Global Review of Women’s Access to HIV Treatment

UN Women has commissioned a global review of HIV/AIDS Treatment Access for Women.This review seeks to identify key gaps related to women’s access totreatment and understand the barriers women face in the pathway to accessingtreatment and care.

Findings

Preliminary findings from the review were presented at the International AIDS Society conference in Vancouver, July 2015. A satellite session co-hosted by UN Women, ATHENA, AVAC and Salamander Trust shared the findings, with presentations by members of the Global Reference Group, among others. A poster describing the participatory research methodology developed for the review was also presented. Find out more in a four-page summary of preliminary findings, and the slide deck from the satellite session

Background

We seek to study the impact of structural and social factors (at national policy, service delivery, community, socio-cultural and individual levels) on women’saccess to treatment. There are gaps in knowledge in access for women and girls living with HIV, in all their diversity, that we hope to inform. We aim to provide information and recommendations that will be critical to realizing many of the individual and public health benefits of effective long-term quality HIV care,treatment access and coverage.

We plan a range of activities including a quantitative and qualitative literaturereview, several country case studies and a range of dialogues led by and with women living with HIV. We plan to identify key global, national and local policy, social and structural barriers to treatment access. We will also explore best practices, concerns and recommendations with regard to ART access for women overall, and with specific attention to emerging strategies, such as treatment as prevention (TasP) and Option B+. We will be working with a Global Reference Group of women living with HIV who will support and guide the project and lead the dialogues.

We see this as an opportunity for women living with HIV to contribute experiences, hopes and concerns related to ART access at a critical time in the context of the response in our countries and communities.

For more information, please see the project announcement in EnglishSpanishRussian, Arabic and French.

You can email the project at womentxrights@gmail.com