and the PRMGE report Gender Equality & The Millennium Development Goals ( ) 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. For most developing countries affected by the HIV virus, the epidemic is deeply embedded in the cycle of poverty. Poverty combines with gender inequalities to fuel the spread of the virus and the epidemic in turn impoverishes families. Gender differences in access to education, training, and paid employment are factors that disenfranchise women and increase their vulnerability to poverty, thus contributing to women s economic dependence on men. This dependence, in turn, makes it difficult to negotiate or refuse sexual practices that put women at risk for HIV infection. 1 Poverty also pushes many women and girls to engage in unsafe sexual practices and commercial sex as a way of earning a living. In most countries, the incidence of HIV/AIDS among female commercial sex workers is among the highest of any group. 2 On the other hand, migration, urbanization, and social dislocation have given the virus an easy transmission route, and have increased men s vulnerability to the HIV virus. Additionally, in several countries, poverty has driven many boys and young men to engage in commercial sex work, exchanging sex, primarily with men, for gifts or money. 1 World Bank. Why all the talk about women and AIDS? August UNIFEM. Gender, HIV, and Human Rights

2 The HIV virus is fueled by poverty, but it also exacerbates poverty. In the worst-affected countries, the virus impoverishes not only families, but entire communities and villages. HIV/AIDS affects mostly people in the prime of their lives as workers and parents, significantly decreasing productivity and deeply affecting the family structure. However, both poverty and HIV/AIDS affect women and men differently, so considering gender issues in the fight against HIV/AIDS is central to eradicating poverty and achieving this MDG. 2. Achieve universal primary education. Many countries significantly affected by HIV/AIDS, such as in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean, have experienced considerable damage to their education systems. In addition to a shortage of teachers due to illness, many children have been removed from school to replace an ill or deceased parent s income, or to care for an ill family member. Because of traditional gender roles regarding who cares for the ill, girls are at greater risk of being removed from school. In regions, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, where girls education is already lagging behind, HIV/AIDS poses yet another barrier to their education. Therefore, including gender issues in HIV/AIDS projects could directly impact the goal of achieving universal primary education, particularly for girls. 3. Promote gender equality and empower women. Equal access to education is an important step toward greater gender equality, but it is not the only one. Even as gender disparities in education diminish, other differences persist everywhere in legal rights, labor market opportunities, and the ability to participate in public life and decision making.

3 4. Reduce child mortality. As indicated in the graph below, HIV/AIDS is responsible for approximately 4% of global child mortality. In developing countries with high HIV/AIDS infection rates, this number is much larger. In fact, in Sub-Saharan Africa, where HIV/AIDS rates are highest, it is very unlikely that Goal 4 will be met. Considering gender issues and targeting vulnerable groups, such as young women, will significantly decrease the likelihood of Mother-to-Child Transmission (MTCT), thus reducing child mortality. 5. Improve maternal health. In 1995 more than 500,000 women died from complications of pregnancy and childbirth, most of them in developing countries, where these complications are the leading cause of death among women of reproductive age. More than half of all maternal deaths occur in Africa. In many poor

4 African countries one mother dies for every 100 live births. In Rwanda there were more than 2,000 deaths for every 100,000 live births. Compare that with Greece, which reported only 2 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Sub-Saharan Africa also has the highest rate of HIV infection among women of child-baring age. Illnesses associated with AIDS can complicate pregnancies and affect both mother and child. Greater attention to gender issues in HIV/AIDS projects can help reduce maternal mortality rates. 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. In many developing countries, the imbalances between female and male risks and vulnerabilities have become evident as the differences in the rates of HIV infection have grown. Although at present more males are infected than females, women s infection rates have spiraled. In Africa, where HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death, 68 percent of all young persons infected are female. HIV/AIDS is primarily a sexually-transmitted infection. In many societies, gender norms and gender dynamics influence people s attitudes to sex, sexuality, risk taking and fidelity. Gender inequality, and the role of power in sexual relations, especially women s lack of economic empowerment, are important factors in the spread of HIV/AIDS. The spread of HIV/AIDS is also fueled by key gender-based economic, socio-cultural, legal, and physiological factors. Therefore, by increasing gender-sensitivity, HIV/AIDS projects become more effective at combating the spread of the pandemic, and bring us closer to achieving the target set forth by this particular MDG.

5 7. Ensure environmental sustainability. 8. Develop a global partnership for development.