Update

Participants at the HIV and Women Forum, held in Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, on 6 and 7 October, joined the new UNAIDS campaign Hands up for #HIVprevention and took a series of photos illustrating what needs to be done to strengthen HIV prevention.

Leading HIV experts from 37 Russian regions and representatives of civil society and UNAIDS addressed the issues facing women affected by the country’s HIV epidemic during the annual forum. The Russian Federation has the largest HIV epidemic in the region, with more than 100 000 new HIV infections reported by the government in 2015. In eastern Europe and central Asia, 1.5 million people were living with HIV in 2015, up from 1 million in 2010.

One of the key topics discussed at the annual forum, organized by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, was how to deal with women’s vulnerability to HIV. Russian experts talked about the feminization of the HIV epidemic in the Russian Federation, where the government reports that more than 38% of all new cases of HIV infection in 2015 were among women.

Women face multiple challenges and barriers to accessing HIV services, such as stigma, discrimination, gender stereotypes, barriers to sexual and reproductive health, and violence. The forum highlighted the essential role of nongovernmental and civil society organizations in promoting women’s rights and increasing access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services.

The 2016 Political Declaration on Ending AIDS highlights that, globally, women and girls are disproportionately affected by HIV and bear a larger share of caregiving for family members affected by HIV.