Facts & Figures on HIV & AIDS

Global

• In 2008, an estimated 33.4 million people were living with HIV worldwide; 31.3 million were adults and 15.7 million were women [1].
• In fewer than 10 percent of the 79 countries surveyed by UNAIDS in 2006 did women participate fully in the development of national AIDS plans [2].
• It is increasingly difficult to ignore that violence against women is both a cause and a consequence of HIV infection.
• Where women’s property and inheritance rights are upheld, women acting as primary caregivers of HIV and AIDS-affected households are better able to mitigate the negative economic and social consequences of AIDS. Additionally, these rights can help prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS by promoting women’s economic security and empowerment and thereby reduce their vulnerability to domestic violence, unsafe sex and other AIDS-related risk factors [3].

Regional

• The following percentages represent the amount of all adults living with HIV who are women, at the end of 2007 [4]:
  
  • Sub-Saharan Africa: approximately 60 percent
  • North Africa and Middle East: 54.2 percent
  • East Asia: 27.3 percent
  • Oceania: 30 percent
  • South and South-East Asia: 37 percent
  • Eastern Europe and Central Asia: approximately 31 percent
  • Western and Central Europe: 27.3 percent
  • North America: 20.8 percent
  • Caribbean: 50 percent
  • Latin America: 32.3 percent
• South Africa: A 2005 study of home-based care found that 91 percent of caregivers were women [5]. In addition, several household surveys in Southern Africa revealed that two-thirds of primary caregivers were female; one quarter of whom were over 60 years of age [6].
  
• Guatemala: A study conducted by the Guatemalan Women’s Group and ActionAid Guatemala, based on testimonies of women from the Guatemalan Network of Positive Women in Action, revealed that 61 percent of positive women directly relate their condition to episodes of violence perpetrated by their intimate partner [7].
• Uganda: A study of HIV-positive widows revealed that 90% of the women interviewed had property disputes with their in-laws, and 88 percent of those in rural areas were unable to meet their household needs [8].
• Argentina: In 2006, a national law was passed that established sexual education at all levels (without permission of students' parents). Educating girls about sexuality and safe sex are crucial ways of decreasing the rate of infection. In the words of one Argentine AIDS activists, without this knowledge, "we are sending them into battle without arms.” [9]
• India: Women constitute approximately 39 percent of adult HIV infections [10]. 80 percent of married women infected with HIV were monogamous [11].
• Central Asia and Eastern Europe: Nearly 90 percent of newly reported HIV diagnoses within this region in 2006 were in two countries — the Russian Federation and Ukraine. That same year, women accounted for approximately 40 percent of newly registered cases of HIV. By the end of 2007, 44 percent of new cases in Russia were women. There is an exceptionally high HIV prevalence among pregnant women in several regions of eastern and central Ukraine [12].

Quotes

Challenges [on the national level] faced by women […] are that they are rarely involved in policy-making unless it is specifically on women's issues. When involved, their work often goes unrecognized and they have difficulty gaining access to or being taken seriously by policy makers. — Jennifer Gatsi, Co-founder of the Namibia Women’s Health Project and ICW Officer with the Parliamentarians for Women’s Health Project

The AIDS epidemic has taken a toll on the lives of millions of women all over the world. In the face of adversity, they have responded with exceptional courage not only in surviving the impact of the epidemic but also in building solidarity among women. In so doing, they have brought light and unity to the diverse tapestry of women’s experiences. — Global Coalition on Women and AIDS

To improve the situation of women living with HIV and AIDS throughout the world, we need: [… ] All funds directed to us need to be supervised to make sure we receive them. […] Recognition of the fundamental human rights of all women living with HIV/AIDS. […] Decision making power and consultation at all levels of policy and programmes affecting us. […] Economic support for women living with HIV/AIDS in developing countries to help them to be self-sufficient and independent. — Twelve Statements of International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS