Women & HIV/AIDS
HIV/AIDS is one of the greatest threats to women’s health.
Every day, nearly 2,400 women are newly infected with HIV around the world.1
In sub-Saharan Africa where the epidemic has hit hardest, HIV is spread primarily through heterosexual sex, and women (during vaginal sex) are more likely to be infected than men.
HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death for women of reproductive age (15-44) worldwide.2
HIV/AIDS is also one of the leading causes of death for pregnant women and mothers in developing countries, and is a major barrier to global efforts to reduce maternal mortality.3
Why are Women and Girls More Vulnerable to HIV?
Biology: Biologically, women are more likely than men to contract HIV during vaginal intercourse. Adolescent girls, whose reproductive systems are not fully developed, are especially vulnerable to becoming infected during sex.
Globally, young women ages 15-24 are twice as likely to be infected as young men of the same age.4
Gender inequities: This is often compounded by cultural, legal and political factors that impede a woman’s ability to protect herself from HIV.
Due to these disparities, many women and girls are often powerless to abstain from sex, or to persuade their husbands or partners to use condoms. Neither option is realistic for women who are at risk of sexual violence or who would like to have children.
Marriage is often no protection. Many new HIV infections occur in women who are married or in long-term relationships with one partner. In Kenya, many more married and widowed women are HIV-positive than those who have never been married.5 In Zambia, married or cohabiting people are estimated to account for as much as 60 percent of new HIV infections.6
Microbicides Would Give Women Power Over HIV/AIDS
Overcoming these challenges requires giving women everywhere innovative, self-initiated tools like microbicides to protect themselves and their families against HIV/AIDS.
1 UNAIDS, July 2015 Core Epidemiology Slides, 2015
2 UNAIDS, "Fact sheet: World AIDS Day 2014,” 2014
3 Hogan M. et al. “Maternal mortality for 181 countries, 1980–2008: a systematic analysis of progress towards Millennium Development Goal 5,” The Lancet 375 (2010): 1609-23
4 UNAIDS, “Fact sheet: Adolescents, young people and HIV,” 2012
5 UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS, “Country Report — Kenya,” 2010
6 UNAIDS, "Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic,” 2010