ICASA 2011 promises to own, scale-up and sustain HIV Response despite funding concerns
The 16th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA 2011) in Addis Ababa Ethiopia has come to an end. The five-day conference under the theme ‘Own, Scale-up and Sustain’ engaged partners, stakeholders, agencies, NGOs and all participants through a series of panel discussions, consultations and skills building workshops addressing the future of Africa in responding to HIV and AIDS. The World YWCA participated in ICASA with a delegation of 15, including 12 young women, from eight YWCAs in Africa, led by Hendrica Okondo and Mandy Nogarede from the World YWCA and the General Secretary of YWCA of Ethiopia, Saba Haile.
The World YWCA is committed to ensuring that women, young women and girls are empowered and have the freedom to express their Sexual Reproductive and Health Rights (SRHR) and lead a life free from violence and HIV infection. Engagement of World YWCA at ICASA took shape in the form of Pre-ICASA training where young women reviewed the progress of YWCA’s in implementing SRHR programmes in communities and outreach strategies to vulnerable groups, including the engagement of young women living with HIV. Furthermore, the delegation participated in the Women’s Networking Zone, convened by ATHENA Network and the National Network of Positive Women Ethiopians. Blogging from ICASA 2011, Nelly Lukale from the YWCA of Kenya shared her impressions: “For me the most exciting part of ICASA was the Women Networking Zone and the debate Should young women have access to SRHR? And Why? We find that many parents don’t talk to their children about body changes, sexuality and relationships. This is a major cause of the challenges faced by young women as they experiment the sexuality and get infected and in some cases end up having unsafe abortions because there are no spaces to seek help.”
During ICASA the delegation participated in plenary sessions which focused on key issues such as African Leadership in response to HIV, Accountability through ownership, Community perspectives and contributions, Mother-To-Child-Transmission elimination, and the role of young people. The forced sterilisation of HIV positive women was brought forward in the case of Namibia highlighting the horrific human rights violations and stigmatisation that continue to exist. The forced sterilisation of women living with HIV is an attack on their SRHR and an act of inhumane violence which denies an individual’s basic human right to bodily integrity. Strengthening young women's leadership on SRHR is a priority for the World YWCA's Global Strategy on SRHR and HIV 2008-2012.
Throughout ICASA 2011 a recurring theme of universal access was reinforced; the exclusion of the most vulnerable groups in accessing information and services was brought forward by Bethekl Tesfaye of YWCA of Ethiopia during the Disability network; “As a result of exclusion, disabled women are more likely to be poor or destitute and are therefore more at risk of contracting HIV. Women with disabilities and their families need to be fully informed about SRHR and HIV prevention.” During the discussion one participant shared her real life experience as a disabled African young woman: “People look at me and show me sympathy because I am deaf, like I am stupid but I have completed grade ten at school. I want to work as a waitress or a cleaner but no one will give me a chance. The only choice I have is to be a commercial sex worker. But whenever I think of doing this there, something clicks in my mind, my health I think, what if I get HIV? What if I get pregnant? I fear to die before I fulfil my dreams but what choice do I have.”
Young women are particularly vulnerable to HIV, accounting for 64% of infections among young people worldwide. In sub-Saharan Africa, young women make about 70% of young people living with HIV. The theme of ICASA-‘Own, Scale up and Sustain’ incorporated the need to scale up funding from national and international sources and highlights the need for partnerships and inclusion where governments, civil society and international partners share the responsibility to ensure effective HIV and AIDS responses. For the World YWCA, HIV remains an important global priority in the context of our advocacy for the sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls.
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