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afrol News, 14 May - African teenage girls are infected at a rate of five to six times greater than their male counterparts. The UN Commission on the Status of Women expresses "profound concern" over the impact of HIV/AIDS on women and girls and urges governments to take measures to empower them, including economically, to better protect themselves. The UN Commission, which met on Friday, discussed strategies to counter the devastating impact of AIDS on women, who constituted 55 per cent of all HIV-infected adults, and on teenage girls, who were infected at a rate of five to six times greater than their male counterparts. - Gender inequalities render women and girls more vulnerable in the area of sexual and reproductive health, thus increasing their vulnerability to HIV infection and disproportionate suffering from the consequences of the epidemic, concluded the commission. "For that reason, governments must adopt a long-term, timely, coherent and integrated AIDS-prevention policy that includes public information and life-skills-based education programmes tailored to the needs of women and girls." The commission adopted a communiqué calling for the empowerment of women "to have control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality in order to protect themselves from high risk and irresponsible behaviour leading to sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS". The causes for the high HIV/AIDS infection rate among African teenage girls are multiple. Women are, for biological reasons, more vulnerable than men to sexually transmitted diseases and other opportunistic infections like HIV. This is especially marked in girls whose genital tracts are still not fully mature. More important, however, is sexual abuse and male sexual behaviour. Young girls often have sexual relationships with elder men, who might coerce them to have sex in exchange for gifts and favours. Such unequal relationships tend to have consequences for women, in terms of their risk of infection. Earlier marriage for girls and unfaithful husbands, factors beyond girls' control, also highly contribute to high infection rates. Studies in Africa highlight that the majority of young women cannot protect themselves against AIDS because they have to rely on their male partners who may decide whether or not to use a condom. On this background, the call for empowerment of women and girls has been pronounced louder over the last years. Debrework Zewdie, the World Bank's HIV/AIDS co-ordinator says that, "Across the whole southern African belt, HIV prevalence is very high because there is high population movement and migrant workers are exposed to prostitutes and they, in turn, pass it on to their wives." Zewdie affirms there is growing realization that health education and improving women's position in society are key factors in preventing the spread of AIDS. The UN Commission on the Status of Women on Friday reaffirmed this AIDS prevention policy. "The Commission would urge governments to take all necessary measures to empower women and strengthen women's economic independence," a statement read, establishing the connection between women's rights situation and AIDS. The commission includes representatives from Benin, Botswana, Lesotho, Libya, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and more African countries, which all gave their support to the statement. Of the 35 million people infected with the AIDS virus worldwide, two-thirds are found in Africa. Almost half of them are women. Women are however also at the forefront of the struggle against AIDS in Africa, and are found in national and regional organisations and agencies fighting the disease or providing care to those infected. Sources: Based on UN sources and afrol achives
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