Women and girls

Documents

The missing link: Rethinking and reprioritizing HIV and gender-based violence in fragile settings

21 July 2024

This report explores the extent to which evidence, policy, normative guidance and commitments on HIV and gender-based violence, and their interlinkages, is being translated into action on the ground in fragile settings. These issues are explored through the lens of training of peace support operations deploying African troops across Africa and beyond. Translations: français | português | عربي

Documents

Western and Central Europe and North America regional profile — 2024 global AIDS update The Urgency of Now: AIDS at a Crossroads

22 July 2024

There has been a 24% drop in the annual number of new HIV infections in western and central Europe and North America since 2010, and the number of AIDS-related deaths has declined by 34%. Numbers of new HIV infections among sex workers and their clients, however, have not declined at the same rate. Despite data showing ongoing progress in HIV prevention, persistent social and economic factors, including stigma and discrimination, continue to cause health disparities, compromising the health and well-being of people from marginalized communities. Related links: New UNAIDS report shows AIDS pandemic can be ended by 2030, but only if leaders boost resources and protect human rights now | Full report

Documents

Western and Central Africa regional profile — 2024 global AIDS update The Urgency of Now: AIDS at a Crossroads

22 July 2024

Annual numbers of new HIV infections in western and central Africa declined by 46% between 2010 and 2023. The high numbers of new infections among people from key populations and adolescent girls and young women are challenges, however, and call for increased investment in primary prevention programmes. In 2023, adolescent girls and young women aged 15–24 years accounted for 19% of all new HIV infections. The expansion of differentiated services for HIV treatment have yielded marked progress, with 81% [62–97%] of people living with HIV knowing their status, 76% [59–92%] receiving antiretroviral therapy, and 70% [61–81%] having a suppressed viral load. The number of adults aged 15 years and over receiving HIV treatment has more than doubled since 2015. Between 2010 and 2023, numbers of AIDS-related deaths decreased by 55%. Related links: New UNAIDS report shows AIDS pandemic can be ended by 2030, but only if leaders boost resources and protect human rights now | Full report

Documents

Middle East and North Africa regional profile — 2024 global AIDS update The Urgency of Now: AIDS at a Crossroads

22 July 2024

Numbers of new HIV infections in the Middle East and North Africa increased by 116% between 2010 and 2023. The HIV response remains a long way from achieving coverage targets for HIV by 2025. Yet, with HIV prevalence still very low, the region can rapidly reduce the number of new infections if countries take appropriate and effective actions that meet the needs of the populations most at risk of HIV. Ostracized and criminalized populations are disproportionally affected by the HIV epidemic. People from key populations and their sex partners accounted for an estimated 84% of new HIV infections in 2022, with gay men and other men who have sex with men experiencing especially steep rises in numbers of new HIV infections. Almost 20% of new HIV infections in the region were in young people aged 15–24 years, the majority of them male (55%). These epidemic patterns underscore the need for scaled-up HIV interventions for people from key populations and especially young people, and for reducing the societal and structural barriers that limit their access to needed services. Related links: New UNAIDS report shows AIDS pandemic can be ended by 2030, but only if leaders boost resources and protect human rights now | Full report

Documents

Latin America — 2024 global AIDS update The Urgency of Now: AIDS at a Crossroads

22 July 2024

The annual number of new HIV infections in Latin America increased by 9% between 2010 and 2023, with eight countries experiencing increases since 2015. In 2022, a significant proportion (66%) of new HIV infections were among people from key populations and their sex partners. In 2022, numbers of new HIV infections were 20% higher than in 2010 among gay men and other men who have sex with men, 42% higher among sex workers, and 19% higher among transgender women. Numbers of AIDS-related deaths have decreased by 28% since 2010 overall, but increased among women in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay and Peru. Related links: New UNAIDS report shows AIDS pandemic can be ended by 2030, but only if leaders boost resources and protect human rights now | Full report

Documents

Eastern and Southern Africa regional profile — 2024 global AIDS update The Urgency of Now: AIDS at a Crossroads

22 July 2024

There has been major progress in the HIV response in eastern and southern Africa, the region most affected by the HIV pandemic. The annual number of people acquiring HIV fell by 59% from 1.1 million [880 000–1.4 million] to 450 000 [360 000–580 000] between 2010 and 2023. The number of AIDS-related deaths decreased by 57%, from 600 000 [490 000–770 000] to 260 000 [210 000–330 000] between 2010 and 2023. Despite this overall progress, adolescent girls and young women (aged 15–24 years) still accounted for 27% of new HIV infections and were three times as likely to acquire HIV than their male counterparts. HIV incidence decreased among all key populations from 2010 to 2022 in the region, but at slower rates among gay men and other men who have sex with men and people who inject drugs. It is essential to prioritize increased investment in intensified and more precise prevention efforts. Related links: New UNAIDS report shows AIDS pandemic can be ended by 2030, but only if leaders boost resources and protect human rights now | Full report

Documents

Eastern Europe and Central Asia regional profile — 2024 global AIDS update The Urgency of Now: AIDS at a Crossroads

22 July 2024

The annual number of new HIV infections in eastern Europe and central Asia continues to rise. It reached 140 000 [120 000–160 000] in 2023, a 20% increase since 2010 . The region is off track to reach the targets to end AIDS by 2030. Four countries (Kazakhstan, Russian Federation, Ukraine, Uzbekistan) report 92% of all new registered HIV cases in the region according to published case reports from 15 of 16 countries. In 2022, 94% of new HIV infections were among people from key populations and their sex partners, and 15% of new infections were among sex workers. HIV case reporting in the region suggests that an increasing proportion of new HIV infections are transmitted sexually. Available data suggest one explanation for this is transmission from people who inject drugs or formerly injected drugs to their partners in addition to a growing recognition of transmission among men who have sex with men. Unsafe drug injecting practices are a key factor in the region’s epidemic, representing 27% of new HIV infections. Related links: New UNAIDS report shows AIDS pandemic can be ended by 2030, but only if leaders boost resources and protect human rights now | Full report

Documents

Asia and the Pacific regional profile — 2024 global AIDS update The Urgency of Now: AIDS at a Crossroads

22 July 2024

In 2023, 6.7 million [6.1 million–7.5 million] people living with HIV were residing in Asia and the Pacific, making this the world’s largest epidemic after eastern and southern Africa. The region accounts for a quarter of annual new HIV infections globally (23%). People from key populations and their sex partners are disproportionately affected. Among countries with available data, HIV epidemics are growing in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Fiji, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines. Between 2010 and 2022, numbers of new HIV infections increased by 32% among gay men and other men who have sex with men and by 85% among non-client sex partners of people from key populations. Related links: New UNAIDS report shows AIDS pandemic can be ended by 2030, but only if leaders boost resources and protect human rights now | Full report

Documents

2024 global AIDS report — The Urgency of Now: AIDS at a Crossroads

22 July 2024

This UNAIDS 2024 report brings together new data and case studies which demonstrate that the decisions and policy choices taken by world leaders this year will decide the fate of millions of lives and whether the world’s deadliest pandemic is overcome. Related links: Press release | Special web site | Executive summary | Fact sheet | Video playlist | Epidemiology slides | Data on HIV | Annex 2: Methods Regional profiles: Asia and the Pacific | Caribbean | Eastern Europe and Central Asia | Eastern and Southern Africa| Latin America | Middle East and North Africa | Western and Central Africa | Western and Central Europe and North America Thematic briefing notes: People living with HIV | Gay men and other men who have sex with men | Transgender people | Sex workers | People who inject drugs | People in prisons and other closed settings | Adolescent girls and young women | Other translations: German

Feature Story

Girls’ education for HIV prevention at 1st Pan-African Conference on Girls’ and Women’s Education in Africa

08 July 2024

Girls’ education as a tool to prevent HIV infection has been centered at the 1st African Union Pan-African Conference on Girls’ and Women’s Education in Africa. This followed African leaders designating education as the 2024 African Union theme of the year.

At a high-level side event hosted by the Education Plus Initiative on the first day of conference held at the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, leaders, girls’ and women’s networks and advocates called for greater investments in girls’ education.

“Some people claim that providing girls with secondary education is too expensive. Such claims fail to consider the exponentially higher cost of not educating them,” said UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima. “We can get all our girls and boys to complete secondary education; that should be our legacy."

UNICEF calculates that 34 million girls in sub-Saharan Africa are out of secondary school. According to the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report 2023, in all regions in Africa, there are more girls out of school at the secondary level than boys, with gender disparities worsening as children move up to higher levels of education in favour of boys over girls. In sub-Saharan Africa, less than half of adolescent girls complete secondary education, their percentage standing at 42% and there has been no progress at all in closing this gap in the past 20 years.  Sub-Saharan Africa is the region furthest from parity at the expense of girls, with no progress since 2011 at the lower secondary level and since 2014 in upper secondary.

Gender is a key factor linked to disparities in enrolment, retention, completion, and learning outcomes through social conditioning, gender-based differences in parental expectations and education-related investments, child marriages and early childbearing, female genital mutilation, child labour, gender-based violence, period poverty and discrimination.

More than forty years into the HIV response, Africa remains an epicenter of the AIDS epidemic with adolescent girls and young women being disproportionately affected. Every week 3100 adolescent girls and young women acquired HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. Every three minutes, an adolescent girl or young woman aged 15-24 years acquired HIV in 2022 in sub-Saharan Africa.  Adolescent girls and young women aged 15-24 years in the region were more than three times as likely to acquire HIV than their male peers in 2022.

UN agencies, African Union representatives, government ministers, and young women leaders called for accelerated actions to translate commitments to action through leveraging girls' education for gender equality and preventing HIV, child marriage, teenage pregnancies, violence, gender-related stigma and discrimination in Africa.

Speakers emphasized the connection between health and education. Ministers spoke about key policy reforms and best practices aimed at promoting girls' education, including creating safe and inclusive school environments, strategies to get girls into secondary school, and the readmission policy that addresses high dropout rates due to pregnancy.  UN co-leads emphasised the need for improved collection of data disaggregated by sex and other relevant population characteristics to better understand educational participation, progression, and learning, and using gender-sensitive data for policymaking and planning. 

Other issues highlighted included the integration of digital literacy programs into the secondary education and vocational training curriculum to facilitate smooth transitions from school to employment; integrate gender equality into all aspects of the education system, including curriculum-based comprehensive sexuality education  and life skills, address gender-based violence  within schools and discriminatory laws and practices, and access to information, non-discriminatory HIV and sexual and reproductive health services access.

Young women leaders spoke on the role of partnerships and young women's leadership. Participants highlighted the upcoming 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration as an opportunity moment to accelerate accountability and commitments, as well as the CSW Resolution 60/2, Women, the Girl Child and HIV and AIDS as significant mechanisms to address political and resource gaps so no woman or girl is behind in the HIV response.

Education Plus is a rights-based, gender-responsive action agenda to ensure adolescent girls and young women have equal access to quality secondary education, alongside key education and health services and support for their economic autonomy and empowerment.  Co-led by five UN agencies, the initiative builds on existing frameworks like the Transforming Education Summit, the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA) and the Dakar Education for All (EFA) Declaration to push for access and completion of education for women and girls in Africa.

Quotes

" Some people claim that providing girls with secondary education is too expensive. Such claims fail to consider the exponentially higher cost of not educating them. We know the consequences when girls can’t finish secondary school: higher risks of sexual violence, early marriage, unwanted pregnancy, complications in pregnancy and childbirth, and HIV infection. But when a girl completes secondary school, it helps her to be safe and strong. If all girls complete secondary education, adolescent pregnancy could be cut by 75% and early marriage could be virtually eliminated. An extra year of secondary school can increase women’s eventual wages by 15-25%. We can get all our girls and boys to complete secondary education; that should be our legacy."

Ms.Winnie Byanyima UNAIDS Executive Director

We must recognize the intersecting challenges girls face, including HIV. They face extraordinarily high levels of HIV infections. Women and girls represented 63% of all new HIV infections in Africa in 2022. Empowering girls with knowledge is key to ending AIDS as a public health threat. Education is the best HIV prevention tool available.”

Dr. Sihaka Tsemo Director of the UNAIDS Liaison Office to the African Union

“African nations should ensure that young people not only gain vital knowledge but also acquire life skills, values, attitudes, and make decisions in order to live healthy and fulfilled lives. Through the AU strategy, we will see increased awareness about the importance of investing in education and the health of children and adolescents.”

Dr. Caseley Olabode Stephens African Union Commission

“Girls’ education is not only a right, but will also result in broad socio-economic development for countries. We are creating a safe and conducive environment for adolescent girls and young through the criminalization of child marriage, FGM, school-related gender-based violence, and sexual harassment, particularly sexual exploitation perpetrated by teachers. We provide life skills and comprehensive sexuality education in schools and ensure an inclusive school environment for children with disabilities, with specific attention to girls. We have enhanced social protection strategies, including cash transfers to poor households to ensure that girls go to school and are not engaged in care work and child labour.”

Hon. Médessè Véronique Tognifode Mewanou Minister of Social Affairs and Microfinance, Benin

“Girls who dropped out due to early pregnancies or early unwanted pregnancies are readmitted. We have a national girls’ education strategy aimed at facilitating the pace at which Malawi may achieve sustainable development goals. We emphasize universal primary education, the promotion of gender equality and empowering women.”

Hon. Nancy Chaola Mdooko Deputy Minister, Ministry of Education, Malawi

“We are trying to remove the cultural norm barriers and negative gender stereotypes that contribute to gender-based violence and discrimination against adolescent girls and young women with a male engagement strategy. Inclusive education provides special provisions for the less privileged and disadvantaged children and youth; user-friendly infrastructure, teaching and learning materials and provision of expert teachers.”

Hon. Nancy Chaola Mdooko Deputy Minister, Ministry of Education, Malawi

“Education is a human right. The Education Plus Initiative is driving policy changes in Africa. Education Plus seeks to keep adolescent girls and young women in school by simply unequivocally saying no to child marriage, no to violence, no to HIV infections, no to gender-related stigma, and of course, no to harmful practices. We want to keep girls in secondary education and make sure they stay there and complete their education. We do that by supporting sexual and reproductive health and rights, comprehensive sexuality education and work for integration HIV awareness, preventing and managing learners pregnancies and addressing school-related gender-based violence.”

Mr. Saturnin EPIE Chief, UNFPA Representation Office to the African Union and UNECA

“We need to scale up effective interventions to increase HIV knowledge and transform gender norms, and hence girls’ access to services. We should explore the potential of innovative solutions offered by digital technologies to mobilize and provide young women and adolescent girls with comprehensive HIV information. Let's do more, particularly for those girls living with HIV to be meaningfully engaged in the HIV response. Young women must have a formal seat and a safe space to raise their needs. let's move from rhetoric to action.”

Ms. Letty Chiwara, UN Women Representative, Malawi

“The numbers are unfortunately very clear: highest adolescent pregnancy rates of the world are in sub-Saharan Africa, highest percentages of women first married or in union before 18, young women more than 3 times as likely of HIV infection, or unacceptably high rates of justification of wife beating among adolescents. Fortunately, we benefit from a strong set of political commitments and strategies to face these issues. There is the Education Plus Initiative, the WCA Commitment for Educated, Healthy and Thriving Adolescents and Young People, the ESA Commitment, and the AU Continental Strategy on Education for Health and Wellbeing of Young People in Africa. It is high time to convert the commitments and strategies in concrete results for adolescent girls and young women.”

Mr. Xavier Hospital Regional Health Education Adviser, UNESCO

“Girls need an affirming environment. Where there's ignorance, there's a lot of resistance to education and sexuality education in the curriculum. We need to engage to change the environment, talking with parents, men and boys, community members and leaders for them to have access to information because they have a great influence on the lives of these young people. We need inclusive advocacy, especially the rural grassroots and true localization of information and interventions.”

Ms. Chidinma Adibeli Young Woman Leader, West and Central Africa

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