The many crises, wars and natural disasters around the globe are leaving women and adolescent girls facing a significantly heightened risk of unwanted pregnancy, maternal death, gender-based violence and HIV, says a new report from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The State of world population 2015—Shelter from the storm: a transformative agenda for women and girls in a crisis-prone world is a “call to action” to meet the needs and ensure the rights of tens of millions of women and girls caught up in the turmoil of conflict and disaster. More than 100 million people are now in need of humanitarian assistance, more than at any time since the Second World War.

Although remarkable progress has been made in providing women and girls with humanitarian services in the past 10 years, not enough is yet being done to address their particular vulnerabilities, the report argues. It highlights how, for example, their risk of HIV infection is increased and how this heightened risk should inform programmes and assistance. Women and girls experiencing humanitarian crises often face sexual and gender-based violence, including rape, which is a risk factor for HIV transmission. Other factors experienced include trafficking, transactional sex and sex work.

Access to HIV prevention and life-saving treatment services can also be significantly reduced or disappear completely in times of crisis. The availability of medicines for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of the virus is often severely disrupted. In addition, women and girls with disabilities face extra vulnerability to HIV in crisis situations, with even more limited access to services and information.

Shelter from the storm sets out concrete ways in which vulnerabilities can be addressed. It refers to an internationally agreed raft of essential reproductive health services and supplies that should be available from the start of any crisis. This basic package includes programmes to prevent sexual violence and manage the consequences of it, reduce HIV transmission, prevent maternal and newborn death and illness, and integrate sexual and reproductive health care into primary health care.   

Opportunities may emerge from crisis too, says the report. The example of HIV is cited, with well-run camps with sufficient resources enabling displaced people to have enhanced access to services.

There is also an emphasis on moving away from simply reacting to crises as they emerge and embracing a pre-emptive approach that promotes prevention, preparedness and resilience. The report argues that people who are healthy, educated and have their human rights protected are likely to have better prospects in the event of a disaster. 

Disasters are an increasing threat to the lives and livelihoods of millions of people around the globe and can have a profound impact on social, economic and health outcomes. Participants at the Third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, taking place in Sendai, Japan, are discussing how to promote a sustainable development agenda addressing risk and supporting greater resilience for countries and communities.

The high-level meeting, which is taking place from 14 to 18 March, is being attended by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, several heads of state, a number of UN heads of agencies and more than 100 ministers. It also includes some 8000 delegates from government, civil society, the private sector and donor agencies, as well as tens of thousands of members of the public attending the various public forums.

A broad array of issues are being debated over the five days, ranging from how to cope with emergency disasters, such as earthquakes, droughts and tsunamis, to reducing the risks of epidemics, such as Ebola, bird flu and HIV. Emphasis is being placed throughout on providing practical solutions to protect the most vulnerable. There is also a recognition that efforts to achieve key development, economic and health goals cannot succeed when disasters continue to erode progress and cost hundreds of billions of dollars a year globally. 

UNAIDS has a significant presence at the conference and is co-organizing, with WHO, UNFPA and UNISDR, a number of official events, including a day-long public forum on protecting people’s health from disaster risks.

A dominant theme across these events involves showcasing how risk reduction in the post-2015 development agenda can draw on the experience, lessons learned and successes of the AIDS response. The importance of mobilizing vulnerable communities, putting them at the centre of disaster prevention, preparedness, recovery and rehabilitation efforts, is being highlighted, along with the need to foster effective shared accountability. Mainstreaming health interventions across risk management programmes is also a prominent message. 

A post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction, which will govern this area for the next 15 years, will emerge from the conference. Health is fully embedded in the current framework, with particular mention of pandemics and epidemics. A Sendai Declaration will also be adopted reaffirming political commitment to strengthen efforts and cooperation for disaster risk reduction worldwide. 

Quotes

The Deputy Executive Director of UNAIDS, Luiz Loures paid a recent visit to Sierra Leone, one of the countries most affected by Ebola, to offer UNAIDS’ support to the government of Sierra Leone in responding to the outbreak. Dr Loures saw first-hand the impact the virus was having on the health system and assessed the impact the weakened infrastructure was having on the wider population, including people living with HIV.

During his visit he met with the President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma who discussed the need for increased international support and mobilization of specialist health care workers. Dr Loures underlined the similarities between the Ebola outbreak and the early days of the AIDS epidemic when there was much misinformation and misunderstanding about the epidemic. They discussed the urgent need for the short term emergency response to be accelerated and for long term plans to strengthen health facilities and community based systems.

The emergency is placing a deep strain on the country’s health sector. The impact on access to essential medicines is a major concern as is the disruption to maternal and child health services. Interruptions in access to medicines for people living with HIV can severely affect their health whilst also increasing the risk of drug resistance. If pregnant women living with HIV don’t have access to antiretroviral medicines during pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, the risk of transmitting HIV to their child is greatly increased.

Community mobilization

Communities have a critical role to play in the response to Ebola and urgently need to be supported with correct information and materials. Communities are key to improving awareness and information across the country as well as helping to prevent stigma and discrimination against survivors and health care workers.

The AIDS community is rallying behind this effort and networks of people living with HIV, with support from the National AIDS Secretariat and UNICEF, are providing their expertise to establish a network of Ebola virus disease survivors. Furthermore, the Sierra Leone Inter-religious network against AIDS (SLIRAN) with support from UNAIDS, is fostering community mobilization for Ebola contact tracing, safe referrals, safe and dignified burials and survivors social integration.

The United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) is working closely with Member States, regional organizations, civil society and the private sector around five pillars—stop the outbreak; treat people with Ebola; ensure essential services; preserve stability; prevent further outbreaks.

Quotes

UNAIDS will be launching a new report ahead of World AIDS Day at a special event at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). During a 60 minute interactive dialogue, Mr Sidibé will outline his vision and what it will take to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. Mr Sidibé will be joined by Charlize Theron United Nations Messenger of Peace and Founder of the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project to talk about results on the ground.

The report Fast-Track: Ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 lays out a set of bold, new Fast-Track targets to be reached over the next five years to ensure that the world will end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. The report also outlines the numbers of new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths that will be averted by meeting the targets. 

• WHEN
  • Noon – 1pm Los Angeles time (20:00 GMT), Tuesday 18 November 2014
• WHERE
  • Glorya Kaufman Hall, UCLA, Los Angeles, United States of America
• WHO
  • Michel Sidibé, Executive Director, UNAIDS
  • Charlize Theron, United Nations Messenger of Peace and Founder of the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project
  • David Gere, Professor, Director, UCLA Art & Global Health Center

Invitations     

Media interested in attending the event should contact Sophie Barton-Knott bartonknotts@unaids.org for accreditation.

Press materials

A full package of press materials including press release, factsheet, infographics and social media pack will be available on the UNAIDS website at www.unaids.org as from 20:00 GMT on Tuesday 18 November 2014.

UNAIDS Media Contacts

Global Media | Sophie Barton-Knott | +41 22 791 1697 | bartonknotts@unaids.org
 

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 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.