Inequality will prevent the world from achieving the agreed global targets on AIDS, and only the “feminist roadmap” can get countries back on track, According to the UN report about Program on HIV/AIDS.
The new UN report, entitled “Dangerous Inequalities,” confirmed that gender inequality and harmful gender norms hinder the end of the AIDS pandemic, at a time when the world is witnessing an increase in new infections and the continuation of deaths.
Winnie Byanyima, the Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), called for addressing the inequalities that faced women, stressing that the world will not be able to defeat AIDS while strengthening the patriarchal system.
Byanyima affirmed that the only effective road map to ending AIDS is achieving sustainable development goals and ensuring health and rights.
The Serious Inequalities report showed that women are exposed to intimate partner violence 50 percent higher in HIV infection in areas with a high HIV burden.
Furthermore, the effects of gender inequality on women’s HIV risk are particularly evident in sub-Saharan Africa, where 63 percent of women are infected with HIV in 2021.
The United Nations has also confirmed that adolescent girls and young women between 15 and 24 in the region are three times more likely to be infected with HIV than their male counterparts.