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World News - Women
Fall-Winter News Headlines and Links
Links to Kaisernetwork.org and summaries from CDC NPIN The CDC HIV, STD, TB Prevention News Updates
Commercial Sex Industry Booming Along Uganda, Sudan Border; Teachers
Increasingly Joining Trade, Study Says
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=51829
INDIA:
"Spousal Sexual Violence and Poverty Are Risk Factors for
Sexually Transmitted Infections in Women: A Longitudinal Study of Women in Gao,
India"
Sexually Transmitted Infection Vol. 84; No. 2: P. 133-138, (04..2008)
H.A. Weiss; V. Patel; B. West; R.W. Peeling; B.R. Kirkwood; D. Mabey
The researchers conducted the current study to describe factors associated with
incident sexually transmitted infections (STI) in a population-based sample of
women in Gao, India.
From November 2001 to May 2003, a random sample of Gao women ages 18 to 45 was
enrolled in the study. Participants were interviewed six and 12 months after
completing the recruitment procedure. A commercial polymerase chain reaction and
the InPouch TV Culture Kit were used to test vaginal and/or urine specimens for
chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis.
In total, 2,180 women were followed up. Of these, 64 had an incident STI: 1.8
percent in the first six months, and 1.4 percent in the second six months.
Incident STI was found to be associated with low socioeconomic status, marital
status, and with concurrent bacterial vaginosis. The highest incidence was noted
among women who were married and exposed to sexual violence (10.9), were
concerned about their husbands’ affairs (10.5 percent), or were separated,
divorced or widowed (11.0 percent).
Among the women, the researchers found those who were socially disadvantaged to
be at increased risk of STI. Participants rarely reported having had sex outside
marriage; rather, the women, especially those who were victims of sexual
violence, were at risk of becoming infected within the marriage. “This
highlights the vulnerabilities of socially disadvantaged married women in India,
and the need for health care professionals to screen STI patients for violence,
and provide the necessary support,” the researchers concluded. “The results also
stress the importance of effectively diagnosing and treating married men with
STI and promoting safer sex within marriage.”
Pakistan, U.N. Agency Launch Pilot Initiative To Improve HIV Control
Efforts Among Women
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=51717
Jamaica To Launch New Female Condom as Part of HIV/AIDS Prevention
Efforts
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=51667
61% of New HIV Cases in Nigeria Occur Among Girls, Women, Official Says
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=51235
Cuban Group Aims To Reach Women With STI, HIV Prevention Messages
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=51209
SOUTH AFRICA:
"Rural, Poor South African Women Bear Brunt of AIDS
Burden: Amnesty"
Agence France Presse , (03.18.2008)
In a new report, Amnesty International said rural women in South Africa are
disproportionately affected by poverty, HIV, sexual discrimination and abuse.
Women under age 25 are up to four times more likely to have HIV than their male
peers, AI said. And while the infection rate is leveling off in South Africa
overall, it continues to grow among women.
In interviews, many women reported they did not want to get tested for HIV
because they feared the wrath of their communities or partners. Many women
feared abuse for seeking treatment, though the report also found that long
distances and travel costs deterred many from testing. Nonetheless, women are
much more likely to test for HIV than men in South Africa, the report found. In
addition, women frequently suffered abuse for revealing their HIV diagnosis.
“Rural South African women’s lives are scarred by persistent violence in their
families, homes, and in under-policed, unsafe communities,” said Michelle Kagari,
deputy director of AI’s Africa Program. “The coexistence of the epidemics of
both HIV and violence against women has raised the costs of violence for South
African women and girls, both physically and psychologically.”
The report recommends the Department of Health and other relevant departments
offer women counseling and support to anticipate potentially adverse reactions
to HIV status disclosure.
The report said the government should increase efforts that address the “wider
social and economic inequalities which act as barriers to effective prevention,
treatment, and care for HIV/AIDS.” It suggested a chronic-illness grant to
improve HIV-positive women’s access to health care. And it urged public figures
to serve as role models in respecting women’s rights to equality and sexual
autonomy.
National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
March 10, 2008
Today, we pause to commemorate the third annual National Women and Girls
HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and to recognize the female face of HIV/AIDS in America.
Since the epidemic began in the early 1980s, more than 181,000 women and girls
in the United States have been diagnosed with AIDS, and an estimated 86,000 have
died with the disease.1
In some parts of the world, HIV/AIDS predominately strikes women; globally,
approximately half of all people living with HIV are female.2 Although that is
not the case in the United States, women represent more than a quarter of all
new annual HIV/AIDS diagnoses in this country. In 2005, nearly 10,000 U.S. women
and adolescent girls (13 years of age and older) were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.3
NIH Press Release
Advocates Call for Increased Investment in Women, Girls Worldwide To Address
Issues Such as HIV/AIDS
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=50844
India To Manufacture, Distribute Low-Cost Female Condoms To Help Curb
Spread of HIV
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=50817
"10 UN Agencies Back All Efforts to End Female
Circumcision Within a Generation"
Associated Press , (02.28.2008) Edith M. Lederer
On Thursday, 10 UN agencies issued a statement calling for an end to female
circumcision, also called female genital mutilation, within a generation. The
practice, which typically involves removing the clitoris and other parts of
female genitalia, violates the rights of women and girls to health, protection,
and potentially life, since it can result in death, they said.
“Today, we must stand and firmly oppose this practice because it clashes with
our core universal values and constitutes a challenge to human dignity and
health,” said Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro. “The consequences of
genital mutilation are unacceptable anywhere, anytime, and by any moral and
ethical standard. Often, female genital mutilation is carried out on minors,
violating the rights of a child to free and full consent on matters concerning
her body and body functions,” she told the Commission on the Status of Women.
Supporters of the practice, both Muslims and Christians, say it tames a girl’s
sexual desire and maintains her honor. It has deep roots in the Nile Valley
region and in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, as well as in Yemen and Oman.
According to the UN, 100 million to 140 million women and girls are believed to
have been subjected to the surgery, and 3 million more are considered to be at
risk each year.
The UN agencies backing the elimination of female circumcision include: UNAIDS;
the UN Development Program; the UN Economic Commission for Africa; the UN
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; the UN Population Fund; the
Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights; the Office of the UN High
Commissioner on Refugees; UNICEF; the World Health Organization; and the UN
Development Fund for Women.
Experimental Microbicide Tenofovir Safe for Women To Use Daily, Study Finds
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=50597
GLOBAL:
"House GOP Opposes AIDS Program Changes"
http://www.ap.org/ , (02.08.2008) Jim Abrams
On Thursday, House Republicans objected to several provisions in a Democratic
proposal to renew the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which
expires this year. The program provides AIDS treatment for 1.4 million people in
15 mostly sub-Saharan African countries.
As written, the five-year, $30 billion PEPFAR bill “will undermine this valuable
program as we know it, placing at risk the work it does on behalf of millions,”
said Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio), the House minority leader.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), defended it and said the
GOP minority is ““failing to honor” the spirit of a compromise measure he worked
out with the late Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.).
The Lantos proposal would eliminate a PEPFAR mandate that one-third of all
prevention funds, 7 percent of total PEPFAR spending, be used to promote
abstinence. Opponents of the requirement say they are not against
abstinence, but that the inflexible budgeting weakens PEPFAR.
Another provision would remove a requirement that PEPFAR recipient groups
sign a pledge opposing the legalization of prostitution or sex trafficking.
The requirement was meant to “ensure that pimps and brothel owners don’t become
US government partners,” said its author, Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.).
But Democrats said reports show some groups will not or cannot sign the pledge,
which they fear might push away the women they are trying to reach. Other
AIDS groups say decriminalizing sex work would help slow HIV infections.
Another part of Lantos’ bill would undo rules allowing family planning groups
to receive PEPFAR money as long as it is not spent to perform abortions,
said Republicans. That would turn PEPFAR “into a mega-funding pool for
organizations with an abortion promotion agenda,” Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) told
a news conference.
Lantos said his bill merely clarifies that additional contraceptive services
could be provided so long as they focused on HIV/AIDS prevention. The bill
also strengthens a “conscience” clause allowing faith-based groups to opt-out of
any program to which they morally object, said Lynne Weil, Lantos’ spokesperson.
African Women Gather To Address HIV/AIDS-Related Abuse
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=50240
Summaries and Reports
National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS
Awareness Day
Statement of Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.
March 10, 2008
NIAID NEWS
Today, we pause to commemorate the third annual National Women and Girls
HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and to recognize the female face of HIV/AIDS in America.
Since the epidemic began in the early 1980s, more than 181,000 women and girls
in the United States have been diagnosed with AIDS, and an estimated 86,000 have
died with the disease.1
In some parts of the world, HIV/AIDS predominately strikes women; globally,
approximately half of all people living with HIV are female.2 Although that is
not the case in the United States, women represent more than a quarter of all
new annual HIV/AIDS diagnoses in this country. In 2005, nearly 10,000 U.S. women
and adolescent girls (13 years of age and older) were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.3
HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects women of color in the United States. For
example, in 2004 AIDS was the leading cause of death for black women ages 25 to
34.1 The following year, African-Americans accounted for roughly two-thirds of
the nearly 127,000 U.S. women living with HIV/AIDS, even though only 13 percent
of U.S. women are African-American.1 For Hispanic women living in the United
States, HIV/AIDS is also a significant health issue. In 2005, Hispanic women
were diagnosed with AIDS at more than five times the rate of white women in the
United States.3
Sex with an HIV-infected male partner is the leading mode of HIV transmission to
women and adolescent girls. Approximately 80 percent of new female HIV/AIDS
cases diagnosed in 2005 in the United States arose through heterosexual sex,3
and surveys suggest that many of the men involved did not know they were
infected with HIV. It is crucial for women to know both their own HIV status and
the HIV status of their sexual partners. The National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH),
strongly endorses testing for HIV during routine medical care for adolescents,
adults and pregnant women, as recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.4 The early diagnosis of HIV not only has the potential
to help prevent transmission by motivating infected people to modify their
behavior, but also creates the opportunity to start treatment promptly, control
the virus, make informed choices about childbearing and prolong life.
Sharing syringes and other equipment for injecting illegal drugs is the second
most common mode of HIV transmission to American women, directly accounting for
approximately one in every five new female HIV/AIDS cases in 2005.3 Injection
drug use indirectly promotes HIV transmission as well: Since the AIDS epidemic
began, at least 50 percent of all AIDS cases among women have been attributed to
either injection drug use or sex with partners who inject drugs.3
Tragically, some women find themselves in situations in which they lack the
power to protect themselves from sexual transmission of HIV. They may be forced
into sex, their male partners may refuse to wear condoms, or their partners may
prevent them from using female condoms. NIAID supports a variety of research
designed to develop new HIV prevention tools specifically for women. One
priority research area is the development of safe, effective and acceptable
microbicides--gels, creams or other substances that women could utilize before
sexual intercourse to prevent the transmission of HIV and other sexually
transmitted infections.
NIAID also funds research investigating gender-specific differences in HIV/AIDS
progression, complications and treatment, as well as research to prevent HIV
transmission from an infected mother to her baby--an area in which scientists
have made great strides.
Still, there is much work to be done to protect women and girls from becoming
infected with HIV. As a global community, we must correct the gender-based
inequality that places many women at increased risk. Nationally, we must
dramatically lower the rates of HIV/AIDS among racial and ethnical minorities.
Women can take control of their health by getting routine HIV testing, avoiding
illicit drug use and, when possible, learning their partners’ HIV status and
using protection during sex. These behavioral changes combined with scientific
and socioeconomic advances will help reduce the vulnerability of all women and
girls to this terrible disease.
References:
1. CDC. 2007. CDC HIV/AIDS Fact Sheet: HIV/AIDS among Women: pp. 1–2.
2. UNAIDS. 2007. AIDS Epidemic Update: December 2007. Geneva: UNAIDS: p. 1.
3. CDC. 2007. HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, 2005. Vol. 17. Rev ed. Atlanta: U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, CDC: pp. 10, 16, 43.
4. CDC. 2006. Revised Recommendations for HIV Testing of Adults, Adolescents,
and Pregnant Women in Health-Care Settings. MMWR 55(RR14):1–17.
Dr. Fauci is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.
Media inquiries can be directed to the NIAID Office of Communications at
301-402-1663, niaidnews@niaid.nih.gov
.
NIAID is a component of the National Institutes of Health. NIAID supports basic
and applied research to prevent, diagnose and treat infectious diseases such as
HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, influenza, tuberculosis,
malaria and illness from potential agents of bioterrorism. NIAID also supports
research on basic immunology, transplantation and immune-related disorders,
including autoimmune diseases, asthma and allergies.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH)--The Nation's Medical Research
Agency--includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U. S.
Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for
conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research,
and it investigates the causes, treatments and cures for both common and rare
diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit
http://www.nih.gov .
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