Universal Access for Women and Girls Now!

The Universal Access for Women and Girls Now! (UA Now!) initiative aims to significantly accelerate access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support for women and girls. Implemented in ten countries—Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, Swaziland, Tanzania and Zambia. UA Now! supports countries to assess and develop an action plan to address key barriers and gaps in delivering results for women and girls in national HIV efforts, and to ensure that national AIDS responses address the gender-specific needs of women and girls. UA Now! builds upon UN Member State commitments to universal access and the Millennium Development Goals for promoting gender equality, empowering women, and combating HIV, malaria and other diseases by 2015. With funding from the UN Joint Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), UA Now! is spearheaded by UNDP in partnership with the UNAIDS Interagency Working Group on Women, Girls, Gender Equality and HIV, the World YWCA, and other stakeholders.

Present at the three-day meeting are multiple stakeholders including implementing partners of UN Now, United Nations Joint Teams, government officials, civil society organisations namely women living with HIV. YWCA representatives coming from countries in Africa where UA Now is being implemented will join the assembly. The main objectives are to create space for implementing partners:

• To share lessons and effective practices
• To evaluate the process
• To discuss next steps for UA Now!
• To document the outcomes and recommendations of this reflection for advocacy around women, girls, gender equality and HIV.

President of the YWCA of Kenya, Redemptor Masese in her opening remarks to the participants, shared her hopes for the meeting saying “we expect to have a good grasp of what is on the ground in the different countries by way of how they have adopted and affected the achievement of the universal access goal. I hope that at the end of the three days, there will be a difference in our approach to the issues that surround universal access in all countries that we represent."

In July 2005, leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK and the US) pledged to achieve universal access to antiretroviral treatment worldwide by 2010. Two months later, all United Nations Member States endorsed this goal by committing themselves to, "Developing and implementing a package for HIV prevention, treatment and care with the aim of coming as close as possible to the goal of universal access to treatment by 2010 for all those who need it." ^[1]  

AIDS has imposed a huge cost, in economic and social terms, on many countries, communities, and households around the world. Faced with mounting economic impacts and financial costs, developing and developed country governments, UN and multilateral agencies, philanthropic organisations, the private sector, and households are all being challenged to mobilise the needed financial resources, and utilise them as efficiently as possible.

December 2010 marks the deadline for Universal Access where Member States promised to provide access to HIV and AIDS prevention, treatment and care services for all those in need.

Investing in changing social, cultural and economic factors that make women and girls vulnerable is critical, given that in every region of the world HIV incidence rates are increasing amongst women; and in sub-Saharan Africa, HIV and AIDS disproportionately affect women and girls. Investing in women and girls includes allocating flexible and adequate funds to organisations that reach women and girls, providing them with appropriate services and ensuring they have equal opportunities.

The reflection meeting will enhance the understanding of and commitment to accelerating universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support for women and girls and ensure gender equality.

This three day reflection also follows a one-day Pre-Meeting on Universal Access for Women and Girls Now! held by the World YWCA, which targeted the young women in attendance. The pre-meeting aimed to better their understanding around issues of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and HIV as well as to provide clarity of their importance at the reflection meeting. Joy E. Mbarza from Sudan, who participated in the pre-meeting, said “I am so grateful to have attended this pre-meeting on Universal access for Women and Girls. I have learnt a lot especially during the session on SRHR. It is our responsibility to raise awareness on HIV and AIDS in our societies, communities and countries. As young people, we have the potential to work together, as it is collectively that we can make it.”

^[1]  Outcome Document from the 2005 World Summit