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Gender imbalances exacerbate female HIV infection

    JOHANNESBURG

    The UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) has suggested that global gender imbalances between men and women exacerbate the exposure of women to HIV infection.

    In its report titled "Turning the Tide", UNIFEM said the fact that HIV/AIDS posed a greater threat to the lives and futures of women and girls was now undisputed.

    According to UNIFEM, although fewer women were among those infected in the early years of the epidemic, by the end of 2000, 55 percent of HIV-infected adults in sub-Saharan Africa were women.

    "This change reflects the fast growing understanding that gender equality and power imbalances between women and men in every society heighten women's vulnerability to infection and leaves them with heavier burdens when HIV/AIDS enters households and communities," the report stated.

    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

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