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Help us create change that lasts, delivering quality health care in the world’s poorest communities.
On the eve of World AIDS Day 2007, EngenderHealth and the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) call on governments, donors, international health organizations, and activists everywhere to step up leadership efforts to eradicate HIV-related stigma and discrimination. Greater investment and action are needed by the international community in order to Keep the Promise and stop AIDS.
HIV-related stigma and discrimination severely undermine HIV prevention, care, and treatment efforts. Fear of HIV-related discrimination—such as denial of health care, jobs, and schooling—and of resulting isolation and violence deter people from adopting proven prevention strategies, which include being tested for HIV, disclosing a positive result to others (including intimate partners), and accessing HIV treatment, care, and support services. Indeed, UNAIDS cited stigma and discrimination as primary obstacles to achieving universal access to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services.
Last week, UNAIDS and the World Health Organization reduced their estimate of the number of people living with HIV from 39 million to 33 million. Nevertheless, the figure is staggering, and infections continue to rise, especially among women and girls. To tackle the HIV pandemic, policies and programs must address the social drivers of HIV. Recent ICRW research has identified three drivers of HIV-related stigma against which immediate action can be taken. These social drivers, remarkably consistent across diverse contexts, are:
Addressing these social drivers of HIV-related stigma will create the enabling environment and personal empowerment needed for people to gain universal access to HIV-treatment, care, and support services. EngenderHealth and ICRW—both experienced implementers of stigma-reduction programs in health care facilities and communities alike—invite you to visit their web sites for information, tools, and resources focused on reducing HIV-related stigma:
Together, we can Keep the Promise.
About EngenderHealth
EngenderHealth is a leading international reproductive health organization working to improve the quality of health care in the world’s poorest communities. EngenderHealth empowers people to make informed choices about contraception, trains health providers to make motherhood safer, promotes gender equity, enhances the quality of HIV and AIDS services, and advocates for positive policy change. The nonprofit organization works in partnership with governments, institutions, communities, and health care professionals in more than 40 countries around the world. For 65 years, EngenderHealth has reached more than 100 million people to help them realize a better life. For more information, visit www.engenderhealth.org.
About ICRW
Founded in 1976, ICRW’s mission is to empower women, advance gender equality, and fight poverty in the developing world. To accomplish this, ICRW works with partners to conduct empirical research, build capacity, and advocate for evidence-based, practical ways to change policies and programs. ICRW has more than 10 years of experience working in HIV-related stigma and discrimination, with expertise in monitoring and evaluation of community- and facility-based stigma reduction programs, capacity building of partner organizations in M&E approaches and methods, development of participatory antistigma tools and methodologies, and validating stigma-reduction indicators at multiple intervention levels, including among people living with HIV, community members, and health care providers. For more information, visit www.icrw.org.
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