UNAIDS heads to the Commission on the Status of Women!
UNAIDS is heading to the Commission on the Status of Women (NY, 11-22 March), to call on world leaders to protect the rights of women and girls everywhere in order to protect their health.
The reason this is important for UNAIDS is that despite progress, no country has achieved gender equality to date, and violations of women’s basic human rights are continuing to fuel the AIDS pandemic.
The world is off track to meet the gender targets set out in the Sustainable Development Goals and in many of the world’s poorest countries, the debt crisis is squeezing out investment in education, health, and social protection, particularly hurting women and girls.
Every three minutes, an adolescent girl or young woman (15-24 years) acquired HIV in 2022 in sub-Saharan Africa, and across Africa, AIDS remains the leading cause of death among women of reproductive age.
This is unacceptable.
Only by protecting and investing in women’s rights can we protect women’s health, and only by protecting women’s health can we end the AIDS pandemic.
WHAT IS UNAIDS CALLING FOR?
UNAIDS is calling for human rights and women’s rights to be at the center of development efforts, just as we have been doing in the AIDS response for decades.
In practice, this means ensuring all girls can at least complete quality secondary education, it means comprehensive sexuality education for all, it means holistic and dignified care for women and girls, and decent employment and livelihood opportunities.
It also means ending violence against women and girls and safeguarding their sexual and reproductive health and rights—which cut across every aspect of their lives.
It means removing discriminatory and punitive laws that stigmatize women and girls—and ensuring equality before the law.
This must be a decade of acceleration towards reaching the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including ending the HIV epidemic.
No more excuses.
We need bold feminist-led action to end gender inequities, confront taboos around women’s sexuality and stop denying women their basic freedoms and autonomy regarding their own bodies and life choices.
Governments must enable women's community and civil society organizations to play their vital roles in the response and ensure they have sufficient and sustainable funding.
Progress can only be sustained by putting power in the hands of those whose lives are most impacted by the denial of rights.
UNAIDS stands ready to work with governments, civil society, communities and other partners to step up the pace of delivery and meet the promises that were made to women and girls in the Beijing Declaration nearly 30 years ago.
By protecting and investing in women’s rights we can protect women’s health, end AIDS and build a healthier future for everyone.
11 March, 16:45 – 18:00 EST
SADC, UN Women & UNAIDS side event - Taking Stock of Progress made on CSW Resolution 60/2 on "Women, the Girl Child and HIV” Conference Room D - Conference Building, UNHQ, New York
In line with the main theme of #CSW68, this session will focus on economic empowerment for young women and girls as a pathway to achieving gender equality. Countries and women leaders and representatives will be called on to share how they are accelerating implementation. Contact: Cynthia Lungu, lunguc@unaids.org
12 March, 08:00 – 09:30 EST
Side Event: Making Education Investment Cases Work for Gender Equality and HIV Prevention
Hosted by: UNAIDS Education Plus Initiative Venue: Delegates Dining Room, West Terrace
The Education Plus Initiative will co-host, with the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, an event which aims to mobilize government, partners and key stakeholders towards accelerated actions at the highest-levels to translate commitments to action through leveraging girls’ education for gender equality and HIV prevention in Africa. Watch the event live:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqIprT5xyUM
15 March, 10:00 – 11:15 EST
Side Event: End Economic inequalities
Hosted by: SADC, UN Women, UNAIDS & FrontlineAIDS Venue: Conference Room D – Conference Building, UNHQ, New York
This side-event will focus on the interlinkages between poverty, violence and HIV for adolescent girls and young women. Contact: Cynthia Lungu, lunguc@unaids.org
19 March, 12:30 – 14:00 EST #CSW68 Civil society Forum Hosted by: Fundación Llaves, IPPF, ICW
My choices, my rights: Exploring the intersectionality of HIV and gender-based violence in Honduras. Contact:provisramirezm@unaids.org
MORE ON #CSW68
Priority theme: Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective.
“This is a moment that calls for unwavering support for women and girls on the frontlines, and for intersectional alliances in defence of everyone’s human rights. We need to strengthen the hand of those whose lives are most impacted by the denial of rights. The United Nations is clear: we are not only on the side of the frontline defenders of rights; we are by their side.” Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations
UNAIDS
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
