HIV/AIDS is the Number One Killer of Women Worldwide

On Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO), an agency of the UN, released its first-ever study of women’s health worldwide, Women and Health: Today’s Evidence, Tomorrow’s Agenda. The findings of the study, although perhaps not surprising to those of us who work in the field of international women’s health, are still pretty outrageous: H.I.V. is the leading cause of death and disease among women between the ages of 15 and 44.
This is a sad and somewhat overwhelming statistic for me personally, since I view so many HIV infections among women as preventable with the right policy steps by the U.S. government and other governments of the world, and the right knowledge and information
Yes, I said it. Preventable. Although the WHO reports that unprotected sex is the leading risk factor in developing countries, don’t let that statistic fool you. “Unprotected sex” may technically be the leading risk factor, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. As the president of my NGO points out, women’s vulnerability is increased by preventable conditions such as unmet need for contraceptives, insufficient legal and social protection for women against widespread sexual coercion and violence, social encouragement of the marriage of young girls to much older men, and lack of access to information about HIV, sexuality, and the availability of reproductive services.
Lastly, although this particularly disturbing statistic is deservedly getting a lot of coverage, check out some of the report’s other findings, as summarized on Akimbo:
• Women provide the bulk of health care, but rarely receive the care they need
• Women live longer than men but these extra years are not always healthy
• Despite some biological advantages, women’s health suffers from their lower socio-economic status
• Perhaps least surprisingly, policy change and action is needed within the health sector and beyond to ensure full protection of women’s health and rights

Brooklyn, NY

Lori Adelman started blogging with Feministing in 2008, and now runs partnerships and strategy as a co-Executive Director. She is also the Director of Youth Engagement at Women Deliver, where she promotes meaningful youth engagement in international development efforts, including through running the award-winning Women Deliver Young Leaders Program. Lori was formerly the Director of Global Communications at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and has also worked at the United Nations Foundation on the Secretary-General's flagship Every Woman Every Child initiative, and at the International Women’s Health Coalition and Human Rights Watch. As a leading voice on women’s rights issues, Lori frequently consults, speaks and publishes on feminism, activism and movement-building. A graduate of Harvard University, Lori has been named to The Root 100 list of the most influential African Americans in the United States, and to Forbes Magazine‘s list of the “30 Under 30” successful mediamakers. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Lori Adelman is an Executive Director of Feministing in charge of Partnerships.

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