1. Home
  2. Africa

UN focuses on women and HIV/AIDS

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) on Thursday said its theme for International Women's Day on 8 March 2003 is "Women and HIV/AIDS".

"Women are on the frontline of this pandemic, and that is why we are drawing attention to their plight on this International Women's Day," WFP executive director, James Morris said in a statement.

WFP said access to health services, care, counselling and information for women living with HIV/AIDS are usually severely limited.

"While the task is enormous, we know that encouraging people, especially women, to speak openly about the pandemic is one way of helping all of us inch forward in our humanitarian battle against HIV/AIDS," Morris added.

WFP said in sub-Saharan Africa, women made up 60 percent of all people living with HIV/AIDS.


This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

Share this article

Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

Become a member of The New Humanitarian

Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

Join