Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report - Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000
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GLOBAL CHALLENGES
WOMEN AND AIDS: NEARLY HALF OF AIDS INFECTIONS AND DEATHS ARE AMONG
WOMEN, U.N. REPORT SAYS
Worldwide, women accounted for more than half of AIDS-related mor-
talities last year, according to a U.N. study on women's issues re-
leased yesterday, the Chicago Tribune reports. According to the
study, AIDS is spreading much faster among women than among men in
some parts of the world. Forty-six percent of the 32.4 million people
with HIV/AIDS worldwide are women, and in sub-Saharan Africa, 55% of
those with AIDS are women. Last year, women accounted for 46% of the
5 million new HIV infections worldwide. Since the pandemic surfaced
20 years ago, half of the 12.7 million adult deaths have been women.
In 1999, women accounted for 52% of the 2.1 million adult deaths re-
lated to AIDS. The report also found that women are "bearing an in-
creasingly large burden of the disease -- a burden made even greater
by the fact that women are more likely than men to care for children
who suffer from the disease." Angela King, assistant U.N. secretary
general and special adviser on gender issues, said the report is sig-
nificant because "women's problems are often ignored by national gov-
ernments." She said she hopes countries will use the findings as a
spring board for better conditions for women, adding, "You just can't
leave out one-half of the world's population." The 180-page document,
called "The World's Women 2000: Trends and Statistics," examines pro-
grams in areas of health care, family issues, workplace and education
since the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 in Beijing. The
U.N.'s General Assembly will discuss the findings at its five-day
summit dealing specifically with women's issues next week.
(Cole, Chicago Tribune, 5/31).
--
Cecilia Snyder
mailto:csnyder@pcdc.org
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