Population Council programme evidence on adolescent girls

A range of new and established resources recommended by the Population Council’s team on Poverty, Gender, and Youth.

The costs of reaching the most disadvantaged girls 

Technical report based on programmatic evidence from Ethiopia, Kenya and South Africa among others. Analysis concentrates on the mechanics of multidimensional interventions among adolescent girls to look at the respective costs in different settings.

The diverse HIV prevention needs of sex workers - Parinita Bhattacharjee

This webinar describes the evolution of KHPT’s programming with female sex workers (FSW). It focuses on KHPT’s strategic shift from a largely biomedical approach to an integrated structural approach dealing with stigma, violence, collectivisation and building enabling environments for FSW.

The presentation illustrates:

The role of HIV-related stigma in utilization of skilled childbirth services in rural Kenya

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Findings indicate the urgent need for interventions to reduce HIV-related stigma.

The Maternity in Migori and AIDS Stigma Study (MAMAS Study) was conducted in a high HIV prevalence area in rural Kenya. The study examined the effect of women's perceptions of HIV-related stigma during pregnancy on their use of maternity services.

How does HIV-related stigma influence birth decisions?

Key resources on female sex workers

The links between sex work 
and HIV vulnerability have long been 
recognized. Research shows that sex workers and their clients are at a heightened risk of HIV and face a range of particular barriers to accessing prevention, care and treatment. However, the UNAIDS Guidance Note on HIV and Sex Work states that until recently, less than 1% of global funding for HIV prevention was allocated to HIV and sex work.

Understanding the gender disparity in HIV infection across countries in sub-Saharan Africa: evidence from the Demographic and Health Surveys

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Comparative study that investigates how AIDS awareness and sexual behaviour affect the gender disparity in HIV infection.

The findings show that the risk for women is 70% higher than their male counterparts of similar sexual behaviour, suggesting that the observed gender disparity cannot be attributed to sexual behaviour. 

Burden of HIV among female sex workers in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis

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Review of HIV risk amongst FSW compared with that of other women of reproductive age.

The research found that although data characterising HIV risk among female sex workers is scarce, the burden of disease is disproportionately high. The paper argues for further consideration of the legal and policy environments in which sex workers operate. It also advocates actions to address the role of stigma, discrimination, and violence in shaping sex workers’ vulnerability to HIV

The importance of addressing gender inequality in efforts to end vertical transmission of HIV

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Programmes to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) are still being hampered by gender inequality. This is an upstream issue that this paper argues must be incorporated into PMTCT by policymakers and implementers.  

The paper highlights how gender inequality affects the ability of women and girls to protect themselves from HIV, prevent unintended pregnancies and access and continue to use HIV prevention, care and treatment services.

Moving beyond single-issue priority setting: associations between gender inequality & HIV infection, early pregnancy and higher fertility in Malawi

‘Downstream’ interventions are often prioritised over ‘upstream’ structural change, but analysis of population data from Malawi challenges this emphasis.

The findings presented in this poster by Heidi Stöckl show the many overlaps between HIV and maternal and child health.

HIV-positive women are significantly more likely to report three indicators of gender inequality:

Effective Approaches to Addressing the Intersection of Violence against Women and HIV/AIDS

, ; Effective Approaches to Addressing the Intersection of Violence against Women: Findings from Programmes

A great deal of evidence confirms that violence against women and HIV/AIDS are inextricably intertwined and mutually reinforcing. For years, decision-makers have advocated for addressing violence against women in a multi-sectoral way, yet little progress has actually been made in addressing violence and HIV together.

This report gathers experiences from a number of programmes, ranging from multimedia campaigns to peer education, from capacity-building for service providers to policy advocacy, and from cross-sectoral fora to action research. Among key points:

Lessons from the Broad Street Pump

What can we learn for HIV prevention from John Snow, founder in the 1850s of modern epidemiology?

In 1854, convinced that a London cholera outbreak was spread by means other than "miasma", the public health pioneer persuaded authorities to remove a pump handle. Rather than treating the water (a biomedical approach) or persuading people not to use the water (a behavioural approach), this early instance of a structural intervention cut off access to the water source and thus had impact at the level of the community environment.

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