In order to minimize the terrible effects of AIDS on women and girls around the world, the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS brings together a wide range of partners, including civil society organizations, networks of women living with HIV and AIDS, governments, and UN agencies.
Today, women make up about half of those living with HIV and AIDS in adulthood. Every region of the world has seen an increase in the number of women and girls living with HIV over the past two years, with rates climbing especially quickly throughout Latin America, Asia, and Eastern Europe.
Women and girls already make up the majority of the population in sub-Saharan Africa. Adults with HIV account for roughly 60% of all cases.
Launched in early 2004, the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS works at global and national levels to highlight the effects of AIDS on women and girls and to stimulate concrete and effective action to prevent the spread of HIV. Coalition partners seek to address some of the fundamental gender inequalities that fuel the epidemic.
Efforts are focused on preventing new HIV infections, promoting equal access to care and treatment, ensuring universal access to education, addressing legal inequities, reducing violence against women, and valuing women’s care work within communities.