As we celebrate World Aids day it is important to also place an emphasis on the inequalities which perpetuate the AIDS pandemic, which are not inevitable. In South Africa, women and children face the reality that they are among the highest risk populations for HIV infection in the world – but HIV prevention and support services offer real hope for a brighter future.
This World AIDS Day, 1 December, UNAIDS is urging each of us to address the inequalities which are holding back progress in ending AIDS.
The “Equalize” slogan is a call to action. It is a prompt for all of us to work for the proven practices which includes:
- Increase availability, quality and suitability of services, for HIV treatment, testing and prevention, so that everyone is well-served.
- Reform laws, policies and practices to tackle the stigma and exclusion faced by people living with HIV and by key and marginalised populations, so that everyone is shown respect and is welcomed.
- Ensure the sharing of technology to enable equal access to the best HIV science, between communities and between the Global South and North.
- Communities will be able to make use of and adapt the “Equalize” message to highlight the particular inequalities they face and to press for the actions needed to address them.
Data from UNAIDS on the global HIV response reveals that during the last two years of COVID-19 and other global crises, progress against the HIV pandemic has faltered, resources have shrunk, and millions of lives are at risk as a result.
Four decades into the HIV response, inequalities still persist for the most basic services like testing, treatment, and condoms, and even more so for new technologies.
While South Africa is amongst the worst HIV infection rates in the world, young women and girls aged 15 to 24 are the population group with the highest risk of HIV infection and gender-based violence in South Africa, according to research on new HIV infections in the country. These young women are particularly vulnerable to unprotected sex, contracting HIV, intimate-partner and gender-based violence and unwanted pregnancies, but hope is now offered through free and discreet medical and community-based interventions from public health facilities that empower women to live out their dreams.
Dr Veni Naidu, HIV Community Services Lead from BroadReach Health Development, says young women face many barriers to HIV prevention.
“If a young girl is sexually active or has experienced violence, she may not have the power to negotiate condom-use. She may not have the supportive environment or knowledge to protect herself from contracting HIV by taking PrEP (Pre-exposure Prophylaxis) or contraception to protect herself from unwanted pregnancies. Unfortunately, due to not having sufficient information and knowledge on PrEP, one can misunderstand the importance of this pivotal intervention. That is why it is very important to impart knowledge not only with girls, but also to their guardians, partners and communities on how women can be protected from HIV infection,” says Naidu.
Here are the following ways to prevent AIDS
- Get tested for HIV
- Choose less risky sexual behaviors
- Use condoms every time you have sex
- Limit your number of sexual partners
- Get tested and treated for STDs
- Talk to your health care provider about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). …
- Do not inject drugs
“It is now within our reach to create an AIDS-free generation, we just need to embrace the interventions that exist. Now that there is access, there is hope and the power lies in every woman’s hands,” says Naidu.
